Women's entrepreneurship

When we last spoke with Jaja Chen in 2020, her business was adapting to survive the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. She and her husband and co-owner Devin started Waco Cha as a pop-up in the Waco Downtown Farmers Market in 2018 and later obtained a food truck. In March 2020, they opened their first storefront in Waco. However, opening in the middle of the pandemic was difficult, especially as they couldn’t open for dine-in until late summer.

As Sylvie Hutchings approached 50, her professional growth began to stall at her corporate job. Feeling like there were fewer opportunities as she got older, the former fraud analyst decided it was finally time to realize her lifelong dream of becoming a small business owner. She searched for a franchise she could purchase so she could focus on running the business rather than worrying about creating her own marketing and building name recognition.

As a first generation immigrant who grew up in a community and household of blue collar entrepreneurs, Lori Shao always had an entrepreneurial spirit. Her parents’ grit and perseverance always inspired her, especially because immigrants often face unique challenges with starting small businesses. Some immigrant entrepreneurs must navigate language barriers and cultural divides, along with difficulty accessing the capital needed to launch and grow a business.

In 2018, Lauren Coleman started The Sursy with the vision to build a bespoke hospitality brand that owns, designs, and operates a portfolio of unique properties across the Southwest. She owns the White Swan Motel in Lakewood, Colorado (to become Loveland House Hotel) and Mellow Moon Lodge, Rodeo Mercantile, and the Moon Bar & Lounge in Del Norte, Colorado.

With a master’s degree in computer science, another master’s degree in information systems and an interdisciplinary PhD, Lisa Kaczmarczyk never planned on becoming an entrepreneur. After working in the tech industry as a developer, she transitioned into academia as a university faculty member teaching computer science where she also gained experience obtaining grants from the National Science Foundation. Lisa thought she would be doing this type of work forever.