Who or what is your inspiration in business?

My Mom, Sarah Bodge, who passed in 2023. I grew up watching her run her own business, which was a beauty boutique on Threadneedle Alley in Newburyport, MA. She went on to create programs at other places of work. My two family members have always been inspired by her tenacity and creativity and we wanted create something in her honor to lift up other entrepreneurs.

How do you stay motivated?

Helping other entrepreneurs drives me and it’s an incredible feeling to continue my Mom’s legacy. We just announced our first three winners in mid February on what would’ve been mom‘s birthday, and it’s been so exciting to get to know the winners and to connect them to our 20+ midlife entrepreneurs, who have a variety of specialties, including legal matters, public relations, graphic design, etc.

What would you do with the $25,000?

The three annual $5000 grants are funded by myself and my two co-founders. When we opened grant applications in late 2025, being new we hoped for maybe 50 applications, but instead we received over 450. Obviously, we knew we were onto something! If we were to win the $25,000, we would use that money to fund additional grants, and create programs where we can help more people than just the grant winners.