Hi, THERE.

what does one put on an about page? hello, awkward.
ANYHOOoo, here’s a blurb since you’re here to perhaps get to know me a bit better.

first + foremost, i’m angela (mader) hartshorn. same girl, new last name. ;)
i’m a lover of lowercase, so if that bugs you, don’t say i didn’t warn you. and coffee, i love coffee. like a lot, but i digress.

backstory: i’m a small-town girl, proudly born ‘n raised in southeastern colorado. after getting my undergrad in computer science at CU-boulder (go buffs!), i moved to sunny southern california where i worked for the next 7 years in high-tech marketing. when i was 27, i left my first six-figure job to start a boutique marketing + branding agency servicing technology clients while also getting my MBA in entrepreneurship from UC-irvine (yay anteaters).

while marketing consulting paid the bills, my goal was to pursue what i felt was my calling. perhaps you’ve heard of the passion-product of mine that i created way back in 2008: fitbook®, the flagship product behind fitlosophy. born from my years-long battle with eating disorders, my “baby” fitbook went on to sell millions of copies to achieve the mission of inspiring people to live life fit. over the next decade, that one-product-business scaled into a complete wellness brand with over 50 products created by yours truly, many of which still grace the shelves of retailers nationwide including target, walgreens + cvs. in 2018, the company was strategically acquired by a large consumer products company. (whoa.) not my original intention, but blessed nonetheless!

more than all that, what mattered most to me was (and still is) the people. the stories. the lives changed through the products + community we created. looking back, i realize that while i spent a decade building a brand, what i loved most was creating something that connected with people. and perhaps that's where this next chapter begins.

once upon a time, i built a business. then i sold it. and somewhere along the way, life handed me a few plot twists i never saw coming: marriage, motherhood, and a whole new perspective on what matters most. these days, i'm trading product launches for playdates, business plans for book proposals, and learning to balance the pull of what's next with the beauty of what's right in front of me. i'm raising a little one and discovering that some of life's best stories aren't the ones we planned.

i'm still a brand builder at heart, happiest with a coffee in hand and a creative idea brewing. i serve on the board of a local startup accelerator, lend a hand in my husband's business, and still love bringing good ideas to life. turns out, i may have sold my business, but my entrepreneurial spirit wasn’t part of the deal.

outside of all that, i love galavanting around the globe, a good glass of wine, and Jesus. not necessarily in that order. and yes, i (still) work out. ;)

curious where this chapter leads? that makes two of us. follow along as the story unfolds. you can find my recent ramblings on my blog, say hello on instagram, or subscribe so we can stay connected.