- I took my first international flight at 6 weeks old and had moved four times by age 5.
- My nomadic childhood wasn't a series of disruptions — it was the ultimate entrepreneurial boot camp.
- The military mindset I developed as a kid helped me launch a successful startup in uncertain times.
As a child of the military, I learned early that change wasn't just a possibility — it was an inevitability.
Logging in two countries and four moves before the age of 5 will teach you that. Attending a different elementary school nearly every single year will ingrain it in you.
Looking back, I now recognize that my nomadic childhood wasn't a series of disruptions — it was the ultimate entrepreneurial boot camp.
Every new school, every carefully packed box, and every farewell taught me invaluable lessons in thriving amid uncertainty — lessons that have proven instrumental in helping me navigate the tumultuous waters of startup life.
How I used my military mindset to launch a successful health startup
My journey into adaptability began before I could even walk. At just 6 weeks old, I embarked on my first international flight, cradled in my mother's arms as she deftly managed my nonverbal 5-year-old sister and a mountain of luggage.
This was long before smartphones and Google Translate, and watching my mother face the challenges of living in a foreign country instilled in me a fundamental belief: no obstacle is insurmountable.
It's a mindset that has served me well in the unpredictable world of entrepreneurship.
In early 2020, at age 35, just as the pandemic disrupted traditional healthcare models, I co-founded MyUTI, a startup focused on accessible, at-home urinary tract infection testing.
Our logic was simple: if people could swab their noses for COVID-19 at home, surely there was a better way to handle UTIs — the second-most common infection in the US.
Launching a healthcare startup without external funding in such uncertain times didn't feel impossible; it felt like exactly the kind of puzzle I had grown accustomed to solving.
For example, growing up, each military move forced me not just to react to change, but to anticipate it. When my co-founder and I started pitching our idea for MyUTI, it was to rooms filled with predominantly men who often viewed our focus as "too niche."
Instead of backing down, we doubled down, leaned directly into the skepticism, and started proactively addressing objections at the start of our pitches.
The result: we secured a grant from the state of Colorado, validating both our strategy and its importance to the market.
Getting our product to market didn't mean the challenges ended though
Next, we had to build a marketing strategy that complied with stringent healthcare regulations.
My instinct isn't to dwell on difficulties but to immediately shift into solution mode, asking, "How do we make this work?"
We chose to prioritize high-quality educational content for social media to boost organic traffic and consumer trust, which helped establish our brand's credibility in the very noisy digital health landscape.
That proactive, solutions-focused mindset — honed through years of military-driven transitions — enabled me to successfully navigate uncharted territory and ultimately build a thriving business in uncertain times.
Today, the business helps thousands navigate their healthcare.
For all the difficulties and bittersweet goodbyes, I wouldn't trade my military upbringing for anything
Today, as I face the myriad challenges of co-founding and running a healthcare startup, I draw strength from my upbringing and more recent achievements.
In moments of doubt, I remind myself that I've navigated uncharted territories countless times before.
Whether it was switching to a new school and quickly learning local social customs as a kid or code-switching from customer interactions to pitching for grant funding in my current role.
I take a deep breath, embrace the unknown, and trust in my ability to find innovative solutions.
My military upbringing has shaped me into the entrepreneur I am today, equipping me with a unique set of skills that no business school could replicate.
