The jessic.ai Origin Story
Pink Unicorns and AI Readiness: My Origin Story
"Wait... what did you say? I should do what?"
"Stop looking for your next role, focus on your health and your surgery and do not apply for a job. Focus any excess energy into finding your people. You are a purple unicorn and the sooner you understand that and start finding your people, the happier you are going to be."
A... purple... unicorn? Find ‘my people'?’ Um, excuse me? What in the sidequest is she talking about?
I was sitting with a career strategist trying to plan my next move when she dropped that truth nugget on me, and it's the moment that brought me here.
How did I get to be sitting with her? I left my previous job because I was burnt out to a degree I didn't know was possible and gave myself time to recover. Why was I so burnt out? Well, that's a longer story, but the cliff notes include stage 3 breast cancer, 5 months of two different types of chemo, 2 surgeries (of course I had more than one! I half-assed nothing — what makes anyone think I would have run of the mill cancer!), then 25 whacks of radiation followed by not 1, not 2... but THREE reconstructive surgeries. And I looked worse than ever.
I worked through it all and I was oh so very stoic and strong and brave. But the failed third surgery was the straw that broke me. All I saw around me were broken things. I saw fault and flaws everywhere and in everyone — especially myself.
So I left. And what originally felt like taking a bazooka to a knife fight, I elected to have a double mastectomy with reconstruction using my tummy because I didn't want implants. It was major surgery — over 12 hours and that's WITH a robot! I was told it was 6 weeks of keeping it super chill and gentle to recover. But I would look fab and require dramatically less monitoring for the next 10 years! Hear that? They promised I would look ‘fab!’
I woke up from surgery with a creative spark I hadn't felt in years. I spent the next three hours writing an entirely mediocre short story, and all I could think of was the career coach's suggestion to "find my people."
Then a recruiter (who has also become a wonderful friend) said to me that I should stop looking for a full-time permanent job and go into business for myself to solve all the problems I talk about. He said it in a way that mirrored the career coach's words but without the whole purple unicorn label — which obviously I have now happily adopted, though I'd rather be a hot pink unicorn.
And so I did what any normal person does when they have 6 weeks of recovery and gentle rest — I built a business and a website.
Actual footage of me in the wild
We are now 9 weeks post-op and I look awesome (just ask me), and I've built a website and done all the admin work so I can come and find the people looking for a purple (or pink!) unicorn to help them get ready for AI. I've been researching AI for a while now (was already a passion before the surgery), but let me hold your hand when I tell you — the dirtiness of data and unstructured processes is... impressive. Like we all earned this chaotic sandpit with hard work.
If you've been waiting for a finance leader who’s seen the chaos, survived the rebuild, and still came out smiling
Just call me Elle Woods because when it comes to cleaning you up and getting you ready for AI: "What? Like it's hard?"
Ready to find out what this pink unicorn can do for your business? Let's talk about turning your finance chaos into AI-ready foundations.
