A powerful reflection on life's uncertainty and the importance of seizing meaningful opportunities now. Discover how one person's journey from corporate career to entrepreneurship became a testament to living intentionally rather than postponing dreams for an uncertain future.
Her Story
About Inna
Inna Rabinovich DeGuarde has spent more than 20 years building a career in licensing and consumer products. She got her start at a local licensing agency while studying marketing and public relations at Montclair State University in New Jersey. From there, she joined Classic Media in New York, working with beloved brands such as Where’s Waldo, Casper, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Inna later joined Nickelodeon’s licensing division as a coordinator and spent the next 17 years growing with the company, now Paramount Global, eventually becoming a Vice President. After leaving Paramount, she took the leap into entrepreneurship and co-founded a licensing consultancy with a trusted colleague of 15 years.
Today, Inna works closely with a select group of clients, offering the kind of personal attention and partnership that makes her feel like an extension of their teams. She also helps manufacturers navigate the often-complex world of studio licensing agreements, bringing both experience and a practical, hands-on approach to every relationship.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Inna
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to hard work, resilience, and the relationships I’ve built throughout my career. I’ve always been willing to learn, ask questions, and take on challenges—even when I didn’t have all the answers. I’ve also learned not to let mistakes define me. Instead, I reflect on what happened, take responsibility, and put processes in place so I can improve moving forward.
Just as importantly, I believe in treating people with respect and building genuine, lasting partnerships. Many of the opportunities I’ve had came from people who trusted my judgment, my work ethic, and my commitment to following through. That trust, combined with a willingness to keep learning and evolving, has been a major part of my success.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I’ve received a lot of valuable career advice over the years, but the advice I would share with others is simple: always answer the call. Be open to the conversation, even when you’re unsure where it may lead. You never know what opportunity might come from it, who you might meet, or how that connection could shape your future. Some of the most meaningful opportunities in my career began with simply being willing to have a conversation.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering the licensing industry is to stay curious, ask questions, and never be afraid to use your voice. You don’t need to know everything on day one. Be willing to learn, make mistakes, and grow from them. Build genuine relationships, because this is a relationship-driven industry, and always answer the call. You never know where a conversation might lead or who may become an important part of your journey. Most importantly, trust yourself, advocate for your ideas, and don’t wait until you feel completely ready to take the next opportunity.
Her Content Hub
Articles by Inna
Don't Wait to Start Living
How a Life-Changing Diagnosis Taught Me to Stop Waiting and Start Living
There Is No Waiting Until Later
For most of my life, I understood that time was valuable. But it wasn't until my mother received an unexpected diagnosis of stage 4 lung cancer that I truly understood just how precious-and uncertain-it is.
Her diagnosis challenged everything I believed about mortality. It forced me to face a difficult truth: We can plan for the future, but none of us is promised that future.
So many of us spend our lives waiting. We wait for the right time to take a trip, explore a new place, try something unfamiliar, or pursue an idea that excites us. We tell ourselves we'll do these things when work slows down, when we've saved enough, or when we retire.
But what if "someday" never comes?
My mother's diagnosis changed the way I looked at my own life. I began to question why so many of us spend years working toward a future in which we will finally give ourselves permission to live. We save our dreams for later because we believe there will always be more time. The truth is, we simply don't know how much time we have.
That realization didn't make me reckless. It made me intentional-and it ultimately gave me the courage to start my own company.
Taking the Leap
After spending 17 years with the same organization and building a career I was proud of, I was laid off.
Suddenly, I found myself at a crossroads: I could begin searching for another position, or I could take everything I had learned and create something of my own.
Starting a company had always been a possibility, but it would have been easy to tell myself the timing wasn't right. I could have waited for more certainty, a stronger economy, or a moment when I felt completely prepared. But I had already learned that the perfect time may never arrive.
So I took the leap.
I chose to build a business that reflects how I want to work: closely, personally, and as a true extension of my clients' teams. That decision opened a new chapter in my career and gave me the opportunity to use my experience in a way that feels both meaningful and authentic.
Living Today
Living today does not mean abandoning responsibility or ignoring the future. It means no longer postponing the experiences, relationships, and opportunities that bring meaning to our lives. It means taking the trip when we can, answering the call, saying yes to an unexpected opportunity, and stepping outside our routines-even when the timing isn't perfect.
Because the timing may never be perfect.
Travel is one of the ways I put this belief into practice. I commit to exploring new places even when the full cost of a trip doesn't fit comfortably within my budget. I plan, make trade-offs, and find a way because I know that if I keep waiting for the perfect financial moment, the trip may never happen.
For me, travel isn't simply a luxury-it is an investment in experiences, perspective, and time spent together.
My children join me on these journeys, and watching them experience the world has made those choices even more meaningful. They are learning that the world is much bigger than what they see every day and that people live, think, and communicate in many different ways.
My hope is that seeing life through different lenses will help them become more curious, open-minded, and compassionate. Long after the money is spent, those memories and lessons will remain with us.
Don't Postpone Your Life
There will always be a reason to wait. There will always be another deadline, obligation, or concern competing for our attention. If we allow those things to make every decision for us, we may one day realize that we spent our lives preparing to live instead of actually living.
Choosing "today" does not always require one enormous, life-changing decision. It can begin with something small:
- Calling someone you love.
- Booking a weekend getaway.
- Trying something that scares you.
- Taking the first step toward an idea you've carried with you for years.
For me, it meant choosing entrepreneurship when the easier and more familiar path would have been to search for another corporate position. It meant trusting my experience, embracing uncertainty, and creating my own opportunity instead of waiting for one to appear.
My mother's diagnosis has been one of the most painful reminders of life's uncertainty, but it has also taught me a lesson I will carry forever:
Life is happening now.
Plan for tomorrow, but don't postpone your life for it.
Take the trip. Make the call. Try the new thing. Say what needs to be said. Spend time with the people you love. And when you find yourself at a crossroads, don't be afraid to choose the path that allows you to create something new.
Whatever it is that you keep promising yourself you will do "one day," begin today.
There is no waiting until later.
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