For Illinois Wesleyan University women's track and field junior hurdler Marissa Hagler, a two-week notice to fly to Cambridge, Massachusetts. to present her brand at the inaugural Female Founder's Circle hosted by Harvard University's student organization, the Harvard Women in Entrepreneurship, was never going to be an obstacle.
The opportunity to introduce her podcast, "Hurdling Through Hard Times," and get immediate feedback from respected trailblazers has motivated Hagler to continue building her business that centers around her passion for mental health wellness.
Hagler's connection to the conference came from Illinois Wesleyan's Director of The Petrick Idea Center, John Quarton, and the Titan New Venture Challenge. Quarton was contacted by a Chicago-native Harvard student who heard about the Petrick Idea Center, asking if he knew of any female entrepreneurs who would be interested in applying for the conference. Quarton encouraged Hagler to apply early in the spring semester and on April 12, Hagler would be on her first solo trip, headed to Harvard University.
The one-day event included workshops on building confidence as an entrepreneur, how to excel as a female in the field and tips and tricks on how to stand out. The conference featured keynote speaker Cindy Gallop, a brand and business innovator, consultant, coach and founder of two successful companies. Gallop's keynote speech focused on how to use your resources and presented the mantra: "It is not who you know, but who knows you."
"That was probably my biggest takeaway," said Hagler. "It is the people who find out about you, not necessarily the people I know. I can say I know all of these people but if they don't remember me, then it does not matter."
Another key feature of the conference was a three-minute pitch competition to a trio of judges who provided immediate feedback to the 25 aspiring entrepreneurs who received the invitation. "The three judges were all in business, were CEOs or founders and one of them even worked for Michelle Obama," Hagler exclaimed.
"A lot of what they told me was about my business plan, because obviously as an elementary education major, I'm not as familiar with the business side which was one of the main reasons I went [to the conference]. I know how to do marketing, the social media side of things, and getting people to want what I have, but it's more the behind-the-scenes work that I cannot easily find on the internet."
Hagler began her podcast "Hurdling through hard times" in the fall of 2021 as an outlet to help her navigate the transition from high school to college freshman. "I wanted to mainly spread awareness of what I was going through with the anxiety, depression and the emotions that I could not put words to, so I made a podcast, put it out there and people started to listen."
Hagler created an Instagram account for the podcast, and after two years of podcasting, she decided to turn the words into physical reminders of one's worth, such as keychains, stickers and T-shirts, thus building a new extension of her business. "My goal overall is to spread my message that your emotional and physical well-being matters and you need to find time to take care of yourself."
"It is not about how many sales I get or how many followers I have. It's more about if I am reaching people. Am I making a difference in their life?" Hagler said. "People from other countries have contacted me and said my podcast has helped them and that I put things in a way that they have never thought of or have been able to express before. A lot of it is both reminders for myself and things that I might need to hear in the moment but also for what my audience might need to hear."
In addition to being a student-athlete, student teaching and podcasting, Hagler is a member of the Sigma Kappa sorority, and is the president of the Student Education Association and the Golden Apple Scholars Club. The Golden Apple scholar also works part-time and is a volunteer coach offering track and tennis lessons on the side.
Hagler's final piece of advice to her listeners is, "If you know someone who is struggling reach out to them, check in with them, and use your resources."
"Hurdling through hard times" was voted a Top 10 Mental Health Podcast of Illinois in April 2024 by FeedSpot and is available on both Apple Podcast and Spotify. For more information about the podcast, including merchandise and links to various mental health resources visit
