Several years ago, I had the honor of attending a Nashville ATHENA Awards nominee reception, where I met Beth Chase.
We were immediately met with a sense of mutual deja vu, the unmistakable feeling we had met previously and spent a few minutes trying to figure out whether it was through business or a charitable event that had brought us together.
Several years ago, when starting out as an entrepreneur in Nashville, I was honored to receive nominations for business awards from the Nashville Business Journal and others in our community.
Quite honestly, it was a bit intimidating to walk into a grand ballroom with others who were so much further along, even as I realized how validating it was for the people who took a chance and believed in our vision.
But one thing I will always remember about those evenings is Cordia Harrington.
Over 20 years ago, when I was an early entrepreneur, the EC didn’t exist.
So, instead of scheduling an advisor meeting or joining a program, I took the leap: I cold-called several entrepreneurs and asked if they would meet with me.
One of the entrepreneurs who quickly said yes was Darrell Freeman, the founder of Zycron, an information technology solutions company based in Brentwood that had achieved massive success. Even though Darrell didn’t know me, he invited me to Zycron's offices. He gave me an operations primer on starting and running a low-overhead business. But perhaps most impactfully, he talked with me about the importance of networking and developing personal relationships.
Many years ago, I was dating a man, who later became my husband, who chose Nashville as the city he wanted to start and build his career. When I questioned this decision, he told me, “There’s a man running for mayor, Phil Bredesen, and I truly believe he will transform this city.”