My (Entrepreneurship) Journey

About Me

I spent the first 12+ years of my career in corporate. When I completed my degree in Finance at Western University, I felt lost. I didn't know what I wanted to do career-wise and found it hard to secure a decent job. Eventually, I landed a job at the head office of Canada's top lingerie retailer managing their in-store incentives and wage cost.

After a few years, I was bored. I'd figured the job out. A few years later, I did my MBA at Queen's while working full-time. It was hard work, but I love learning so the experience energized me. I was a straight-A student with my eyes laser-focused on getting into one of the top-tier consulting firms.  

Then, 2008 happened.

All consulting firms cut all of their hiring budgets.

I ended up (quite luckily) scoring a job in brand management in an industry that is recession-proof. Personal care products. I worked the next 3 years at Colgate-Palmolive in brand management. But, I still wanted to be a consultant.

In 2011, that dream came true. One of my mentors from my first job was at the top retail consulting firm in Canada and recruited me to his team. I was elated. I loved the work. The people. The passion. But man, was it exhausting.

Living out of a suitcase, working every single weekend, and constantly being evaluated on your utilization (I.e. how much money each working hour was making the firm) felt stressful.

I was making more money than ever and had finally landed my 'dream' job BUT I was miserable. 

And that in itself felt awful. Every step I'd taken in the past decade was to get this job, and I did not like it (insert every self-loathing feeling, ever).

Then a twist of fate.

An email in my inbox asking if I wanted to go on a yoga retreat to Costa Rica. A good friend of mine had booked the trip a year ago and the retreat had a last-minute cancellation. I was on the 'bench' at work (meaning, not assigned to a client) so I took off to Costa Rica.

While packing for that trip, I had a lightbulb moment. I saw the need for a product (and ultimately business idea) that would change the course of the next few years of my life dramatically. 

The Chrysalis Cardi.

How I quit my day job to be a full-time Entrepreneur

It took me about 6 months to refine and launch Encircled with our first product, the Chrysalis Cardi. Then, it took over 2 years to leave my full-time job. 

I was scared to leave. I was making a great living. I was inexperienced in the field I had started the company in (i.e. not a fashion designer), and totally reliant on my income to survive. I had no certainty that Encircled would actually be something that mattered, but one day, I couldn't manage both any longer. I knew my full-time gig was holding Encircled back from more, and I took the leap.

Today

Presently, I work full-time as the CEO of Encircled. We're tracking on nine years as an online-only slow fashion brand. Within the second year of business, we were profitable. After a few years, we cracked a million dollars in revenue, and we're now a steady, growing 7-figure business.

I have a team (at the time of writing) of 10 employees, and lofty office space in a vibrant Junction area of Toronto. We've been featured as one of Canada's fastest-growing by Startup5, and I've been personally honoured as part of the Clean50 sustainability leaders.

I started Encircled with $20k in my savings, and am proud of where it is today. Encircled continues to evolve, and with every stage of growth in business comes new challenges and new opportunities. I'm always a work in progress. 

I'll never over-sell my success, or pretend to be perfect because I'm not but what I can promise is that I'll always be open and authentic in sharing my journey to get to where I am today.

I'm likely a few steps ahead of you, so I know that I've been where you are. Wondering whether you should give up, or keep going. Frustrated with the process, the others around you who seemingly are overnight successes and feeling lost about what to do next.