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Our largest mentoring cohort, comprising six incredible women, launched their businesses with Brownell in 2023, diving deep into the vibrant world of travel entrepreneurship. Our intensive mentoring course equipped them with the tools to kickstart their travel businesses, and they received training from our hosting and sales support teams, leadership team, and tech support. Between learning about everything from air bookings to supplier relationships, we chatted with each of them to learn more about who they are, what inspired them to launch their travel business, and much more!
Hear from Brittany, Lauren, Molly, Kristi, Michele, and Summer as they share what inspired them to get into the travel business and what the future holds for their businesses!
Based in Amarillo, Texas, Lauren is ready to launch her travel business after teaching for 10 years. Her love for travel began when she and her husband went on an international trip for their honeymoon and when they lived in Cape Town, South Africa for a summer. After getting many requests from friends and questions about her travels with her family, Lauren felt it was only natural to take the plunge and launch her travel business, Lauren Austin Travel. When asked why she chose Brownell, Lauren said it was the longstanding legacy and values that make us who we are. Now, she is ready to lean on that legacy and our values and use her own creativity, high energy, and past experience to help clients plan their dream trips!
Originally from Los Angeles, Brittany recently moved her family to Lake Como, Italy in search of a simpler life filled with cultural experiences. Her move to Europe sparked many friends and connections asking for recommendations on places to go, hotels to stay in, advice on traveling with young kids, and much more, making Brittany realize she could turn her passion and lifestyle into a business. She was drawn to Brownell’s mentoring program because of our company culture surrounding the advisors and their successes with the support of our team. Pulling from her past experience in the events industry, Brittany is excited to use her planning and research skills, business savvy, and deep-rooted passion for travel to create unique, curated experiences for her clients, both in Europe and beyond!
Kristi’s wanderlust was instilled in her at a young age through the many trips she took with her family and extended family. Her passion for travel has only intensified as an adult and has deepened the importance of making memories with people she cherishes. Currently, her favorite travel experience has been a trip to Africa with her extended family that was filled with life-changing moments and is one she would love to take again. Her passion for creating unforgettable memories along with her experience in sales and the mortgage business led her to wanting to launch her travel business, KDR Travel. Her research led her to Brownell where she was immediately drawn to the community atmosphere and the level of training to help her kickstart her business. Kristi is excited to use her passions and skills gained to help others make the same lasting memories she has from her experiences.
Ever since an extended family trip through Europe when she was a teen, Molly has had a love for exploring the world. So much so that she studied abroad in Italy during her undergrad and worked in Switzerland before getting her MBA. Those joy-filled experiences are what inspired Molly to launch her travel business after a longstanding career in commercial real estate in order to create enriching travel experiences for others. Along with the support of our community and collaboration, Molly is excited to launch Molly Glasgow Travel with Brownell and curate memorable trips for her clients.
Summer launched her business, DeFehr Travel, with the sole purpose of helping others, especially families, explore and show their kids the world. Through her own experiences traveling with her young family, Summer loves pairing real experiences with learning opportunities for each stage in life. One such experience was traveling to Italy with her mother and sister and retracing her grandfather’s footsteps from his time serving in World War II. Being able to see where his battalion came on shore and tour government land with her mom and sister was an amazing trip that Summer knows she and her family will never forget. Those lifelong, memorable trips along with her business skills learned from her time as a CPA are the reason Summer is ready to launch her next career as a travel advisor and is honored to do so at a world-class organization like Brownell.
Michele has been fortunate to have traveled with her family and friends several times throughout her life, from skiing in Europe to going on a safari in Africa. As much as she loves the adventure and exciting moments, Michele also loves the research and planning that goes into creating a dream vacation. With her sons going off to college, Michele knew it was time to turn her passion for travel into a business in the wake of being an empty nester. Through her research, she knew she would only be able to succeed if she was 100% confident she could deliver the high-end experiences to her clients that she would expect. That research and drive ultimately led her to Brownell and launch her travel company, Gold Travel Co.