Her Story
About Nataya
I’m originally from Chicago, Illinois, and I grew up in a tough environment where my family relied on public assistance. When President Bill Clinton reduced the welfare rolls, it pushed me to rethink my future and step into the workforce. One of my earliest jobs was through a temp agency, which placed me with the City of Milwaukee Common Council as a receptionist. That role changed everything. I worked closely with aldermen, council members, and the city clerk’s office, and the deputy city clerk became a mentor who encouraged me to pursue higher education.
I earned my GED and went on to study Business Administration at Cardinal Stritch University. From there, I became an auxiliary legislative assistant, filling in for aldermanic staff—sometimes for months at a time. One of the aldermen later referred me to the president and CEO of the Milwaukee Urban League, where I worked for several years until his retirement.
After that, I joined Northwestern Mutual through Manpower as a program coordinator, supporting financial representatives and helping them improve their performance metrics for about four years. When that assignment ended, I moved to California to reconnect with my son, who had been serving in the Navy and living in Sicily for nearly seven years. Rebuilding our relationship was one of the most meaningful chapters of my life.
Once he married, I struck out on my own again and found a role at Realtor.com. I started in customer service with the full intention of moving up—and I did, becoming a customer success advisor.
Over the last year, I’ve shifted my focus to building my own venture, Trendycrest. With the rise of AI and the instability many people are facing in the job market, I believe entrepreneurship is becoming a necessity, not a luxury. I’ve lived many lives and worn many hats. When I lost my son and had to rely on GoFundMe to cover his funeral because we were uninsured, it was one of the most painful experiences of my life. I never wanted another family to go through that, so I became a licensed insurance agent to help my loved ones navigate those moments with dignity and clarity.
That’s how I operate—when I see a need, I move to fill it. Trendycrest was born from that same instinct. You can have the skills, the product, and the passion, but none of it matters if you don’t know where to find your customers. Trendycrest solves that problem. It’s a place where creators bring their core audiences, and in doing so, expand each other’s reach. As the platform grows, every vendor benefits from increased visibility and shared traffic.
I’ve designed Trendycrest as a digital mall where shoppers can explore multiple vendors, discover new brands, and support both emerging and established businesses. I’m integrating affiliate links and partnering with well-known companies so that small startups can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with larger vendors and gain the traction they deserve.
Right now, I’m competing in the Entrepreneur of Impact competition, and I’m carrying every one of my vendors with me. We rise together.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Nataya
01What do you attribute your success to?
What inspires me is responsibility. I have a really deep love for not just my family, but for people in general. And when you look at the state of the world, and I see how many people are depressed and struggling, it's hurtful to see how many people are hurting. I just want to do whatever I can to make people's lives better. My commitment to my faith and my love for people is what inspires me every day. I operate like this: whenever I see a need, I just go and get it done. When I lost my son and we were uninsured, I had to do a GoFundMe for his funeral, which was the most horrible thing I've ever experienced. I never wanted anybody to experience that again, so I became licensed as an insurance agent so that when my family needs insurance, I can be the one who helps walk them through that process. That's how I approach everything in life.
02What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
With the emergence of AI and people losing their jobs, it looks like everybody's gonna have to become an entrepreneur. A lot of my friends lost their jobs, and I had already been feeling like the employment roles are shrinking so much. One thing I learned about selling when I was doing insurance and things like that is that you can learn everything you need to learn and have a great product to sell, but it won't matter if you don't know where to find your customers. That's why I created Trendycrest, so that everybody can know where to find customers. The biggest challenge is that people are hurting and struggling, and not necessarily just poor people or people who are destitute, but even people who are well off. Everybody can use the uplifting, the encouragement, the empowerment. The more empowered we all are as a whole, the better the world can be.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
My commitment to my faith and my love for people is what inspires me every day. I have a really deep love for not just my family, but for people in general. Every morning at 5 in the morning, my sisters and brothers and I are on a call together. We do a prayer, and we take turns choosing the scripture for the day. My day is Friday. We read the scripture, pray, and then the person who chose the scripture discusses why they chose it and what it means to them. Each one of us shares what that scripture meant to us. We do that each morning. I also make sure to find balance in my life. I'll go swimming and try to do a couple laps in the pool. My main goal is to make an impact and help people, because even people who are well off, everybody can use the uplifting, the encouragement, the empowerment. The more empowered we all are as a whole, the better the world can be. This is my way of making the biggest possible impact that I can on the world before I leave here.
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