Meet Carey Bennett. Carey is the Chief Operating Officer and a co-founder of AreaMetrics, a company that helps stores optimize their layout to match customer preferences. The company just raised $2 million in a seed funding round led by two Silicon Valley venture firms.

What Her Bio Says

Carey, who graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Public Affairs Management, is a serial entrepreneur who has won several accolades by the Hawaii Venture Capitalist Association. And that’s no surprise, considering the innovative moves she’s made in the tech community. Her company enables businesses to gather comprehensive customer intelligence in a landscape where metrics and analytics play an increasingly important role in the day-to-day functions of brick and mortar businesses. The AreaMetrics Consumer Insights platform helps businesses make smarter, data-driven decisions that attract, engage, and retain customers.

What Her Bio Doesn’t Say

Carey grew up in a town with little diversity where everyone shared similar values. She “craved to understand anything different” than her community, and was inspired by her pilot grandfather to travel. He encouraged her to take a few years to herself to do whatever she wanted, and Carey heeded his advice. She has now traveled to 30 countries and counting.

Carey and I have talked at length about business.  She is convinced (and I believe rightly) that there is no better education than starting a business from the ground up. “Starting-up forces you to dig deep and consider things you wouldn’t have otherwise. It forces you to learn things you may not have, to see the world differently, and to move out of your comfort zone.”

Carey is a badass who sees no limits – only possibilities. She’s bold and inspirational and I’m excited to see her growth as a successful entrepreneur over the next five, ten, and 20 years.

Kernels of Wisdom from Carey:

• Manage your money.“Sometimes start-ups raise money and decide to spend it on things that do not matter at the end of the day. If you are not moving towards commercialization, you shouldn’t be spending money on it.”
• Validate before you build. “Make sure you have a customer and do your homework before starting-up.  It will take you longer to get where you want but, you will be prepared.”
• Adventure is out there.