Pierce earned a full-ride Evans Scholarship to the University of Illinois after serving as a caddie for several years at Idlewild Country Club in suburban Flossmoor. “I guess that’s where I started my entrepreneurial career,” said Pierce, who first caddied as a 13-year-old, taking home $20 on her first 18-hole round. “It gave me exposure to the fact that everyone wasn’t broke. Many of the golfers were entrepreneurs or in finance.” Pierce graduated from the U of I’s Gies College of Business with a degree in accounting. During her time in Urbana-Champaign, she worked full-time at Meijer and the third shift at International House of Pancakes while taking a full load of classes. She worked in corporate for a few years, but after her position was eliminated, she realized that life didn’t suit her. She never understood why there were 55-year-olds at her company who hated their jobs but never had the guts to start their own businesses or simply leave. “I never wanted to make a decision based on fear,” said Pierce, who is a member of the Forbes Real Estate Council. She instills the same attitude in her daughters, ages 8 and 5, and her 7-year-old son. “I want them to be independent thinkers, resilient and just be themselves unapologetically, which is so rare these days,” Pierce said.