I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit — I just never knew how or when it would show up. I graduated high school in New York City with a bookkeeping certificate and began my career on Wall Street as a junior accountant at Oppenheimer Management. Before long, I launched my own bookkeeping business, helping companies transition from paper to digital systems.

That experience introduced me to the power of automation — and I was excited to be able to add to my toolbox of solutions. I've worked for companies like Chemical Bank, MTV Networks and Viacom where I worked on the Human Resources Information System (HRIS), created a user manual and trained users at Viacom, MTV and Showtime--way before I earned my first degree.

As my interests shifted toward technology, I relocated to a place where I had the peace and opportunity to thrive. I became a certified computer technician, repairing systems and supporting engineers at General Electric (GE) while finishing my studies. I was later elected as the first Black female Vice President of the Science and Technology Club at Schenectady County Community College, where I had an idea to organize the college’s first “Women in Business and Technology” dinner. It was catered by our campus culinary arts students in the grand ballroom and it was fabulous!

I loved building, maintaining and supporting computers and peripherals, but that wasn’t enough. I wanted to help business entrepreneurs and SMB's create systems — real solutions — that helped them work smarter, grow faster, and stay secure. I worked briefly as a network technician at PSINet, where I supported national networks in their war room, but something still felt incomplete.