Alumni Insights

Jan. 17

Dubbed “The Startup Whisperer” by startup community enthusiasts, Christopher Heivly is a life-long entrepreneur and multifaceted investor who spent forty years working as, for and with entrepreneurs. Prior to becoming a successful startup community builder and consultant, Chris co-founded MapQuest-which sold to AOL for $1.2 billion. He currently serves as a managing director of The Startup Factory and is a highly sought-after public speaker. His first book, Build the Fort: Why 5 Simple Lessons You Learned As a 10 Year-Old Can Set You Up for Startup Success, was inspired by his widely acclaimed TEDx talk in 2014.

Mar. 13

Lauren Truslow is a serial entrepreneur who loves business and the thrill of creating businesses centered around women. She opened her first small business in 2014 – barre3 Columbia. Barre3 is a boutique fitness studio that combines strength training, cardiovascular training and mindfulness. Shortly after, she opened her second location in the Lake Murray area of South Carolina. She loves fitness, teaching her Barre 3 classes and her community.

In 2017 she launched a new brand, The Nail barre after being tired of going to nail salons that were dirty, had poor customer service and rushed her through the service. And of course, she then opened a second location in Lake Murray a year later.

Her latest venture is The Plan, influenced by her love of a paper planner and it’s ability to keep her organized with her four kiddos and all of her businesses. After never finding one that had everything she needed, she created a beautiful planner with meal prep planning, hydration accountability, fitness accountability, home organization tasks and a “me plan” to make sure we take care of ourselves.

Jun. 26

Julia Watkins grew up in Charleston, SC and attended University of South Carolina for both undergrad and graduate school. In 2015, she graduated with a B.A. in Communications and started her career as a college admissions counselor. In 2017, she returned to Columbia as a student and worked as a graduate assistant in the Career Center. She graduated with her M.Ed in Higher Education and Student Affairs in December 2018. In 2022, Julia and her husband, Mac, moved to Charlotte, NC where Julia began studying for the North Carolina real estate exam.

She is now a residential Broker/Realtor® with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and loves it. She specializes in helping first time home buyers understand the process of building wealth through real estate and determining if buying property is right for them at the time.

Aug. 28

Amber Guyton is the owner of Blessed Little Bungalow, an interior design firm based in Atlanta, Georgia. A passionate champion for personal finance, she believes that interior design should not be a luxury reserved for the privileged few and is committed to democratizing the industry one home at a time. Amber has served dozens of clients across the country designing colorful, affordable and aesthetically pleasing residential and commercial projects. As an interior designer, content creator, influencer, product curator and now a wallpaper designer with her latest collaboration with Mitchell Black. Amber has been featured and recognized by notable organizations and publications such as HGTV Magazine, Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, Forbes, Ebony, Apartment Therapy, Domino, Hunker, Real Simple, Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles, Atlanta Magazine’s HOME, Good Housekeeping and many more.

Sept. 6

Rob Samuels has been making his mark through the land as an 8th generation distiller. As Managing Director of the Maker’s Mark Distillery, Rob’s mission is to make Star Hill Farm a sustainable, culturally rich and endearing homeplace. All while meeting the world’s increased demand and ensuring every drop of Maker’s® is made the same way as the first.

Sept. 25

Nicki Nash is the Chief Marketing Officer and Spokesperson of Founders Federal Credit Union. Her career at Founders began in 1994 in the marketing department. Since then, she has served as Vice President of Business Development and Senior Vice President of Marketing. She began her role as Chief Marketing Officer in 2003.

Angie graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Journalism and Public Relations. She continued her education at the New School in NYC receiving a masters in Nonprofit Management with a Post-Master’s certificate in Organizational Development.

Professionally, Angie spent almost two decades in fundraising. She has worked with a variety of organizations including the University of Virginia School of Architecture Foundation in Charlottesville, V.A., S.C. Association of School Administrators and WREN in Columbia S.C. and Child Help Partnership in New York City.

Now, Angie runs her own company, Cardinal Coaching, and is a Gallup’s CliftonsStrength certified coach facilitating workshops and one-on-one coaching to maximize the potential of individuals and teams.

Angie takes pride in serving her community. Currently, she sits on the board of the National Panhellenic Conference and Peter Stuyvesant Little League in addition to serving on the USC Alumni Association’s Board of Governors.

Originally from Columbia, South Carolina, Angie currently resides in New York City with her husband and two children, Anna Claire and JC.

Nov. 15

Roberts oversees National Media Group, a family of companies focusing on providing strategic communications and advertising services to corporate, political, association and issue-advocacy clients. He is also a founding partner in Purple Strategies, a leading reputation management firm based in Washington, D.C.

In 2009, Roberts founded the Washington Media Scholars Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides academic, scholarship and career opportunities to undergraduate students nationwide who are interested in the public affairs advertising industry. Since the organization was founded, more than $2 million has been raised to benefit more than 530 students, 34 from the College of Information and Communications at the University of South Carolina. A native of Kershaw, South Carolina, Roberts received a degree in journalism from the University of South Carolina in 1976. In 2004, he was named a Distinguished Alumnus by the School of Journalism. He is also a founding member of the College of Information and Communications Dean’s Leadership Council.