Catherine Jelinek

What I love about Junto is that it really isn’t us, it’s an ecosystem co-created by every person and company within it. This all began as an experiment Raman and I started in 2012 and it continues to be an adventure. No two days are the same; the founders, mentors, and instructors – our Tribe – are true and dear friends; and the real-world business education I am getting is out of this world.

After planning to pursue a career in public policy, I fell unexpectedly into building and running programs for entrepreneurs. I worked for two different organizations that set up, managed, and served business incubators around the Midwest. I fell in love with the work and felt that creating environments where entrepreneurs could thrive was more directly impactful to founders, their companies and local economies than policy work. As my passion grew for fostering community within the entrepreneurial ecosystem, I was lucky enough to meet Raman in 2012 and when he told me about his idea for The Junto Institute, I was totally in.

Today, I oversee and help run our program: managing our internal team and operations, moderating Mentor Team meetings, facilitating Forums, and engaging regularly with our beloved community. Days I enjoy the most are ones where I get to connect with several Alumni, Apprentices, Mentors and Instructors. I also sincerely believe in our value of practicing what we preach and teach, and I enjoy doing all we can to leverage the tactics and principles from the program for our own business.