When Personal Experience Turns Into a Passion for Change

What happens when a personal experience becomes the spark for building a business with a bigger purpose? For LP, one experience in her early career planted a conviction that would eventually lead her to create Houstory.

In this episode of the EmpowerHER Business Podcast, Linette Cottrell sits down with LP (Lauren Pan), The Intentional Leader, strategic HR leader, entrepreneur, and founder of Houstory. LP shares the personal experiences and career journey that shaped her passion for change—from witnessing the impact of systemic unfairness while working with at-risk youth, to spending a decade in strategic Human Resources and recruiting, and ultimately channeling those experiences into her most intentional venture yet. This is a conversation about entrepreneurship, authenticity, leadership, and what happens when you build a business around something you deeply believe needs to change.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How a personal experience in LP’s early career sparked the idea for Houstory.
• How her decade in strategic HR and recruiting refined the way she thinks about systems, people, and business.
• Why authenticity and intentionality are at the heart of how LP leads and builds.
• How LP turned a deeply held conviction into an entrepreneurial venture designed to create meaningful change.
• What entrepreneurs can learn from building a business that is rooted in personal experience, values, and purpose.

👉 Follow the podcast and share it with a sister who needs this conversation. We’re on a mission to help Black women make it through the first five years in business — and thrive far beyond them.

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