Five years. How is that possible?!

I’ve spent the past couple of weeks reflecting on this milestone, trying to determine the best way to summarize what this year has looked like: what I’ve learned, outgrown, mourned, and celebrated. I’ve heard that the first five years of building a business are the ‘survival years’ - can you create a model that works? What about one that’s sustainable, but agile? Nimble but ready to scale? Purposeful, but disciplined? Every day, month, quarter, and year is an opportunity for trial and error… and when you’re lucky, success. 

The most surprising thing I’ve learned over the past five years is how much more entrepreneurship is than just surviving. The experience of founding and building Indie has been one of the most introspective experiences of my life. It has forced me to look at my strengths and weaknesses through an objective lens; to push myself to overcome discomforts and distractions on behalf of the greater purpose we are looking to pursue as a team. 

This year has been a rollercoaster. Just like in life, not everything is always rainbows and butterflies, and sometimes, every once in a while, the perfect storm of challenges has you questioning if you can really make this work. 

And the answer is, yes. OF COURSE you can make this work!!! If you’ve never felt challenged, how would you ever feel the joy that comes with overcoming those challenges? Hitting certain walls or blockers encourages us to think differently, make changes, and rebuild. This is where entrepreneurialism is at its best, in spite of the discomfort that comes along with being in these moments. 

Year five has taught me more than the first four years combined. Due to the changes we’ve made, our business and team is now well positioned for the next five years. We’ve started thinking about Indie’s journey as a marathon instead of a sprint, and I believe we are about to hit a runner’s high that accompanies the kind of flow state I dream about. Despite the ups and downs of this year, we are now a hybrid company based in Raleigh and NYC, led and run by a group of 15 wonderful, brilliant women. We placed on .Inc’s fastest growing privately held companies in the mid-Atlantic and have participated in and kicked-off work with some amazing brands.   

I look forward to what’s next with the utmost gratitude for the journey to date, and more importantly, for the people who have been in it with me: my friends and family who always act as an interested sounding board (when I’m sure sometimes they are not), my incredible group of mentors who I admire endlessly, and my Indie teammates who inspire me every day through their willingness to always push forward, improve, and create. So with that, excelsior, my friends. Can’t wait for what’s next.