Jordan Carlisle
CEO of Strengthen, LLC

Age: 26
Hometown: Little Rock
Degree(s): University of Missouri—BS in Business Administration and BA in International Studies
Certifications: Six Sigma White Belt

How did you decide to become an entrepreneur?
In my last few semesters of college, I realized there is no better time to start a technology company than now.  That’s when I began immersing myself in the tech community. I went to events like Startup Weekend and 1 Million Cups in Little Rock, and sought after mentorships from designers, programmers, investors and business people at The Venture Center, Innovate Arkansas and Innovation Hub in Little Rock.

How did you get started?
Once I saved six months of living expenses and validated the core problem my new business would solve, I resigned from my role with the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce to start Strengthen, a digital solution for coaches to create workouts, share them with athletes and analyze data in real-time across all their devices.

Leaving my day job was a scary decision, but I’m learning more about business, technology and myself than I have my entire life. Now I get to turn that knowledge into creating software people love.

What is your job like?
As CEO, my job is to champion Strengthen’s mission, culture and growth. Early stage startups are faced with a million unknowns, so managing my days with those three things in mind helps me stay focused.

Why do you love entrepreneurship?
Humans are natural problem-solvers and entrepreneurship is essentially just that. Since we can connect more quickly using the Internet, we’ve seen insanely rapid innovation. It’s exciting to think about what that might lead to in the future.

Your advice to students aspiring to be an entrepreneur:
Find at least three mentors: a personal relationship with someone doing something that interests you, a living successful entrepreneur you can read everything about, a historical leader you can read about. These will change over time, but you should always be learning from them.

Your advice to high schoolers as they prep for college and careers:
Pay attention in class. Complete your schoolwork as fast as possible. Don’t worry about being perfect.

Becoming an Entrepreneur

Why it’s hot: People who start their own businesses make some really important contributions to the overall economy. The Small Business Administration reports entrepreneurs employ half of the country’s nongovernment workforce. That’s a big deal!

The Workload: Seventy percent of small businesses are owned and operated by a single person. That means long days (and nights).

The Major: Business, Marketing

The Paycheck: The sky’s the limit! Because you’re in it for yourself, the pay can vary widely. However, be prepared to invest a lot of your profits into growing your business, which can put a dent in your earnings at first.