DiscoverThe Calgary Sessions with Jeff HumphreysLaura Naaykens: From Identity Crisis to "Accidental" Founder
Laura Naaykens: From Identity Crisis to "Accidental" Founder

Laura Naaykens: From Identity Crisis to "Accidental" Founder

Update: 2025-11-19
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What if you don't need a "5-year plan" to be successful?

We're all pressured to find our one "passion" and follow a perfect, linear path. But what if that's not how the most interesting careers are built?

Laura Naaykens is a former NCAA athlete who, after an injury, found herself in a complete identity crisis. She didn't have a grand plan; she just started... figuring it out. Her journey is a playbook for "accidental" success, showing how she pivoted from sports to "accidentally" founding a data science firm, not by following a passion, but by saying "yes" to problems she didn't know how to solve and then getting good at them.

It’s a conversation about the power of self-awareness, why competence is more valuable than passion, and how to build a life on your own terms.

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Laura Naaykens: From Identity Crisis to "Accidental" Founder

Laura Naaykens: From Identity Crisis to "Accidental" Founder

Jeff Humphreys