Recent female Rhodes College graduates are making an impact in the entrepreneurial ecosystem here in Memphis. Each of these ladies majored in a variety of disciplines; however, they used their Rhodes experience to enter and impact the business community.
Lindsay Gess, Claire Coulter
Sarah Baumann ’16
Sarah, an Urban Studies major, now works as an entrepreneur. She devotes her time to her business, Signet Sealed and uses her artistic abilities to illustrate major attractions and themes in prominent cities in the United States and beyond. Sarah loved the idea of being “her own boss” and turning her hobby into a business opportunity, which is one of the first things that appealed to her about entrepreneurship. Sarah credits the Rhodes community with promoting her business and, of course, being some of her first customers. Since graduation, Sarah invests her energy full-time to Signet Sealed. Her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is to “Start Now!”
View Sarah’s creations on the Signet Sealed website: https://www.signetsealed.com
Daisy Laird ’13
Alongside her courses, Daisy worked in the Rhodes College Career Services office. She believes that positions like her student employee and RSA roles “teach real, applicable skills that allow students to be exposed to the world of business… regardless of their backgrounds”. For those interested in becoming an entrepreneur, Daisy suggests taking advantage of Start Co.’s online resources and asking for advice from mentors.
Following completion of her degree in Theatre at Rhodes, Daisy continued her education at Christian Brothers University, obtaining her MBA with a concentration in Project Management. She is now the Chief of Staff & Relationship Manager at Start Co. and enjoys impacting the Memphis business community.
Contact Daisy at https://www.linkedin.com/in/daisy-laird
Lindsay Gess ’17
Lindsay will graduate this spring with a BA in English. Her connection to Memphis’ entrepreneurial sphere began with Start Co. She participated alongside the accelerator programs during the summer of 2016 and continued as an Associate at Start Co. in the Fall. Lindsay’s primary activities included networking, managing social media, and organizing events.
She says that Rhodes prepared her well for the hard work essential to the entrepreneurial environment. Lindsay’s advice to current students applying to internships: “You have to be the one to make it happen for yourself and never stop”.
Message Lindsay on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsay-gess
Claire Coulter ’15
Claire also interned at Start Co. during her junior and senior years. Using her background in chemistry, Claire participated in Start Co.’s Seed Hatchery Accelerator program, helping to develop the startup Preteckt. Claire is the Lead User Interface Developer at Preteckt, a startup which offers a predictive maintenance device for transportation vehicles.
Coulter credits Rhodes with giving her the tools to excel outside the classroom. She advises young professionals to “continually push yourself to grow- it is definitely necessary in the startup world”
Get in touch with at: coucc15@gmail.com and learn more about Claire’s start-up at http://www.preteckt.com
Rhodes’ current campaign suggests to “be essential,” and these women have truly become essential to the growth of the startup ecosystem in Memphis. To get involved with Start Co. visit neverstop.co, and to learn more about the growing startup trend in Tennessee visit Launch Tennessee’s website http://launchtn.org