Industry Connect: From Layoff to Leadership: Turning Setbacks into Entrepreneurial Success

Kicking off our series is Julia Arpag, CEO and founder of Aligned Recruitment; a tech recruitment firm she launched in August 2023 that has already closed nearly seven figures in new business, fully bootstrapped and profitable from day one.

Julia’s path to entrepreneurship wasn’t planned. After being laid off from her corporate role, she decided, “Screw it, I’m going to be my own boss.” What followed is a story of risk, resilience, and building something from the ground up without outside funding. In this session, Julia will share the real side of starting a business; the challenges, the wins, and the lessons learned along the way. It’s equal parts reality check and inspiration for students curious about entrepreneurship, straight from someone who’s living it.