I would never again be as energetic, young, risky and free of obligations as when I made that decision.

I will never forget when I made the decision to focus on creating my own company. I had just finished school. I had limited financial resources (only $10,000 in my bank account) but a huge amount of knowledge, a strong network and a passion for my idea. I decided to focus on the power of hope that it would all work out, rather than the power of fear.

I decided to lean in because life is too short to follow someone else's dream and time is the only thing that we can never get back. I would never again be as energetic, young, risky and free of obligations as when I made that decision: At 28 years old, after graduating from school, I was not yet married or a mother.

I worked hard and my idea took shape and evolved into a product. That inspired my now-teammates to jump in and follow me. I realized that leading by example is the most powerful tool when building a company. My start-up is now up and running and the satisfaction of creating something from scratch is a-m-a-z-i-n-g!

Becoming an entrepreneur is an experience that shapes your character and attitude on life. It's tough, but there are so many perks that come with it, including choosing the people that you want to work with. The fact that there are not many female entrepreneurs and that they are not highlighted as much as they should be needs to change. (I would love to see a movie about a woman's startup story, similar to The Social Network, the movie about Facebook.) In the future, I aspire to bring up my daughter in a world where successful women entrepreneurs are on women's magazine covers more often than a lingerie model or a reality TV starlet.

Becoming an entrepreneur has changed me. I've become a more patient, logical, creative and above all, focused and persistent person.