Episode 480 – From Engineer to Entrepreneur: Building a Business That Lasts with Christine Slocumb
What happens when an engineer discovers that great technology alone isn’t enough to build a successful business? My guest, Christine Slocumb, began her career as an electrical engineer before moving into marketing, entrepreneurship, and eventually building and selling her own agency, Clarity Quest. Christine and I talk about why marketing and sales need to work together, how SEO and AI are changing business, and why website accessibility is simply good business. We also explore something I believe matters even more: how we treat people. Christine shares why she built a company where employees could feel respected, how she balanced entrepreneurship with putting her family first, and what she learned during the long process of selling her business. Now, she is helping other entrepreneurs prepare for business exits and discover who they want to become afterward. I think you will enjoy Christine’s thoughts about authentic leadership, embracing change, and taking the time to discover what comes next in life.
Highlights:
04:53 – How growing up without gender-based limits shaped Christine’s confidence and career choices.
11:17 – Why great technology still needs strong marketing to succeed.
21:35 – How website accessibility can benefit customers, businesses, and search visibility.
35:25 – Why AI can transform marketing without replacing human creativity and relationships.
45:25 – The choices Christine made to grow a business while keeping family first.
55:43 – Why selling a business can create an unexpected search for identity and purpose.
.
About the Guest:
Chris Slocumb started her career as an electrical engineer at Motorola, where she witnessed firsthand how poor marketing could tank great technology. That insight sparked a career pivot that would eventually lead her to founding Clarity Quest Marketing and writing the 2024 book “Stop Starvation Marketing: 23 Power Moves For Healthcare, Biotech and IT Companies”.
For over 20 years, Chris built Clarity Quest Marketing, growing it into a two-time Agency of the Year winner. When she sold the agency in 2023, she stayed on as Chief Growth Officer at the buyer’s holding company, driving 88% revenue growth for the holding company.
From the outside it looked easy. In reality, selling her company and finding a new identity was a gauntlet.
In February 2025, Chris made her exit from the buyer’s company complete and launched her exit advisory practice helping B2B founders successfully exit with their heads held high and values intact. Unlike traditional M&A advisors focused solely on financial readiness, Chris addresses the complete founder experience: emotional preparation, successful transaction, and post-exit life design.
Her upcoming book "Mastering the Exit Gauntlet" (April 2026) captures the raw reality of her journey in the moments she felt lost, questioned everything, and learned to celebrate the sale in order to design a new identity.
Her core message challenges the exit narrative: A technically successful exit can become a disaster without organizational, financial, and emotional preparation. Chris brings the same nerve and grit that got her through the tech startup world’s engineering floors to helping founders exit on their own terms—living proof that life after exit can be purposeful, grounded, and entirely your own.
Ways to connect with Christine**:**
My website is https://christineslocumb.com/
Link to my upcoming book’s teaser page: https://christineslocumb.com/my-books/mastering-the-exit-gauntlet/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisslocumb/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cmslocumb/
About the Host:
Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.
Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children’s Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association’s 2012 Hero Dog Awards.
https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/
https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/
Thanks for listening!
Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!
Subscribe to the podcast
If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .
Leave us an Apple Podcasts review
Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.
Transcription Notes:
