LAUREN SWEENEY

Lauren Sweeney founded Richmond-based creative agency Dotted Line in 2014 when she was 26 years old — building on insights from her family.

“I come from a family of small business owners,” she explains, “so a lot of the language that I heard growing up around the dinner table was … the typical topics you have in a small business.”

One takeaway she learned was the responsibility of making sure that one’s company is “being used in a way that has a positive impact on employees as well as doing good in the local community.”

Sweeney has involved Dotted Line in community engagement through nonprofit organizations and performing pro bono work for aspiring entrepreneurs. For several years, she and Dotted Line supported UnBoundRVA — a now-defunct local nonprofit that helped low-income entrepreneurs start their own businesses —helping its clients develop branding for their emerging companies.

This year, Sweeney joined the Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors. As a new board member, she’s still finding her footing, she says, but is excited to support businesses around the commonwealth.

Additionally, in January, Sweeney launched a yearlong leadership development pilot program in her own agency that features peer-led and expert-led workshops.

“Everyone on our team,” she says, “leads in some type of capacity.”