A competitive, strong willed lady-jock, Jen Hilgenberg was born and raised a Jersey Girl, she spent her days playing baseball and soccer with the boys and battling her two brothers on the driveway basketball court. They all learned early on that they didn’t need to take it easy on this girl, because she could hold her own with anyone. When she wasn’t trying to show up her brothers with foul shot competitions and dribbling skills,
Jen passionately watched her parents run a successful business. Even at a young age, Jen knew that one day she’d follow in their footsteps, after all, just like athletics, the entrepreneurial spirit was in her blood. Jen’s passion for sports and leadership followed her through high school where she would made a name for herself and rocked the basketball courts of Immaculata High School. She not only led her team to be known as a dynasty in Central New Jersey, but she graduated with the most points scored in the schools history. After graduating High School, Jen packed up her
basketball sneaks, jumoed in the car with her inspiring hero of a mother and drove basically a stones throw south to the Maine Line of Philadelphia’s Villanova University. As she studied and played those first few weeks in the unfamiliar land outside of Philly, she had no idea that the great city would eventually turn into her permanent home. At Villanova, Jenny spent her days perfecting her game; Her basketball Game and what she calls her “Game of Life”. Villanova instilled in her the kind of drive and dedication that she puts into any project that comes her way today – be it a new client at the office, coaching a successful basketball team or planning a birthday party for her best friend.
Back in the dorm, she spent her time learning as much as she could about the world of business and how to run one as fruitful as her parents. When she didn’t have her nose in accounting, finance and marketing books, you could find Jen teaching herself graphic design programs because, let’s face it, she had to know how to do everything. In 2005 Jen graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Business with a focus on Marketing. She was ready to take on the world. While she coached high school basketball at her old alma matter, Jen immersed herself in the business world by testing the waters in various different Industries. It didn’t take long for Jen to realize that she was part of the very small population that got excited about
work. So she dove in. She began as a Marketing Manager and Membership Sales Advisor for a large Sports Club in North Jersey, then went onto become a Health and Wellness Coordinator at one of the leading telecommunications companies in the US. After a few years of working in the fitness industry, Jen began to wander out into a more corporate atmosphere working as a Sales Rep for a Direct Marketing/Promotional Products
company. Throughout her six years of experience in the sports/fitness/marketing world, Jen learned the “ins and outs” of the custom apparel industry. She immersed herself in it and soaked up all the info she could get her hands on. She could literally look at the shirt someone
was wearing and tell you not only the manufacturer, but the exact style number without looking at the tag..
It wasn’t long before Jen realized she wanted to follow in her parents footsteps and venture out on her own.
This is when she ran into the Red Dog….