What up?! I'm Kristen, and that picture represents me in college.

I know, embarrassing.

Somewhere in between hitting the bars and partying with my friends I started a company by mistake. What started as a way to make some money in college quickly turned into a legit business that employed more than 500 people last year.

When I started my business at 21 (I'm 27 now) I had no idea what I was doing. One day I woke up and I was the boss of hundreds of employees my own age. From doing keg stands with them to never firing anyone because I was afraid to hurt their feelings, it's safe to say that College Kristen sucked at leadership.

I've learned (and grown) a lot over the last six years. In the past when people have asked me about my journey, I found myself afraid to share the real challenges I went through as a young leader. I was embarrassed and humiliated about the way I used to run my company so I never told the “real” story.

Now I realize that it's my responsibility to share it. In addition to running my company, I spend a lot of time speaking on college campuses about my leadership failures and what we can learn from them (Watch my TEDx talk - over 1 million views).

If I can go from being the worst example of a leader to where I am now, I know you can too!