I'm the Co-Founder and COO of Mohop, a Chicago-based footwear manufacturing company working at the forefront of the "Fourth Industrial Revolution". Mohop is creating a better way to make shoes by applying emerging digital manufacturing processes to the centuries-old craft of shoemaking: bringing footwear production to the 21st century in a way that's better, faster and cheaper than traditional mass production. My commitment to creating a cutting-edge, scalable organization, combined with my background as a creative, self-reliant problem-solver has helped land Mohop on two national top-10 startup lists.My upbringing in a small town in central Illinois put me on a path to self development and personal achievement. Raised by a single mother who owned and operated her own small business, I grew up with the knowledge that through hard work and determination, one could accomplish anything. I earned my degree from Chicago's Columbia College where I studied film and video production; it was a perfect blend of creative thinking and hands-on learning. Upon graduating, I joined UPS - my "Master Program" in hard work, self-reliance and problem solving. Although I was moving up the ranks, I still had the entrepreneurial spirit within and when I met Mohop founder Annie Mohaupt in spring 2012, it came rushing to the surface.Nearly immediately, I knew I wanted to be a part of Mohop's exciting innovations. In my spare time, I found myself assisting with nearly all aspects of the business including machinery maintenance, event management, lifting heavy things and providing organizational and managerial advice in many aspects of the business. In 2014, I left UPS to join the Mohop team full time as COO, excited to take a leadership role in creating scalable operational processes that will revolutionize the footwear manufacturing industry.