Christi Nonnemaker '09
Position: Director, Product Management at eSalon.com
Industry: Internet
Lesson Learned: Not every day is going to be easy, but every day does present new opportunities to create the life you want to live.
Immediately after graduating from LMU, I started a boutique advertising and communications company focused on group text messaging, direct-mail marketing and printing. The group text message portion of the business was a new technology at the time and the possibilities felt endless: distributing mobile coupons, sending out event reminders, keeping in touch with suppliers/wholesalers, providing instant home listing, etc. I successfully sold the company about one year after starting it.
I also had the opportunity to join an alternative energy startup as interim CFO where I worked on the company’s financial models and investment prospectus. Both endeavors were personally and professionally rewarding and were excellent opportunities for learning and growth. Next, I worked as a technology consultant at Accenture, a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company.
LMU’s entrepreneurship program really prepared me for the real world by simulating situations that business leaders encounter outside of the classroom. I learned many invaluable skills from the semester-long business plan project in Professor David Choi's class and had the unique opportunity to present my ideas to a panel of esteemed business professionals and entrepreneurs. That class really taught me how to think critically and encouraged me to make my own work even stronger.