Follow along in the LEC interns interview with the founding entrepreneur of Embodied, Gina Roethle. Gina is junior at UWM studying Biochemistry, and is driven by her passion for truth seeking and joy. Gina also participated in the 2020 Startup Challenge cohort, which concluded May 8th at the fifth annual UWM Innovator’s Expo. Gina won staff pick at the Innovator’s Expo for her work on her startup. Check out Gina’s website here.
MJ: What has your entrepreneurial experience with the LEC been like?
Gina: Inspiring. It has provided me with a community of creative individuals who inspire me to look at situations in new ways.
MJ: What advice would you give to people seeking to start startup companies in fields that require credentials (food, massage, herbalism, dance, etc.)?
Gina: Spend some time trying out these fields before investing a large amount of money in credentialing. Just because you have passion for a particular field does not mean you will love the business side of it. For me, the most valuable takeaways from attending multiple certification courses were always the interactions with the community involved.
MJ: You came into the Startup Challenge with a startup already formed. Knowing what you know now, if you could go back in time and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?
Gina: It doesn’t matter, I wouldn’t have listened or really understood. I wish I would have been more aware of my mental blocks so that I could clearly see the path of working to attain certain desired qualities in my life and myself rather than dismissing possibilities because I had a fixed belief of who I was and what I was capable of.
MJ: Is there anything else you would like to share?
Gina: I tend to spread myself thin because I enjoy working on so many things. Lately my focuses include: making dance an integral part of my life again, creating info-graphics surrounding the realm of nutrition, marketing Embodied’s herbal blends for sale on e-commerce, being present with my three year old son and dog, remembering how to play, researching chemical analytical methods in preparation of performing nutritional analysis on different herbal extracts, practicing to achieve new yoga positions (inverted postures, aerial movements, and new levels of flexibility like handstands, muscle ups and the splits). I am hoping my business will become an outlet for me to connect with others who share my interests or mindset.