Tell us about your background and what brought you to Booth.

I graduated from Ohio State with a strategic communications degree with a focus on marketing.  I have worked at traditional advertising agencies, boutique firms and digital marketing agencies. Very early in my career, I actually applied to Booth’s full-time program but did not make it past the interview stage. In the meantime, I grew in my career and was climbing the corporate ladder. One day, during my morning commute, I noticed a woman in a Booth jacket. We struck up a conversation and scheduled a coffee meeting where she told me all about the Evening/Weekend program.  I wanted to transition out of marketing and knew Booth would expose me to new opportunities. I distinctly remember walking out of my interview and feeling empowered. It was such a different feeling from the first time I applied; I knew myself better this second time around and was confident in what I had to offer to the community. I knew more about Booth and what I wanted to get out of the program. Coming to Booth was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

How did you get on the path to entrepreneurship?

My parents have owned and operated their own business, a wholesale and retail seafood business since 1983. Being part of their business was something I grew up with, from scaling fish to operating the register. After college, I created a social enterprise project while backpacking around the world and I launched a Kickstarter project, a digital Cards Against Humanity inspired by funny social media images. You try all these things, you learn a little more, you fail, you become wiser and you keep going.

What was the genesis of your company, Memento?

While at Booth, I was also attending a lot of weddings.  My idea was based out of these personal experiences and the pain points I had in writing last-minute checks for my friends’ weddings.  Their event registries and other payment solutions felt extremely transactional for these big occasions.  My boyfriend and co-founder, is a software engineer so we started brainstorming a better solution. I had always wanted to be a part of the New Venture Challenge and was planning to join another team until we started working on Memento. We quickly applied for the New Venture Challenge but did not get in. In hindsight it was such a new idea for us and the timing just wasn’t right.

How did you keep moving forward?

Knowing Booth and the reputation it has with entrepreneurship, I focused my studies in this space. I had the pleasure and privilege to take some amazing courses with incredible professors; my favorites include New Venture Strategy, Entrepreneurial Selling and Commercializing Innovation. While I was disappointed that we didn’t get into the New Venture Challenge, I had learned that these types of experiences are part of the entrepreneurial journey. I also received feedback from my peers and learned about the Polsky Accelerator. The Polsky Center provides you with support and the runway to take an idea, build it out and figure out how to accelerate it to the next level. We interviewed, were accepted into the program, and spent ten weeks that summer at Polsky working on our idea.

How did the Polsky Center support you?

The Accelerator comes with a $10,000 SAFE agreement, which enabled us to hire legal support, a designer and interns; we also completed the incorporation process. The dedicated workspace is something you can’t take for granted as an entrepreneur. I was provided with mentors who helped me stay accountable and cheered me on. We had weekly programming with highly successful speakers around areas such as selling, marketing and raising funds. We would meet with our cohort, a group of co-founders and update each other on our companies and work through challenges together. Although the program has officially ended, the camaraderie and support is still there. In fact, I’ve been invited back to the Polsky Center a few times, to showcase our company and its growth.

What’s next for Memento?

Memento adds personality to digital cash gifting. We are building a digital application, which sends a personalized video and message, then follows it with a cash-gift. It is a digital memory bank where you can leave someone a memento on their first birthday and go back 18 years later to watch those videos again. Or send a supportive message for your friend’s charity fundraiser. Right now we’re targeting the wedding industry and are excited to launch later this year!

Learn more about Memento here: https://www.givememento.com/ 

More Stories from Chicago Booth