COFFEE & CODED Female Founders Series: #3 Courtney Brand
Meet Courtney Brand. Courtney is the Founder of thelighthouse.us — a peer-to-peer platform that empowers young professionals to feel confident and inspired in their careers. On thelighthouse.us, you get personalized career advice directly from young professionals who are in the industries you want to be in. Courtney is a Georgetown Grad and formerly worked in Digital Strategy Consulting at PwC in NYC and Shanghai, China.
Find out why we’re so inspired by her. Read her story below!
Fast Facts:
HQ/Location: New York, NY
Founding Date: 2018
Fav App: WeChat
Female Hero(s): The amazing Female Founders I meet on a day to day basis!
Fav Podcast(s): How I Built This with Guy Raz and Ted Radio Hour.
From Courtney’s Perspective:
What’s the Biggest Lesson You’ve Learned During Your First Year of Business?
“I learned that you have to be vulnerable as an entrepreneur. You need to show all of your cards. Be ready to ask [for] and receive help. When I first started my business, I still carried a lot of corporate ways from my former career and had a hard time not knowing all the answers. I had to embrace not knowing everything.”
What Advice Do You Have For Other Entrepreneurs?”
“Do at least one thing to push the idea into something that exists outside of you. When you come up with a new idea, you need to get it outside of your head in some fashion. Write it down, update your LinkedIn, or create a website. This will help you visualize the idea and keep yourself accountable for making progress on it.”
What’s Been Your Biggest #WIN so far?
“thelighthouse was selected as one of the start-ups to be featured at the Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit this Fall in Boston. That was pretty exciting!”
What Excites You Most About Being An Entrepreneur?
“What excites me the most is when I’m sharing the mission of thelighthouse and someone tells me they wish they had [our service] or that they want to tell a friend. That’s what lets me know I’m being successful.”
