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@theblueprintmastermind

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🔹A mastermind for entrepreneurs
🌱 Looking to level up their biz + life
✨ By @createcultivate
🎤Hosts: @jaclynrjohnson & @marinaamiddleton
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There’s something I’ve realized through this fundraising journey…

I’m really good at making money.
I’m really good at building relationships.
I’m really good at seeing opportunities before other people do.
And I’m really good at building businesses around real problems that need solving.

What I have not always been good at?
Asking people for money.

As founders, especially women founders, we’re taught to prove ourselves first. To over-deliver. To bootstrap longer. To carry more. To figure it out before we ask for support.

And honestly? I did exactly that.

I built a 20+ year career recruiting and building teams.
Generated $15M+ in lifetime business on 100% commission.
Placed 2,000+ talented professionals.
Built one of the most powerful vetted networks in luxury and consumer brands.

And somewhere along the way, I realized…

The problem wasn’t that I didn’t know how to build value.
The problem was learning how to confidently invite other people into the value I was already creating.

That mindset shift changes everything.

Because CONCÉ is not an idea anymore.
It’s real.
The traction is real.
The market demand is real.
The conversations are real.
The platform is real.
The future is real.

And while fundraising can absolutely accelerate a company, I also want more founders to know this:

Bootstrapping is not failure.
Bootstrapping is proof.

Proof you can build under pressure.
Proof you can sell before scale.
Proof you can lead before validation arrives.
Proof your conviction is stronger than your comfort.

This journey has humbled me, stretched me, scared me, and sharpened me all at once. But I know exactly what I’m building and why it matters.

And if people choose to come along for the ride with me, I take that seriously.

Because I’m not building this so only I win.
I’m building this so everyone connected to the ecosystem wins too.

Founders.
Talent.
Brands.
Investors.
The future of hiring itself.

The future belongs to the people willing to build anyway.
@hirewithconce

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If this journey taught me anything, it’s that no experience is wasted. Every job, setback, and pivot prepared me for this moment. You don’t always see it while you’re in it, but everything you’re doing right now is leading somewhere bigger.

Keep showing up. Keep betting on yourself. ♥️

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📣 SAY IT WITH ME: THE FILTERS ARE FCKING YOU UP 🙃

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I’ll always remember my first hire.
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It was 2003 and I was a mere 23 years old running the hot fast fashion mall store of its time (Shout out to Contempo Casual-which then turned into Wet Seal IYKYK), convinced I’d made it.
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That single hiring decision lit a fire in me: I saw how the right fit unlocks potential for a person and a business.
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Since then, I’ve chased one mission—to help brands build better teams and professionals build better career paths. And I have been building multi-million dollar teams for over 2 decades.
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And when I got the calling to serve my professional community in a bigger way, I did what every scrappy builder does: I made my own stages.

🎙 Webinars on nights and weekends.
🎧 A podcast that turned listeners into leaders.
🗣 Full day events for personal development
💭 Invested in masterminds to build confidence in my voice
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Stage by stage, the audience grew—until the big spotlights found me: Good Morning America and now I’m headed to speak in front of over 2000 people at the Create & Cultivate Festival in LA ✨
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And as I navigate my own professional journey, helping hundreds of brands hire and thousands of professionals get hired, even on the largest platforms, one truth is ringing louder than ever: the hiring system is still broken.
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Candidates are ghosted.
Employers drown in unqualified résumés.
Soft skills—the heartbeat of great culture—get filtered out by cold keyword scans.
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Seeing the problem on both sides for 13 years as a top agency recruiter, I’m not waiting for someone else to fix it. I’m cooking up something exciting coming soon that will save time, money and resources for businesses and fill a massive white space for job seekers that doesn’t exist at this time, nor ever has. ✨

Because the future of hiring must be:
Human-first – empathy, transparency, and space for potential.
Solution-driven – clear bottlenecks, measurable outcomes.
Tech-powered – AI as a co-pilot, not a gatekeeper.
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If you’re a company tired of lost time and talent—or a professional ready to be truly seen—DM me, and I’ll send you a special link to connect with me.
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I’m building the next stage where hiring works for everyone.

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Officially a graduate of @theblueprintmastermind from @createcultivate 🎉

Over the past six months, I’ve been part of a powerhouse group of women committed to growing their businesses and themselves through community, continued education, and unfiltered support.

When I joined in January, my only goal was to make a goal. Well, kinda. I came into the new year feeling like my feet were in quicksand, reaching for any kind of life raft. Running your own business is MESSY. There’s no roadmap. And I desperately needed one.A few of my biggest takeaways:

👩🏼‍💼 Strengthened my business acumen through shared resources and honest conversations. No sugar coating advice was happening here!

🎙️ Got more comfortable with public speaking by sharing highs and lows during our monthly calls.

📣 Pitching! Pitching myself, the business – pitching it all.

🗃️ Built a clean, streamlined backend system to elevate our client experience thanks to the smart women in the group who shared their keys to success.

👾 Evolved how I talk about my business—because if people don’t know you exist, they can’t hire you.

💼 Learned more about PR, consumer goods, venture capital, and go-to-market strategy from all the brilliant founders.

🌈 Most importantly: I was deeply inspired, constantly, by the women in this group who are building incredible things and challenging what’s possible. This experience gave me the confidence to dream bigger, build smarter, and keep showing up — even when the road is messy.

Thank you to @marinaamiddleton, @jaclynrjohnson and @cyndiramirez for the support, mentorship and laughs over the last few months. And to my cohort who were vulnerable, honest and inspiring at every step of the way. You all made a lasting impact 💫

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Feel like you’re the only one struggling as a manager?

You’re not.

You’ve just been made to feel that way. 🙃

This week on The Grey Areas Podcast, I’m joined by @LiaGarvin — 3x bestselling author and expert in team ops who’s led teams at Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Bank of America.

Known as the Team Whisperer, Lia breaks down why trying to lead in isolation always backfires — and what to do instead.

From skipped feedback to botched backfills to full-on burnout, she shares practical ways to lead without losing your mind.

🎙 Episode’s live. You don’t have to white-knuckle your way through this!

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Real talk: If you want to grow—really grow—you need to be around women who push you, challenge you, and remind you of your power.

The kind of women who will ask the hard questions, celebrate your wins like their own, and hold space when it feels heavy.
Entrepreneurship isn’t meant to be a solo journey.

Find the ones who spark ideas, stretch your vision, and support your evolution—personally and professionally.
That’s where the magic (and momentum) lives.

#WomenInBusiness #EntrepreneurLife #BusinessBesties #PowerOfCommunity #FemaleFounders #SupportSystem #BusinessGrowth #SheMeansBusiness

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Quick trip to nyc to see my @theblueprintmastermind girlies & get some inspo 🎀☕️💻

Also, I love @amtrak sm. I want to just take it around the country now

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Guess who’s back, back again! Amazing whirlwind trip to NYC to yap with my @theblueprintmastermind / @createcultivate crew! These ladies have given me life the last few months! AND I finally got to check out @chillhousesoho (although we missed @cyndiramirez). We even had a chance to pop by @popup.grocer to grab some @drinkbashi to support our sister in blueprint @funibitch. This morning, we squeezed in a @jackswifefreda visit, per usual. 🩵 love this life, love these ladies, love this city. Back to Raleigh we go.

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Q1 recap 🎀 and celebrating FOUR years in Boston w @_ahmedrashad_

& hit ONE YEAR fully i-n-d-e-p-e-n-d-e-n-t building @thesunnysideupstudio 🥲🙏🏼

The last three months we spent more time on our couch pumping out work on a Friday rather than the club (pour one out) and leaning into our biz. But we mixed it up on the slopes & cooking, ALOT. Grateful for the slow, soft girl season and ready for spring 🌷

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It’s #internationalwomensday so I am celebrating all the unhinged moments with so many women in my life + just my own unhinged moments. Here’s to living loud and proud! We quite literally bring life into the world and light up every room!!! Thank you to all of the women who have made me me!!!

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February let me slow down, reflect, and enjoy celebrating another trip around the sun.

Plus, I broke my social media hiatus, everyone gave advice on how to stay moisturized in freezing climates, and I’ve gotten to connect with incredible business women who lift each other up!

It feels really good to be back in spaces that fuel both my business goals and my soul.

What communities are lighting you up this year? Drop yours in the comments - always looking to expand my circle of powerhouse women!

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