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What does it actually take to leave a secure job and build a company from scratch?
In this episode of the Badass Women in Business Podcast, Aggie and Cristy sit down with Kirsten Liston, Founder and CEO of Rethink Compliance, to talk about the reality of becoming an entrepreneur and the mindset required to build something new.
Kirsten shares how she went from a career in journalism to spending more than two decades in the compliance industry. After 15 years working inside the field, she saw a clear gap in the market. Companies were frustrated with outdated compliance training, but the large vendors dominating the industry were not evolving.
Instead of accepting the status quo, Kirsten decided to build the solution herself.
She left her role in 2015 and launched Rethink Compliance. In the early years, she balanced multiple consulting projects while trying to get the company off the ground. At one point, she went nearly a full year without revenue, yet she never lost confidence that the market needed what she was building.
Today, Rethink Compliance works with global companies and has become known for modern, engaging compliance training that actually connects with employees.
In this conversation, Kirsten shares the lessons she learned while building the business, the leadership decisions that shaped the company’s culture, and the moments that forced her to rethink how to grow and scale.
She also talks about why everything in business is learnable, why hiring strong leaders early accelerated growth, and why entrepreneurs need to believe that more is possible than they initially think.
This episode is for anyone building a business, considering entrepreneurship, or navigating the challenges of leadership and growth.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- How Kirsten Liston moved from journalism into the compliance industry
- Why she left a stable leadership role to start Rethink Compliance
- The early challenges of launching a company in a competitive market
- How listening to customers revealed a major business opportunity
- Why hiring experienced leaders early helped accelerate growth
- How COVID changed the direction of the business
- The importance of culture, transparency, and honest communication in leadership
- Why Kirsten believes that everything in business is learnable
Key Quote
“If you think of something you can do, you can probably do it.”
Contact and Resources
Kirsten Liston
Founder and CEO, Rethink Compliance
Website
https://www.rethinkcomplianceco.com
Webinars and Educational Resources
https://www.rethinkcomplianceco.com/reso
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