12 May Meet Amanda Tran – Leveling Up as a SheSays Scholar!

We are pleased to share Amanda Tran’s story.
She’s digging in & driving her career forward. Totally inspiring.

Some months ago, I was at home wondering where I was headed in life and feeling down. I felt like I needed to start over but felt trapped by my student loan debt and the fact that I am now nearly 4 years out of college.

I half-heartedly submitted some job applications but knew I just wanted to keep learning and honing my skills while asserting my voice and making an impact outside of a corporate 9 to 5. I remembered hearing about a Boulder Digital Arts scholarship through SheSays Boulder, an award-winning organization running free events for  women in the creative & digital fields. Amidst tears, I poured my heart out on the application form for their women’s mini scholarship.

I wrote about my struggles, my triumphs, and most importantly, about my hopes and dreams for the future. When I received an email from Chris Dalton acknowledging my story and describing my scholarship award from Boulder Digital Arts and SheSays Boulder, I was ecstatic to know that I would have access to workshops and classes to help me on my way to creating and establishing my dream for the world.

On March 8th I met James (now my business partner) for a meet and greet walk near my home office in Broomfield. We walked to a little bench that overlooks the majestic mountains in Boulder and chatted about the things we each feel passionately about and how we each came to live in Colorado. James revealed to me an idea that had recently consumed his waking hours. I loved his idea and saw how it overlapped with my own obsessions.

Over the next couple of months, we researched and explored the areas surrounding this idea and together defined a concept. With James’ analytical yet swift decision-making and my steadfast philosophy in psychology and human-centered design, we agreed to partner up to bring our unique and meaningful concept into fruition. This month we incorporated and are now working hard to structure and fund our company. At the same time, I am becoming more established as a UX consultant, helping other teams build products that will effectively meet their users.

With my mini scholarship credit in mind, I explored the class offerings from Boulder Digital Arts and found the Business Essentials workshop led by William F. Jones, Jr., CPA, CGMA, a managing partner at Anton Collins Mitchell LLP (ACM).

This workshop empowered me to move forward with my new business ventures. Since this attending Business Essentials workshop, my partner and I have incorporated to form our company and I have begun the process for consulting as a limited liability company.

The knowledge and advice I gained from this workshop will be relevant now, upon business formation, and as I grow my businesses.