Women CEO Stories

Laura McHolm had an unlikely start as co-founder and marketing director of NorthStar Moving Co. She began attending university at the age of 16, After graduating from the university of California at Berkeley, she worked for Lawrence Hall of Science teaching computer programming and mathematics and joined the computer division of Atari in its infancy to work in consumer marketing. Encouraged by the Atari legal team to attend law school, she graduated from law school and also obtained an emphasis in computer law from Oxford University. She worked for various inventors as a general counsel and marketing director. In the mid-1990s she moved away from the Fortune 500 to fulfill her more creative, entrepreneurial spirit and partnered with Ram Katalan to launch NorthStar Moving.

Why start a business?

Moving is one of the most stressful moments in people’s lives. My partner and I recognized that no one was taking service seriously in the moving industry. And, just like all entrepreneurs, we thought there had to be a better way.

How did you build it?

By listening to our clients and to our team members. And living by our mission: to exceed our clients’ expectations with graceful customer care and put service back into the moving industry.