Business women who think big: Danielle Proctor's story
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Danielle Proctor
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Danielle Proctor worked at three firms in the burgeoning niche of software product management and sales before an unexpected turn of events prompted her to start her own business in a sector far from the cutting-edge tech scene.
At 28, she launched Amelie Construction & Supply, a Saxonburg-based company that builds and repairs highway bridges and retaining walls.
"It was scary ... most businesses go down within three years, so [if that happened] I would be 31 at that point and was not married and didn't have kids so I could still get on my two feet," said Ms. Proctor, who is now 36 and married with a stepdaughter.
Her gamble paid off.
Amelie generates between $10 million and $15 million in annual sales from infrastructure projects in five states and employs between 30 and 35 people during peak construction season.
Ms. Proctor, who also owns a pet care franchise and a pilates and yoga studio, is one of several business women scheduled to share their stories of becoming entrepreneurs or managing innovation at existing companies during Friday's fifth annual Think Big Forum for Women at Chatham University.
Others include keynote speaker Beth Kaplan, president of health supplements chain GNC Inc.; Amy Hancock, president and owner, AdvantageCare Rehabilitation, Home Health Services and Consulting; Diana Block, former president and board member, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; and Deborah Acklin, president, WQED Multimedia.
Ms. Proctor, a native of Fort Worth, Texas, moved to the Pittsburgh area when she was in the eighth grade and graduated from Sewickley Academy and Carnegie Mellon University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in industrial management in 1996.
She took a job immediately with Management Science Associates in East Liberty where she worked on marketing and developing new software products. In 2000, she left for what she described as "a very brief stint" doing product management at FreeMarkets, the CMU spinout later acquired by Ariba Inc.
First Published October 21, 2010 12:00 am
