Laura founded Ignite HR in 2016 to provide small and medium size businesses with an HR partner whose expertise is normally only available to large organizations. She believes in the power of igniting performance and efficiency to fuel an organization to reach its greatest potential.

Ignite HR provides a complete HR solution for their clients, without the captive restrictions and high cost of a PEO. Services include hiring, onboarding, payroll and benefits administration, compliance, and partnering with management to resolve employee performance and discipline matters. 

Laura has served in human resources since 1996, and holds dual, senior level certifications (SPHR and SHRM-SCP). She has been a part of respected organizations such as SuperiorHR, BenefitMall, Snelling Personnel Services, and Park Place Dealerships.

Daris Frencha is the President and CEO of The Benefit Boutique, a woman-owned, full-service employee benefit brokerage based in Fort Worth, TX. She is an international top sales trainer, having trained thousands of sales professionals all across the country. She is an alumni of the Goldman Sachs 10KSB program, cohort 23. Daris plays volleyball very competitively, loves to read, meditate, and travel. She also plans to become a professional nomad in the next few years, running her company from exotic locations all around the globe.

Kathleen Hunt founded her company, Personalized Payroll Services, Inc., in 2011 with the goal to help women-owned businesses thrive and prosper. Personalized Payroll partners with small to mid-sized businesses to customize and streamline their payroll processing and HR services. As a certified women’s business enterprise (WBE) through the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), and an active member of the Women’s Business Council - Southwest (WBCS) and Women’s Business Enterprise Council South (WBEC South), Kathleen is passionate about connecting WBEs to one another. She is an advocate for WBEs and frequently makes introductions, referrals, and recommendations for others. 

Personalized Payroll helps clients avoid costly penalties and accrued interest with timely and accurate local, state, and federal tax deposits and filings. The company provides real time payroll solutions offering clients the ability to process payroll anytime from anywhere. Personalized Payroll provides a fully integrated HCM system with applicant tracking, on boarding, benefit enrollment, employee career development and management, and employee HR portal for employee to review their paycheck history on line, request PTO, etc. Smart phone technology and unlimited document storage round out the services offered. Also offered is HR On Demand which provides a dedicated HR professional to assist her clients. Personalized Payroll partners with other WBEs, such as Lone Star Benefits, to provide health insurance services.

Kathleen is an active leader in the business community serving on many boards and committees that support women business owners. She is a member of the WBENC Forum and has served on the Engagement committee since 2017. Kathleen serves on the board of directors for WBCS and WBEC South. She is a recipient of the WBE Volunteer of the Year Award in 2017 by WBCS and Volunteer of the Year Award in 2014 by WBEC South.  In 2022 she was awarded the Women Working Together Award by WBCS and the Advocate Award of the Year by WBEC South.  In 2023 she was awarded the WBE Advocate of the Year from WBCS.

Personalized Payroll sponsors business events throughout the year including the WBENC Summit & Salute; WBEC South WE Summit & Awards Gala; and Connections to Contracts hosted by WBCS. The company is a Champion Circle Sponsor WBCS and a Champions Circle Sponsor for WBEC South.

Kathleen was selected to participate in and successfully completed the WBENC Robert Half Accelerated Leadership Development Program and the Energy Executive Program presented by the University of Texas at Austin in 2019. She earned an Associate’s degree in Business Administration and Management at Fox College, Inc.

Deb Purvin founded Business Owner’s MBA (BOMBA) to share her secrets to scaling a business AND having a life. Deb successfully grew two companies to $100 million, sold them, sailed around the world for 5 years, and now serves as faculty for the prestigious Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program, as well as manages BOMBA.

After a Dartmouth and Harvard education and many years in banking, Deb was shocked to discover how much she didn’t know about running her business… which led to costly mistakes. Looking back, she saw those mistakes could have been easily avoided. There’s just so much a business owner needs to know to be successful!

BOMBA was designed to provide exactly the education Deb wished she’d had before becoming a business owner. The curriculum mirrors a traditional MBA but, with hands-on, immediately actionable tasks, learned through video lessons and worksheets, and discussed in a small peer group. Business owners immediately see quantifiable results. With a focus on financials, she helps business owners get unstuck and successfully scale their companies by increasing revenues, improving profitability, motivating employees, and creating enough free time to actually enjoy their successes!

She's spent the last 7 years working with small to medium (or smedium as she calls them) business owners in the DFW Metroplex. She loves connecting with business owners to educate them on ways their businesses can thrive through the benefits of a retirement plan. When she's not working, she's spending time with her husband and 5-year-old son.