From Nurse to Entrepreneur: How Cat Golden Built, Sold & Reclaimed Nurses Inspire Nurses
There is no rule that says becoming a nurse means you have to follow one career path for the rest of your life.
You can work at the bedside.
You can change specialties.
You can work part time.
You can build a business.
You can leave nursing entirely.
You can even build a nationally recognized nursing brand, sell it, start another company and somehow find your way back to the business you originally created.
That last career path might sound a little far-fetched, but it's exactly what happened to nurse entrepreneur Cat Golden.
On a recent episode of the Life After Nursing School Podcast, I sat down with Cat, founder of Nurses Inspire Nurses and 6th Ave Group, to talk about her incredibly unconventional journey from nurse to entrepreneur.
And one of my biggest takeaways from our conversation was this: You don't have to know exactly where you're going to start moving toward something bigger.
Cat certainly didn't.
In fact, Nurses Inspire Nurses began without a perfect business plan, fancy branding, or even a website. What started as a desire to connect nurses eventually became a nationally recognized nursing community and business.
Then Cat sold it.
She built something new.
And in 2026, in perhaps the ultimate entrepreneurial plot twist, she got Nurses Inspire Nurses back.
Her story offers powerful lessons not only for nurses interested in entrepreneurship, but for anyone wondering: What else could my nursing career become?
From Nursing to Entrepreneurship: It Doesn't Have to Be a Perfect Plan
When we see successful nurse entrepreneurs online, we usually meet them somewhere in the middle of their story.
We see the website.
→ The brand.
→ The following.
→ The polished social media.
→ The successful products.
What we don't see is how messy the beginning often was.
Cat's story is the perfect example.
The original idea behind Nurses Inspire Nurses wasn't to create some massive company. Cat wanted to create something centered around nurses supporting nurses.
That eventually led to putting the words "Nurses Inspire Nurses" on a T-shirt.
She ordered 40 shirts.
And she was stressed about spending even a few hundred dollars on them.
Then the shirts sold out.
People wanted more.
There wasn't a sophisticated e-commerce system waiting for them. Cat didn't even have a website or logo yet. She was literally figuring out how to invoice people who wanted to buy the shirts.
And I think that's incredibly important for aspiring nurse entrepreneurs to hear.
You don't need everything figured out before you start.
Sometimes we're so focused on creating the perfect logo, website, LLC, social media strategy, five-year plan, or business model that we never actually test whether anyone wants what we're creating.
Cat did almost the opposite.
She created something.
People responded.
Then she figured out the next step. And the next one. And the next one.
Nurses Inspire Nurses Became More Than a T-Shirt
The product may have been a T-shirt, but the deeper need was community.
Nurses Inspire Nurses grew because it represented something many nurses were craving: connection with other people who understood what it felt like to work in this profession.
Cat began hosting informal coffee talks and happy hours where nurses could connect and talk about what they were experiencing.
What she discovered was that regardless of whether someone had been a nurse for five minutes, five years, or fifteen years, there was a common thread:
We are all humans trying to figure it out.
That idea would eventually become central to Cat's philosophy:
Human First. Nurse Second.
It's a simple phrase, but it carries a powerful message.
Nurses are trained to care for everyone else.
Our patients need us.
Our coworkers need us.
Our families need us.
Our units need us.
And somewhere along the way, being a nurse can become such a significant part of our identity that we forget there is an entire human underneath the scrubs.
Cat's philosophy challenges that.
You are a human first. Then you're a nurse.
In our conversation, Cat talked about nurses' strong desire to take care of everyone else—and how easily that can lead to putting themselves last. Her belief is that when we remember to care for ourselves as humans first, everything else can function better.
That isn't selfish.
It may actually be essential for creating a sustainable nursing career.
Your Nursing Career Doesn't Have to Become Your Entire Identity
This idea feels especially important for new nurses.
Graduating from nursing school can feel like crossing some enormous finish line.
You've spent years working toward the letters RN.
Suddenly people introduce you as "the nurse."
You identify yourself as a nurse.
Your social media bio says nurse.
Your schedule revolves around nursing.
Your friends ask you medical questions because you're the nurse.
And yes, being a nurse is something to be incredibly proud of. But it's still something you do. It doesn't have to encompass everything you are.
One of the beautiful things about nursing is that the profession can give us a foundation from which to explore so many different directions.
Cat's story demonstrates that perfectly.
Nursing wasn't the end of her career story.
It became part of the foundation for everything that came next.
How Do You Become a Nurse Entrepreneur?
Cat didn't have a traditional business background.
So how did she learn?
She asked questions.
She put herself into rooms with people who knew more than she did.
She invested in learning.
She built relationships.
She experimented.
And she kept going.
Cat talked about joining a mastermind in 2019 and intentionally getting into rooms with entrepreneurs who were further ahead than she was. She even shared an example of making a very expensive investment in a single mentoring conversation (something she was quick to say she doesn't necessarily recommend replicating) but which ultimately had a major impact on her business.
The bigger lesson isn't that you need to spend thousands of dollars on mentorship.
It's this: Get around people who expand your idea of what's possible.
That can mean attending a conference.
Joining an entrepreneurial community.
Sending someone a DM.
Listening to podcasts.
Finding a mentor.
Taking a course.
Networking.
Asking someone, "How did you do that?"
Nurses are experts at learning.
We shouldn't assume that ability stops at clinical knowledge.
You Don't Have to Quit Nursing to Start Something Else
This was another important part of Cat's story.
There's a romanticized version of entrepreneurship that goes something like this:
You quit your job.
You take a giant leap.
You build your dream.
Cat's experience was much more practical. She built while she worked.
Later, when transitioning from Nurses Inspire Nurses into what would eventually become 6th Ave Group, she did the same thing again.
As Cat explained during our conversation, she was already building 6th Ave while selling Nurses Inspire Nurses. Her philosophy was essentially that if you wait until one chapter is perfectly wrapped up before beginning the next, you've probably waited too long.
That's a powerful lesson for nurses interested in entrepreneurship.
Your nursing career can actually give you the stability to experiment.
You don't necessarily have to make an all-or-nothing decision.
You can be a nurse and something else.
Until one day, maybe the "something else" becomes your primary career.
Or maybe it doesn't. Both are okay.
Building Nurses Inspire Nurses and Eventually Selling It
Over time, Nurses Inspire Nurses grew far beyond those first 40 T-shirts.
But growth brings its own challenges.
Running a business means carrying responsibility that consumers rarely see.
→ There are customers. Orders. Employees. Finances. Operations. Marketing. Partnerships. Inventory. And the emotional responsibility of being the person at the center of all of it.
Eventually, Cat decided to sell Nurses Inspire Nurses.
The acquisition process itself was lengthy and demanding. During our conversation, we discussed the emotional and physical challenge of operating a business while simultaneously having "one foot out" as the sale progressed.
But Cat wasn't sitting around waiting to see what happened next.
She was already creating her next chapter.
Enter 6th Ave Group
As Cat prepared to leave Nurses Inspire Nurses, she began building what would eventually become 6th Ave Group.
And in many ways, it makes perfect sense.
Cat had spent years learning how to:
Build community.
Grow organically on social media.
Create partnerships.
Host events.
Connect brands with people.
Build trust.
Recognize opportunities.
She noticed that people were constantly asking her how she had grown Nurses Inspire Nurses.
What social media agency did she use?
What strategy had she followed?
Her answer was essentially: I did it.
She had developed a skill set through experience. So she turned those skills into another business.
Interestingly, 6th Ave didn't begin with a perfect brand identity either.
Cat shared that she initially created an LLC under a different name because she knew the role she wanted to play—being the connector or "middle woman" bringing the right people and opportunities together—even before she knew exactly what the public-facing business would become.
She was already working with clients before she had the final name or logo.
There's another entrepreneurial lesson in there:
Your business doesn't have to look perfect before you start doing the work.
Authenticity May Be Your Best Marketing Strategy
One of the things Cat has become exceptionally good at is building genuine relationships.
And that translates directly into how she approaches marketing.
People can tell when you're trying too hard to sell them something.
They can also tell when you genuinely care.
For nurses interested in building businesses or personal brands, this is especially important.
You don't have to become some polished internet version of an entrepreneur.
You don't have to sound like everyone else.
You don't have to follow every trend.
You can build relationships first.
You can be yourself.
You can let people get to know you.
Trust often comes before sales.
And that very human approach to business mirrors Cat's philosophy toward nursing.
Human first.
Even in marketing.
And Then Came the Plot Twist: Cat Got Nurses Inspire Nurses Back
This might be my favorite part of Cat's story simply because you couldn't script it.
Cat sold Nurses Inspire Nurses in 2024.
She moved forward.
She built another company.
And then in 2026, she had the opportunity to reacquire Nurses Inspire Nurses.
Or, as Cat put it during our conversation: "Your girl reacquired her company back!"
She jokingly compared it to getting married, divorced, and then remarried.
But she's not simply stepping back into the exact same business she left.
This is a new chapter.
She's changed.
Her perspective has changed.
Her experience has expanded.
And now she gets to decide what Nurses Inspire Nurses looks like moving forward.
There is something incredibly powerful about returning to something you once built after you've had the opportunity to step away from it.
Sometimes leaving gives you clarity that staying never could.
Career Pivots Don't Mean You Made a Mistake
I think this is an important lesson for nurses in particular.
We're sometimes afraid that changing direction means the previous direction was wrong.
If you leave bedside nursing, was becoming a bedside nurse a mistake?
If you leave leadership, did you fail?
If you start a business and later decide you don't want it, was the business unsuccessful?
If you sell something and eventually return to it, did you make the wrong decision by leaving?
Not necessarily.
Every chapter can teach you something required for the next one.
Cat's experience with Nurses Inspire Nurses helped her develop the skills and relationships that eventually contributed to 6th Ave Group.
6th Ave gave her another perspective on branding, marketing, partnerships, and business.
And now she brings that expanded version of herself back into Nurses Inspire Nurses.
Careers aren't always ladders.
Sometimes they're loops.
Sometimes they're zigzags.
Sometimes you leave something and come back.
Growth doesn't have to be linear.
What Nurse Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Cat Golden
If you're a nurse with a business idea (or even just an idea about doing something different with your career) there are several lessons from Cat's story worth remembering.
1. Start before everything looks perfect.
Nurses Inspire Nurses didn't begin with a polished website and a giant inventory.
It began with an idea and 40 T-shirts.
2. Listen when people respond.
Cat recognized that the reaction to her original shirts represented something bigger.
People wanted the product, yes.
But they also wanted connection.
3. Use nursing as a foundation, not a limitation.
You don't necessarily have to quit your nursing job tomorrow to explore another career.
Nursing can provide stability while you experiment.
4. Get into rooms with people who know things you don't.
Ask questions.
Network.
Find mentors.
Learn from people further ahead.
5. Build relationships.
Cat's career is a powerful example of how relationships can create opportunities you could never perfectly plan for.
6. Don't be afraid to evolve.
The business you start today might not look the same five years from now.
Neither will you.
7. Remember that you're a human before you're your job title.
Maybe the most important lesson has nothing to do with entrepreneurship.
Human First. Nurse Second.
Your career should support your life—not consume your identity.
What Would Your Nursing Career Look Like If There Were No Rules?
This is one of the questions I hope listeners of Life After Nursing School begin asking themselves.
Not: What am I supposed to do next?
But: What do I actually want my life to look like?
Maybe you love bedside nursing and want to stay there for 30 years.
Amazing.
Maybe you want to become an NP.
Maybe you want to teach.
Maybe you want to travel.
Maybe you want to work PRN.
Maybe you want to become a nurse entrepreneur.
Maybe you want to build a company.
Maybe you want to write a book, become a content creator, consult, speak, coach, or create something that doesn't even have a name yet.
Your nursing degree doesn't have to put you into a box.
It can give you a launchpad.
Final Thoughts: Human First. Nurse Second.
Cat Golden's career is unconventional.
But that's precisely why I wanted to have her on Life After Nursing School.
The point of sharing stories like Cat's isn't to convince every nurse to become an entrepreneur.
It's to show nurses what is possible.
Cat went from nursing to building a nursing community and brand, selling that business, creating an entirely new company, and eventually reacquiring the company she started.
She didn't have every step mapped out beforehand.
She figured it out as she went.
And perhaps that's the bigger lesson.
You don't need to know exactly what your nursing career will look like ten years from now.
→ You need to know enough to take the next step.
→ Ask the question.
→ Go to the event.
→ Make the connection.
→ Create the T-shirt.
→ Start the side hustle.
→ Apply for the job.
→ Leave the thing that no longer fits.
→ Try something new.
And throughout all of it, remember the message at the center of Cat's work:
→ You are human first. Nurse second.
Your nursing career is part of your life.
It doesn't have to be your entire life.
And there may be far more possible for you than you ever imagined when you first walked across that stage and became a nurse.
As always — I have one hand for me, and the other for you. 🤍
Signing Off…
Caroline
PS. Want more on this topic? Listen to Life After Nursing School Podcast Ep 67