I was born an entrepreneur. I was born in Romania, only a few years before the fall of the communist regime. My grandparents made their money from a home-based business making and selling fur coats on the black market in Romania, as a communist economy does not allow legal ownership of businesses. Soon after the fall of the communist government, my father started a bottling plant; this business thrived for a few years until large soft drink manufacturers identified Romania as a viable market. In 1997, my mother won the green card lottery, and myself, my younger sister, older brother, and parents moved from Romania to Chicago with $3,000 and no understanding of the English language. After working as janitors, housekeepers, and massage therapists, my parents started their first company, a mortgage brokerage firm. In a nutshell, entrepreneurship was in my blood. In 2006, at the age of 18, I took all of the money I had saved and instead of buying a car, I started my first business. I can’t say that it was a success (in reality, it never quite took off), but it was definitely a learning experience. After experiencing cash flow issues and maxing out every credit card I had, I realized I needed to learn more. So I decided to close the business and focus on my collegiate studies. After working some traditional banking jobs out of college, I decided the prospects of working with my family looked better; my father had started a trucking and logistics company after the housing crash of 2007. Not fully satisfied working in only one company or industry, I branched out into accounting and consulting in 2014, winning numerous awards and accolades. After a brief respite in 2018 to travel the world and further my professional studies, I obtained the CPA and CMA designations in 2019, and look forward to many exciting new opportunities.