She Helped Everyone Else Launch. Then She Asked: Why Not Me?
Diane Meyer didn’t set out to become a founder. After a storied 25-year career, cradling brands from Toys R Us to Weber Grills through the trials of e-commerce evolution, the idea of calling the shots in her own enterprise never seemed pressing. But life has a way of presenting uncut diamonds, and as Diane discovered, sometimes the hardest part is just getting out of one’s own way.
Her story begins with a pause. The setbacks of last summer marked the end of her tenure at Derell Juvenile, and the loss of her dog Murphy left an unexpected hollow. Diane found herself wandering—not just through Europe's streets where she sought solace in travel—but through her thoughts. It was a moment she didn’t recognize as transformative at the time.
Back in Chicago, a new addition named Fergus entered her life. Their early morning walks, punctuated by the sharp bite of winter air, provided clarity. These walks were a balm for the restless curiosity simmering inside her and an inadvertent return to her thoughts, akin to her e-commerce era’s daily exercises in problem-solving and innovation.
Diane’s career had always teetered on the edge of ownership. From building brand.coms to advising customer-focused tech firms, her story was intertwined with entrepreneurship, minus the solitary leap into the unknown. But now there was Fergus, the Chicago River, and the space to ruminate on a recurring thought: What if instead of helping others build, she built something herself?
Enter HER-ON, a venture named after the majestic bird she observed by the Kalamazoo River. HER ON isn’t just a business; it’s a vision with multifaceted ambitions. Initially, it will unfold as a consultancy, focusing on helping direct-to-consumer brands with customer experience. Diane’s aspirations for HER ON span even further into stories, digital strategies, and, notably, the mysterious yet tantalizing allure of artificial intelligence.
There’s an unspoken power in realizing your worth, as Diane discovered when she noticed the value she added to the e-commerce ecosystem. Her on-field experiences and insights became coveted currency. She was already consulting informally, connecting dots, and offering strategies—realizations that sparked the notion of translating this expertise into an organized entity.
But with HER-ON, there’s more than consultancy at play. Diane’s contemplating a book, spurred by frustration with the underrepresentation of women in tech and a burning desire to ensure AI’s story doesn’t replicate the mistakes of early internet entrepreneurship. Diane’s foray into content creation is a reclamation of narrative—a chance not just to record history, but steer its future.
Reflecting on her journey, Diane recognizes the brushstrokes of her uncle’s story in her own—a man who built a law practice with grit and community at its core. Like him, Diane is driven by a broader mission, knowing HER ON is more than a livelihood. It’s a platform to amplify diverse voices and influence a tech landscape still in need of balance.
Diane Meyer’s journey with HER ON, from ideation to reality, embodies more than the incremental steps of a business plan; it’s a testament to the unbounded possibilities that come when seasoned experience meets the courage to innovate. HER ON is a dance between past and future, business acumen and bold new directions—an enterprise less born of urgency, more of earnest evolution.
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