One Year In: What I’ve Learned About Building a Business (and Community)
A year ago, I took the leap.
I’d just wrapped up a three-year stint at an amazing company that challenged me professionally and grew me personally. It wasn’t in my plan to leave when I did, but biotech doesn’t always care about your plans. Science is trial and error, and sometimes good things don’t work out the way you’d hoped.
For the first time in my career, I was knocked off the path I’d carefully mapped. At first, all I saw was failure — a five-year plan cut short. I told friends and trusted colleagues it felt like standing in the middle of a field, surrounded by fog.
Clarity came from an old memory. When I was interviewing for the Head of HR role at my last company, I told a mentor I wasn’t ready to be “head” of anything. I was too young, too inexperienced, too timid… Pick an insecurity, I had it. They told me, If you wait until you’re ready, you’ll eventually convince yourself to never start.
That advice felt urgent again. The fog lifted just enough to see a new path. It was unpaved, not well-defined, but it was there. I didn’t have a compass, so I built one.
At first, Compass HR Advisors was just an idea; a laptop and a quiet conviction to keep doing the work I love in an industry I love. Slowly, it became real. Registering an LLC. Building a website. Learning how to talk about our services without cringing at the word “sell.”
Year one hasn’t followed a master plan, and it certainly hasn’t been perfect. There have been pitches that didn’t land, outreach emails that went unanswered, and the occasional day where my only co-worker was my dog (who, frankly, seems over the watercooler talk). But it’s been equal parts exhilarating and humbling. I wasn’t “ready” to start my own business, but I’m proud I did it anyway.
So far, I’ve had the privilege of helping early-stage teams through some of their most pivotal moments — first hires, expansions, restructures no one wants but everyone survives. I’ve seen teams rally around shared purpose and watched individuals step into roles they once doubted they could fill. Those moments make the work worth doing.
And, as with the rest of my career, many of you reading this helped make Compass possible. Clients, peers, friends, mentors — the people who put my name forward in rooms I wasn’t in, who believed I could add value before I’d signed my first retainer. Your trust and referrals gave Compass a running start, and I don’t take that lightly. Every conversation, every introduction, every coffee catch-up has shaped this business more than any marketing plan or spreadsheet ever could.
Here’s what I know after one year:
Sometimes Plan Z turns out to be the best plan.
People will forget your pitch deck, but they’ll remember how you showed up for them.
Business is rarely just business. It’s human, and messy, and better for it.
To everyone who has trusted me with your teams, referred me to a colleague, or simply cheered me on — thank you. Compass is still here because you are.
Year two is already underway, and I’m excited for what’s next. If we haven’t connected yet, or if it’s been a while, my inbox is always open. Because the best part of this work isn’t just the projects we take on. It’s the people we get to do them with.