Current Location | Las Vegas, NV
Current Industry | Entrepreneur
Current Project | Founder of Aqua Ree, www.liveree.com
Motivation | My kids. I want to show them how to overcome challenges
Recommended Reading | Gravitas by Caroline Goyder

As a successful entrepreneur, Quinn Begen understands that the ability to pivot is key to her success. Begen is the founder of Aqua Ree, a wellness company partnering with Nordstrom, Bargreen Ellingson and the Moscone Center.

Begen graduated with her BS in Business Administration from the Eberhardt School of Business in 2001, after entering Pacific as a pre-dental major. “My family really wanted me to be in the medical field like my dad, but dentistry was just not for me,” she said. “I told my advisor Dr. Jongeward that I was devasted because I wasn’t doing so well, and I was so grateful to hear him say ‘Do what you love. Your heart is telling you what to do. Don’t worry about the scholarship, don’t worry about what’s going to happen, just follow your instinct.’ I loved marketing – especially international marketing – from ideation to creation to implementation. So, I decided to change my major to international business.”

After graduating from Pacific and getting her MBA from the Thunderbird School and working in both the finance and the high-tech industries, Begen found herself recovering from the birth of twin daughters. “I was trying to recover and eat more vegetables and increase my intake of vitamins. I thought it would be impactful to create something nutritious for people to consume quickly after surgery or anytime they couldn’t cook or eat a healthy meal. So I did my research and hired a food scientist.” Aqua Ree was born and launched with a sparkling jicama-based drink that tasted like a mocktail version of Champagne and Rosé.

The drinks were well received, but the COVID-19 pandemic provided another pivoting point for Begen. When the pandemic caused many of her partners to close down, “it was a disaster,” she said. Begen’s training to change course midstream, proved invaluable. “This is where Pacific came in,” she said. “Which was to nurture the idea that I could do anything that I set my mind to.” She innovated and created a beet-based powdered beverage called UpBeet which was featured by Nordstrom. “I am very grateful to Nordstrom for the opportunity to roll out this product nation-wide and throughout Canada,” she said. After a year-and-a-half, UpBeet started trending, and is now preparing to launch world-wide. Began continued, “My investors and partners have inspired me to continue on a journey with Aqua Ree that can impact the next generation with our innovation for wellness and support for education, especially entrepreneurship,” she said. “I hope that when my kids grow up, there will be even more entrepreneurial education.”

Begen is effusive in her praise for the effect that Pacific had – and still has – on her career. She says that Pacific professors continue to influence her today. “I wouldn’t have launched this business without Dr. Jongeward’s support to follow my instinct.” It is a testament to the power of good teachers, how their impact lives on long after students leave their classrooms. “I found inspiration in my classes at Pacific, and my company goal now is to support the next generation of women entrepreneurs to follow their dreams in the way that I found support at Pacific,” she said.

The motto driving one of Begen’s marketing campaigns said it all: “it’s not how fast you drive, but how you handle the turns.”