Episode 26: Why I Left Wall Street to Launch a Startup w/ Isa Watson, Founder of Envested
In This Episode, Minority Trailblazer Isa shares;
01
Why she left Wall Street to launch her own startup
02
3 Steps to finding mentorship
03
How to raise capital for your business
Isa (pronounced eye-suh) grew up in Chapel Hill and spent the last several years in the Northeast U.S. and abroad in London and Hong Kong. She started her career as a chemist for the metabolic diseases group at Pfizer before pivoting over to the world of business. After getting her MBA, Isa worked as a VP of Strategy and Business Development at JPMorgan Chase before deciding that her real interest was in applying her medley of skills towards problems affecting local communities. She founded Envested in 2015 to merge her various experiences into one awesome company.
Some of her prior accolades include the “40 Under 40” Award from the Robert Toigo Foundation and 1st place in the Annual Business Plan Competition at Harvard Business School with Vaxess Technologies. When she isn’t telling people how to pronounce her name, Isa is playing piano like Chopin’s apprentice, attempting to drink her weight in tea, or geeking out over all things data. Isa has earned an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an MS in Pharmacology from Cornell, and a BS in Chemistry from Hampton University. She serves on the Board of Directors for Kidznotes and is a very active member of the MIT Sloan Executive Alumni Board.