Connect Who or what is your inspiration in business?

My inspiration is the moment I found myself laid off, mid-career, with new ideas worth pursuing but no one to turn to for real guidance. I didn't need a guru, nor a course. Just an honest conversation with someone who'd been there, who had walked that path. Because that kind of advice is the only guidance that actually lands. That moment, and every person navigating a transition who feels the same isolation, is why Yes15 exists. They are my daily reminder that what I'm building matters.

How do you stay motivated?

I'm a 50-year-old marketer with no tech background. I built Yes15 with AI as my co-founder and conviction as my budget. Some days when the code breaks and I'm checking it line by line over a stray bracket, that frustration fades when I think about the 22-year-old deciding on two career paths or the 50-year-old rebuilding from scratch and thinking it's too late. That thought— that one conversation could change someone's trajectory — is the only motivation I've ever needed.

What would you do with the $25,000?

Yes15 is built on a simple truth: the right conversation at the right moment changes everything. The $25K would accelerate that in three ways. First, grow both sides of the community: more Seekers with real questions, more Guides with lived experience. Second, build AI-powered matching so Seekers find the right Guide instantly, not randomly. Third, invest in the stories that make people trust the platform before they ever book a call. This isn't a redesign budget. It's a momentum budget.