I'm Nathalie Lussier
(Pronounced Natalie Loo-see-ay)
I’m the founder of the WordPress plugin AccessAlly, which helps coaches deliver their courses, memberships, and communities on their terms.
I’m also a permaculture farmer and deeply invested in strengthening local and regenerative food initiatives.
My Software Engineering background helps me see the big picture and connect the dots.
Following the digital trail…
I started “dreaming in digital” at an early age and designed my first website at age 12. Before that, I flexed my entrepreneurial muscles by putting together a self-published magazine I sold to my friends and family.
I put in 10,000-plus hours of programming time while earning my bachelor’s Degree in Software Engineering.
When graduation rolled around I had worked as an intern for a start-up in the Silicon Valley, a Wall Street firm, and hopped around Europe while interning as a programmer in London.
I was lucky enough to graduate with a job offer from a Wall Street firm, but my intuition told me that the economy was shifting in ways we couldn’t comprehend, and I had always wanted to start my own business, so I turned down that job offer.
My parents and peers thought I was crazy to chuck away such a stable career, especially because the first business I started was all about my passion for healthy eating.
I mastered online marketing…
While growing my first business, being my quirky self, and wearing a witch’s hat in my videos, I built a website that reached 750,000 yearly visitors and over 1 million page views.
Soon my readers and clients were asking me how I had grown my healthy eating business so quickly, how I set up my website, and how all of these digital strategies really worked…
Answering their questions led to the creation of my second business, which quickly grew to a six-figure web design and consulting company.
Climbing the spiral staircase…
Although my consulting company was doing well, I knew I wanted to start a family and the travel and regular calls were not going to be the ideal scenario with a baby.
By this point, my business was doing so well financially that I asked my husband to quit his corporate job and join me in my business.
At first, he resisted but when we ran into some technical issues with our membership website he quickly dusted off his coding skills and pulled together what would eventually become the AccessAlly plugin for WordPress. He could see where he could bring value to people in this coaching and entrepreneurial space!
Together over the next few months we added more functionality and released our first WordPress plugin, PopupAlly.
This was our test to make sure we could handle supporting software customers. We found that we really liked creating software solutions, so we decided to go all in and make AccessAlly our main gig.
I call this climbing the spiral staircase because I found myself in the software space again after stepping away, but this time I had a new perspective as a business owner.
Stepping into leadership and mentorship
Many years into this entrepreneurial adventure, I’m grateful to have an amazing team making AccessAlly better every day.
I’ve also been able to hire interns and mentor them in a way that I wish I had when I was just starting out in my tech and business career, too.
Today I share my insights and experience running a permaculture farm, raising two kids, and running a successful software startup.
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Official Bio
Nathalie Lussier is an award-winning entrepreneur who has been making websites since she was 12 years old. She graduated with a degree in Software Engineering and a job offer from Wall Street, but she turned down this job to start her own business right out of college.
As the founder of AccessAlly, the powerful digital course and membership solution for industry leaders, she believes that access to education can help defy stereotypes and make the world a better place while providing a sustainable livelihood for enterprising teachers.
Nathalie has been featured in Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Success Magazine, Entrepreneur, Venture Beat, and Mashable.
Testimonials
“A Gifted Model and Mentor.
Nathalie is that rare creature who’s both genuinely super-nice, and laser-sharp with business and sales.
She’s a gifted model and mentor for anyone who feels “icky” about selling. When it comes to online business marketing, and what makes people say “yes,” she always has the answer. She’s pure genius.”
– Laura Belgray, TalkingShrimp.com
“Delivers Laser Focused Insights on Strategies for Growth.
Nathalie is a brilliant business mind. She has an incredible knack for gathering all the necessary information, then delivering laser-focused insights on exactly the right strategy required for growth.
Best of all, she gives clear direction on how to integrate the necessary steps, so you know exactly what to do AND how to do it. Genius.”
– Nisha Moodley, NishaMoodley.com
“Nathalie is such a natural leader.
She’s committed to always bringing her best to everything she does. Nathalie’s ability to answer tough technical questions when it comes to launches, web sites, and analytics is remarkable.
Nathalie was a guest lecturer for our B-school program, where she taught students how to create their own web sites, set up an email list, and track their results. She went above and beyond to take care of our students by answering questions, and making sure everyone was taken care of. The feedback we got about Nathalie’s training is that she makes online business and technology easy and doable.
Nathalie knows her stuff, and I’m happy to have her as a guest teacher and trainer.”
– Marie Forleo, MarieForleo.com
“Nathalie Lussier is the real deal in online strategy.
She combines serious business acumen with an ability to disarm you and focus directly on your needs. Her tech videos have given me the relief and insights to move forward in my business.
Often, the behind the scenes of building a business can deplete you – Nathalie shows you how to focus on what matters, learn only what you need to know, and gives you the training to take yourself from exhausted to productive.
Her training is unmatched because she’s a business owner herself. She intuitively knows the psyche, needs, and goals of the entrepreneur. I highly recommend working with her if you want to play a bigger game in your business.”
– Ishita Gupta, IshitaGupta.com
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