Three years ago, Watchen Nyanue, MBA ’22 had a dream job as the senior vice president of marketing partnerships for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky. The only problem? It wasn’t her dream job.
“I was at a dinner for the Basketball Hall of Fame and there was this voice in the back of my head telling me, ‘You’re living someone else’s dream,’” said the entrepreneur and participant in The Polsky Center’s Small Business Growth Program. “I loved the people there and the work was interesting, but I still felt like something was missing.”
She knew that voice was pointing her toward entrepreneurship, a pull that she had felt before.
“I have always been interested in working for myself and starting my own company and building a company culture. It was a feeling that just wouldn’t go away,” she said. “I just needed to find the right thing that aligned with my skills and interests.”
In fact, Nyanue had already tested out several business ventures by that time, including an online clothing resale site, consulting firm, children’s activity boxes, and a video series. The companies had varying levels of success, but ultimately did not mesh with Nyanue’s professional goals.
Then, in 2018, she had a couple of experiences that led to her founding I Choose the Ladder, an employee management consulting service for Fortune 500 companies.
Click here to read the full story.
This story was first published by the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
