“Your obstacles are not roadblocks; they are opportunities.”

Cindy Monroe gave this advice at the spring 2025 University of Tennessee at Chattanooga undergraduate commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 3, where 1,257 graduates embarked on their newest adventure—being a college graduate.

Monroe, a 1998 marketing graduate of the Gary W. Rollins College of Business and a 2019 inductee to the UTC Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame, is one of UTC’s most successful alumni entrepreneurs. In 2003, she launched Thirty-One Gifts in the basement of her Chattanooga home. Monroe focused on a direct sales model of personalized bags, gifts and home décor. As CEO, Monroe grew the company to almost $800 million annually.

As a student at UTC, Monroe recalled her entrepreneurship class with Dr. Richard Becherer as a “highlight of my time here and kind of put the bug in me” to become an entrepreneur. And while Monroe remembered her commencement as a highlight of her time at UTC, she jokingly remarked on a class requirement that was tricky to fulfill.

“I was married most of my time at UTC and got pregnant with my daughter my last semester,” she said. “I had to take a physical education credit. I hoped being pregnant would get me out of it, but no luck.”

After leaving UTC and heading into a local corporate position, Monroe began to make jewelry and sell it as a side business. When she attended a wholesale market for her jewelry business, she realized there was an opportunity to do gift boutique sales without setting up a physical gift boutique location.

“I didn’t want to open a store and wait for customers to come to me,” she explained.

With a background in direct sales for another company and a few friends’ help, Monroe started with a home party concept that pivoted with the rise of social media and online sales.With a background in direct sales for another company and a few friends’ help, Monroe started with a home party concept that pivoted with the rise of social media and online sales.

“Sellers had their own websites with their own name to build their own brand, but had all the same products,” she recalled.

Monroe led Thirty-One Gifts for nearly 20 years, but there were some obstacles during two decades of leadership.

“We had been declining in sales and then COVID took us into another decline. As an entrepreneur, you become good at growing, but I knew I didn’t have the skills for a turnaround,” Monroe explained. “I thought I’d bring in someone else who has done it for other companies. But I had to figure out what was best when that didn’t work. We decided to close the business, and as difficult as that is, I knew it was the right time.”

While closing the business was not Monroe’s expected path, she now looks to that experience as a learning opportunity that will help her in the next phase of her professional career.

“I now have the experience of not only starting a business but also closing it and communicating about that,” she said. “I get notes all the time from former sellers and employees thanking me for how we did it.”

In her commencement remarks, Monroe encouraged graduates to embrace failure.

To help ensure more students get the same opportunities as she did, Monroe has invested in her alma mater by establishing a scholarship and supporting the expansion of the Gary W. Rollins College of Business.

“Whenever you give back,” she said, “it’s more fun to tie your passion or purpose around it. I wanted to support the school that helped me become who I am.”

When asked about her next professional move, the successful entrepreneur boldly professed that she’s still in the learning stage of life and wants to find the next opportunity that leverages her passions and skills.

“I still love building. I still have that entrepreneurial spirit. I still love growing companies.”

In her closing commencement remarks, Monroe challenged the UTC Class of 2025, saying that it’s time to get to work when life’s obstacles occur.