Whether it be traveling cross-country to pursue her career goals or rising the ranks in multiple industries, Lauren Magura’s unwavering determination has helped push her across every finish line she has set out to cross.

“I went from a small town in Jersey knowing nobody to where I am in the industry now solely based off drive, passion and persistence,”explains Magura. “Those three things got me to where I am today.”

Today, Magura is the CEO of Cinematcher–an automated job placement and digital employee management service that has been praised for having the potential to revolutionize the entertainment industry. In 2017, Cinematcher was awarded with the title of ‘Best Early Stage Company’ and has been applauded as “the Tinder for film, TV and digital jobs”. However, despite the acclaim Cinematcher has received, Magura admits that the world of entrepreneurship hasn’t been all uphill. 

“Entrepreneurship is like a rollercoaster. The highs are so high and the lows are so low, and it’s not week-to-week, it’s minute-to-minute.”

One minute a major investment has Magura feeling on top of the world, and the next minute an unexpected crash sends those feelings plummeting. The unstable nature of entrepreneurship is a complete 180 compared to the secure footings she had earned as a media coordinator and post production scheduler at NBC and later at her dream job at Universal, but Magura throwing herself into the fire is nothing new. 

“[While in college]I would apply to a job even if it had duties that I didn’t have experience in yet,” explains Magura “I just wanted to experience it and meet the people, because, even if it’s out of your scope, if someone likes you as a person they will help you out.”

The concept of helping one another out is something Magura raves about and even credits for a large part of her success. Whether it be her former Universal team being the first to invest in Cinematcher or having women entrepreneurship support groups to confide in, Magura’s peers have played a large part in elevating her to new heights.

“It’s really important to surround yourself with people that are going through the same thing because you naturally lift each other up,” says Magura. 

Magura plans to implement that lift each other up mentality into EmpowerCon 2019, as she will serve as a panelist during the Q&A portion of the event. 

“We are definitely stronger together,” explains Magura. “I hope EmpowerCon empowers people to go out and empower other people.”

Written by: Taj Mayfield