Meet Hannah Helsel | Co-Founder of WAYV Active

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hannah Helsel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hannah, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
We started our journey in the world of entrepreneurship originally with an event rental company. We wanted to dip our toes into what it would be like to own our own business, so we started small. We had one champagne wall that we made ourselves and rented out. And from there we made a few more items.

After about a year of lugging these huge rental pieces all over Atlanta, we decided that we loved owning our own business, but we wanted to pour the money that we made into our true passion, which was fitness. We both met at CrossFit and bonded over our love for high-intensity, competitive fitness. We also both came from backgrounds of collegiate athletics, so what better business for us to start than an activewear line. Something that we literally live 70% of our lives in.

We knew nothing about where to even start, so we started doing our own research, took one action after another, and that is how Wayv was born. The biggest accomplishment that we have made to date is that we took a thought and a dream and turned it into reality. We DID it. We took action and made it happen, and now we are living it out.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
We are both in sales full-time. I am in medical diagnostic sales and Jordan is in healthcare staffing sales. We have both always been very motivated to grow our professional careers to the highest level. We are high-achievers, so being in commission-driven sales is motivating for both of us. We have both made a major career change at least once in our professional careers, but have managed to work our way to being top-producers in our respective companies. The start of our sales careers both called for a lot of hard work, prospecting, relationship creation, and more. There have definitely been challenges to come like losing clients, not winning over a big prospect, etc., but that is part of the working world. We have wins and losses and it’s what we do with our losses that shape how we succeed.

We take all of these lessons into the business that we are building together at Wayv. No matter what struggles get thrown our way, we are ready to face them, power though, and ultimately succeed. After all, Wayv was made to support those who appreciate a good challenge and refuse to back down.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We are suburb girls. So you will find us north of the city hanging around Alpharetta. A week long trip would include eating at some of the following: Rumi’s Kitchen, Crust, Gracious Plenty, Grana, Ceviche, and Never Enough Thyme. It would include CrossFit workouts at Training Think Tank, Yoga at Homestead Yoga, and a Pilates class at Empowered Pilates. We would grab coffee/chai tea’s at TBB or Pop’s Coffee. And then we would venture up to Lake Lanier to hit a wake-surf session and hike around the lake a bit.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I think I can speak for both of us when I say this- our family, friends, and community are 100% to thank for where we are today. We both come from humble families who will always be our biggest cheerleaders. From our parents to our spouses, they really take on the sacrifice alongside us as running your own business is not for the faint of heart. We work on this business after hours and on the weekends- all time that we could be spending 1:1 with loved ones, but they help us make it work.

As far as a little inspiration- one of our biggest role models is Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, who self-funded her billion-dollar business from the ground up. Not only has she built an empire, she appears to be an incredible mother, wife, friend, and takes plenty of time to live her life to the fullest. The other would be Jewel… yes the folk-pop singer/songwriter. If you haven’t heard her story, do yourself a favor and head over to Joe Rogan’s podcast to take a listen. This woman beat every odd and turned her passion into purpose and became wildly successful in the midst of being herself. If these women aren’t enough inspiration for you… I don’t know what is!

Last but not least, our friends and community. They say to surround yourself with the people that you want to be like. I have to give each of us a pat on the back here- our friends and community are nothing short of inspirational. We have friends in their 20’s starting business left and right- from chiropractic businesses, to a bathing suit company, jewelry companies, personal training businesses, cooking companies, real estate development… our people DO IT ALL. And they push us further each day.

Website: https://www.wayvactive.com

Instagram: @wayvactive

Linkedin: Wayv Active

Facebook: @wayvactive