KATERYNA QUINN
Q: What’s your occupation? Explain your career, your accomplishments and professional highlights.
A: I am the founder and CEO of aStash, a digital marketing agency I started in Fort Collins in 2018. Our agency has been recognized as one of the leading companies in the SEO and web design fields, both in Colorado and nationally. We have also won the UpCity Excellence Award four years in a row. I personally was recognized by Forbes and was featured in the “Forbes Next 1000” list in 2021. Through the years, we have received many five-star reviews from local clients.
Q: Tell us about yourself, your history and how you came to be where you are now.
A: I was born in Ukraine. I came to the U.S. on a tennis scholarship to play for Nicholls State University in Louisiana, where I fell in love with advertising and marketing and pursued my degree. After getting my first job in marketing, I realized I want to have my own business to focus on building and promoting websites and help other business owners to succeed online.
Age: 28
Occupation: Owner and founder of aStash
Q: Tell us something unique about you.
A: I used to be a professional athlete. I speak three languages and have lived in six different states. I am also a new mom to my 4-month-old daughter. When I moved here, I was desperate to help my parents in Ukraine and give them jobs, which I was able to accomplish by running a successful digital agency. I was able to bring them to live in Colorado this year.
Q: What do you consider your biggest accomplishment, either professionally or personally?
A: I am most proud of giving birth to my daughter and being the best mom I can be to her. My business has always been my baby, so I’m glad I can continue dedicating myself to it every day. I am also proud to have gone through 10 years of immigration processes to become a U.S. citizen and to have been able to bring my parents here and will hopefully get them a house soon.
Q: Where do you see yourself in five years? In 10 years?
A: Having my parents settled and taken care of is my first priority at the moment. I’m looking to expand my business to more locations in the next couple years and create automation and processes to optimize performance. While I love what I do, I’m hoping to grow my business enough to be able to delegate more tasks and spend more time with my family, traveling and on my hobbies.
Q: What piece(s) of advice would you give to your younger self?
A: The best advice for me would be to have more patience and be more focused on one direction. I’ve often wanted to do it all, but I see now that focusing on one or two services, one or two ways of marketing and one or two price points would end up being a better choice than trying to do 10 things at once.
Q: What was the hardest part of moving to the U.S. and leaving your family?
A: I was facing a lot of unknowns at first. I was 17 and barely spoke English, so traveling here was scary. But the hardest part was after my first school year. I wasn’t performing at my best, had injuries, was under constant pressure and hadn’t received any support from my coach. I lost my scholarship and had to find a new school and a full scholarship in under two months before the start of a new school year. Coming back to the United States that summer with nowhere to go was one of the hardest experiences in my life. I was so scared that I begged my mom to let me stay in Ukraine. She still suggested I go back to the U.S. because she knew I could find a better future here, and in the worst case, I could return anytime. This experience made me a completely different person: I became strong, confident and simply not afraid anymore. But I’m forever grateful for that because I found my dream school, where I had the best team and made some of my best lifelong friends. My coach was absolutely outstanding and became my mentor, not just in tennis but also in life. I played first positions and became a captain of the team, which made me realize that I love to lead and would like to run my own business.
Q: Tell us about being a professional tennis player: What team(s) did you play for and for how long? Why did you stop?
A: I had been playing ITF tournaments in Ukraine, and it was not possible for me to continue because of how expensive it would get to travel and play tournaments abroad. So, I chose to come to the U.S. to study. I played for South Carolina State University and then for Nicholls State University. I found my passion for advertising and marketing while in school, so I was excited to start my career in those fields rather than continuing playing tennis. Injuries and a difficult financial situation right out of school were more reasons not to pursue it further.
