Today we’d like to introduce you to Erika Brown.
Hi Erika, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I spent over a decade in the pharmaceutical industry in a role that looked successful from the outside. But somewhere along the way, I realized the version of myself I’d built didn’t quite fit anymore. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d done something purely for joy. Everything was about performance, achievement, meeting expectations.
The key to my realignment came through an unexpected direction. I discovered cosplay—not as an escape from my career, but as a way back to myself. It sounds completely unrelated to pharmaceutical work, but cosplay reconnected me with creativity I’d forgotten I had. It gave me permission to try things, to be playful, to step outside the rigid professional box I’d built around myself.
That creative permission became a gateway. I started a podcast. I began doing voiceover work. I said yes to unexpected opportunities that the “old version” of me would have deemed too risky or “off-brand.” Cosplay didn’t make me quit my job—it helped me find my brave. It showed me I could be multi-dimensional. That I didn’t have to choose between being a respected professional and being creative, playful, fully myself.
As I started sharing my journey, something unexpected happened: women started reaching out. High-achieving women—accomplished, respected, “successful” by every traditional measure—telling me they felt the same way. They were quietly asking themselves: “Is this it?” They needed to know they weren’t alone. They needed to see that living authentically isn’t selfish or irresponsible. It’s necessary.
That’s why I created The Bravewell Group—a movement for women who are ready to stop performing and start living authentically. ‘Bravewelling’ means being brave enough to choose yourself and well enough to sustain it.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not even close. I’ve pivoted more times than I can count. But surprisingly, the biggest struggle wasn’t external—it was internal. I kept trying to fit into traditional business models because that’s what I thought “real” entrepreneurs did. I tried coaching, operations management, following the latest frameworks from business gurus. But none of it felt authentic.
The real breakthrough came when I stopped asking “What business model works?” and started asking “What do I actually want to build?”
That’s when everything clicked. I didn’t want to be a coach telling women what to do. I wanted to create a movement that shows women what’s possible. I wanted to interview women who were already living their brave—to share their stories, inspire others, and show different paths forward. And I wanted to create tools for the women still in the struggle—books that validate their experience, planners that help them reclaim their time, resources that give them permission to choose themselves.
I’ve learned that my journey works best when I trust my own voice instead of trying to replicate someone else’s path. Every time I’ve doubted that voice, I’ve gotten stuck. Every time I’ve honored it, things have moved forward.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a speaker and media contributor. As a speaker, I talk about finding your brave, giving yourself permission, and redefining success on your own terms—showing women what’s possible when you stop performing and start living authentically. As a media contributor, I offer services to conferences, conventions, and organizations to interview attendees and capture stories they can use for social media, marketing, and community building. What sets me apart is my approach. I don’t do surface-level Q&A. I ask the questions that get to the heart of someone’s story—the kind of content that makes people stop scrolling and actually engage. I also interview women for my own platform about how they’re living their brave—the real, unfiltered stories of transformation.
Beyond speaking and interviewing, I’m also a voiceover artist working in commercial and narration, and I just wrote my first book, “Brave Enough to Disappoint,” about giving yourself permission to stop performing and start living authentically.
But here’s what truly makes me different: I live this integration publicly. I’m a business owner who cosplays. A speaker who shows up at comic cons. A professional who chooses joy alongside achievement. I’m not teaching theory—I’m living proof that you can be multi-dimensional and successful. And that authenticity comes through in every talk I give and every interview I conduct.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Tenacity. I don’t quit. Not when things get hard, not when the path isn’t clear, not when others say it can’t be done.
But it’s not stubborn tenacity, it’s adaptive tenacity. When something doesn’t work, I don’t keep forcing it. I pause, I assess, I adjust. Then I keep moving forward.
This quality is essential to what I’m building because creating a movement requires staying power. It requires showing up consistently, even when growth is slow. Even when people don’t understand. Even when it would be easier to go back to what’s comfortable.
The Bravewell Movement exists because I refused to quit on the idea that women deserve permission to live authentically. And that kind of tenacity is contagious.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thebravewellgroup.com/
- Instagram: @drerikabrown
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-erika-brown/
