Angelique Rewers on BoldHaus, Blue-Collar Beginnings and Teaching Small Businesses to Win With Corporate Giants
“I was born and raised in Baltimore in a blue-collar family. Most of my family worked at places like Bethlehem Steel… Everyone in my family worked at least two jobs, always working double and triple shifts, so I grew up with a mindset of strong work ethic. … Being in Washington, D.C. gave me a global perspective, and I knew I wanted to do work with a large international reach. … The biggest thing to know about me is that I am a person who says yes to opportunity. Each time a door opened, I stepped through it.”
I had the pleasure of talking with Angelique Rewers. In order to truly understand Angelique, and the force behind BoldHaus, you have to look past the shimmering Inc. 5000 accolades and the polished C-suite exterior. You have to look back to the grit of Dundalk, Maryland, a blue-collar enclave in the shadow of Baltimore, where the air used to smell like industry and hard labor.
Rewers didn’t come from money; she came from the kind of resilience that is forged in fire. “I was born and raised in Baltimore in a blue-collar family,” Rewers told me, painting a picture of a childhood defined by scarcity and tenacity. “A lot of my family worked in places like Bethlehem Steel.”
It was a life of row homes and double shifts. Rewers grew up in her grandparents’ house, the daughter of a single mother who refused to let circumstance dictate their future. “Everyone in my family worked at least two jobs, always working double and triple shifts, so I grew up with a mindset of strong work ethic,” she said. The space was tight, she went from “sharing a bedroom with my mother in a two-bedroom house” to navigating the halls of George Washington University on a scholarship, a transition that felt like stepping onto a different planet.
That relentless drive propelled her into the high-stakes world of Fortune 200 corporate communications. For a decade, Rewers existed in what she calls the “blast zone” of major strategic initiatives. She wasn’t just an observer; she was the translator for the executive class, taking the directives of CEOs and General Counsels and making them palatable for thousands of employees. But the view from the top came with a heavy price tag. By the end of her corporate tenure, she was clocking 70 to 80 hours a week, burned out and watching millions of dollars flow to outside consultants whose work she often had to fix herself.
So, she walked away. She started her own boutique consulting firm, fully intending to just do the work and go home. But the universe had a different script. After landing a roster of enviable corporate clients, Rewers found herself cornered at a women’s business conference. The audience didn’t care about her prepared speech; they wanted the secret sauce. “People started pestering me to coach them,” she recalled. “I didn’t see myself as a business coach, but I took on a few clients as a side hustle to show them how to get clients.”
That side hustle exploded into BoldHaus. Rewers realized she possessed a Rosetta Stone for small business owners: she knew how the corporate “Goliaths” actually thought. She taught her clients to stop acting like unsure salespeople and start acting like peers. “If I showed up for decision-makers the way I wish people had shown up for me, what would that look like?” she asked. That question became the foundation of a company that has now spent nearly two decades helping the “Davids” of the world get a seat at the table.
But the climb wasn’t a straight shot. Rewers is candid about the chaos of entrepreneurship, sharing stories that would make most MBA professors sweat. There was the time in 2013 when she booked the massive Gaylord National hotel for a conference, signing a nearly $300,000 contract without the budget to back it. With 30 days to go, she had only filled 11% of the room block.
“I lived off McDonald’s, barely showered, and made sales calls 18 hours a day,” she admitted. It was a baptism by fire. She sold the tickets, but the lesson was visceral. “You have to ‘bake the cake’ to know how to bake it; you can’t just read the recipe.”
Then there are the moments where the shiny CEO veneer cracks to reveal the human underneath. Rewers laughs about rushing to a sales meeting with one of the planet’s biggest brands, only to be asked, “What’s that in your hair?” It was macaroni and cheese, a souvenir from feeding her twin sons. “I wasn’t embarrassed; I thought, that’s the life of a CEO mom of twins.”
Today, BoldHaus is gearing up for its 20th anniversary in 2026, but Rewers isn’t coasting. She’s rebuilding systems and integrating AI, driven by a recent diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis. It’s a challenge she meets with the same steel-town resolve she grew up with. She views her clients’ success as a form of infiltration, getting small, ethical businesses into the boardrooms of massive corporations to effect change from the inside out.
“When you go to Home Depot or Costco, fly Delta, or log into LinkedIn, you are experiencing brands our clients have worked with,” she said. It’s a long way from the row house in Dundalk, but for Angelique Rewers, the mission remains the same: say yes to the opportunity, do the work, and when the door opens, step through it. As she puts it, “To go from good to great, you have to be willing to let go of the good things to make room for the great things.”
Yitzi: Angelique Rewers, it’s so nice to meet you. Before we dive deep, our readers would love to learn about your personal origin story. Can you share the story of your childhood, how you grew up, and the seeds for all the amazing work that has come since then?
Angelique Rewers: I was born and raised in Baltimore in a blue-collar family. Most of my family worked at places like Bethlehem Steel. My mom was divorced by the time I was three. Since we are both only children, we grew up in my grandparents’ house in a place called Dundalk, Maryland. It was a very blue-collar area, and we lived in a small row home. Everyone in my family worked at least two jobs, always working double and triple shifts, so I grew up with a mindset of strong work ethic.
From the time I was very little, I was independent and had a lot of responsibility because we didn’t have much money. Fortunately, my family prioritized my education. I was one of the first people in my family to go away to college; I went to George Washington University in Washington, D.C., on a scholarship, which was incredible. A lot of my origin story comes from that blue-collar upbringing and seeing my single mom work multiple jobs to put herself through college and do everything she could to get me there.
I had always been interested in international business, which is why I went to GW for international affairs from 1995 through 1999. Being in Washington, D.C. gave me a global perspective, and I knew I wanted to do work with a large international reach. That environment exposed me to one opportunity after the next. The biggest thing to know about me is that I am a person who says yes to opportunity. Each time a door opened, I stepped through it. To go from sharing a bedroom with my mother in a two-bedroom house to now having a beautiful home and a company recognized as an Inc. 5000 company is a big journey. I credit a lot of it to my work ethic and saying yes.
Yitzi: Please tell us about the next chapter. Tell us the story of how you started BoldHaus and how that came about.
Angelique Rewers: I spent the first 10 years of my professional career working in Fortune 200 companies. Literally from day one, I was working with the C-suite. The CEO saw a lot in me and kept pulling me in for special projects. I would sit in meetings with the entire executive team to understand strategic initiatives and communicate them to thousands of employees. One of the most valuable parts of those 10 years was being in the “blast zone” of major strategic initiatives. I didn’t appreciate at 22 years old how rare it was to witness discussions between a CEO and general counsel, and then be tasked with communicating that direction to 10,000 employees.
As a natural extension of my role in corporate communications, I had to hire hundreds of outside experts, service providers, vendors, and suppliers. After about 10 years, it got to the point where I was fixing much of the outside work I was hiring. I’d hire a PR firm, branding company, or copywriter, and then have to redo their work. I was working 70 to 80 hours a week and seeing the checks I was signing off on for these companies. I decided to leave my role and start my own consulting company.
It was successful, and about a year into it, I was asked to speak at a conference for women business owners. The audience wasn’t interested in my topic; they just wanted to know how I built such an incredible corporate client list. People started pestering me to coach them. I didn’t see myself as a business coach, but I took on a few clients as a side hustle to show them how to get clients. They referred others, and within two years, I had a whole separate business.
I think it grew so fast because I taught people a different, more authentic way to get clients. When you are a small business owner marketing, selling, and delivering expertise to corporate decision-makers, you need consistency in trust and authority. I took everything I experienced as a corporate decision-maker and flipped it on its head. I asked, “If I showed up for decision-makers the way I wish consultants had shown up for me, what would that look like?” That is what this company has been built on for 19 years. Next year, 2026, we will have been doing this for 20 years. We are so blessed to love our clients and the impact of what we do. I can’t think of anything to be more grateful for professionally.
Yitzi: You probably have some amazing ones from all the successes and clients you’ve worked with. Can you share one or two stories that stand out most in your mind?
Angelique Rewers: Regarding the current business over the last 19 years, one of my favorite stories involves a client who had been a business owner for 18 years before meeting us. They worked with some of the most important brands on the planet, brands that touch our lives every day, doing work critical to customer safety. Despite being the best in the world at what they do, they had been stuck at relatively the same revenue level for 18 years. When they came to work with us, everything changed. They went from being stuck to increasing their revenue tenfold and finally taking vacations.
While we guide them, the clients are the ones who have to walk through the “terror barriers” and make changes. Often, business owners are so stuck that the “fish can’t see the water.” One of the biggest successes we see is clients finally taking a profit from their business to create generational wealth. One of my favorite things to hear is a client saying their CPA has “bad news” about a big tax bill, because that means they are finally taking a profit.
The second big story is seeing our clients become change agents inside organizations. We describe our clients as the “Davids working with the Goliaths.” They can have conversations with executives that a senior manager at a large firm simply can’t have. They bring a different truth to the conversation, whether it’s creating greater safety, better culture, or moving from good to great. Because they are boutique firms, they can go in with precision.
I love seeing clients go from “once and done” opportunities to creating long-term relationships where they transform organizations from the inside out. When you go to Home Depot or Costco, fly Delta, or log into LinkedIn, you are experiencing brands our clients have worked with. There is a story behind the experience you have as a consumer because a small business had a seat at the table and spoke truth to power.
Yitzi: It’s been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Do you have a story about a funny mistake you made when you were first starting and a lesson learned?
Angelique Rewers: In 2009, I had my twins. The funniest story is rushing to a sales meeting with one of the largest brands on the planet and having them ask, “What’s that in your hair?” I reached up and found mac and cheese because I had just fed my twins. I wasn’t embarrassed; I thought, that’s the life of a CEO mom of twins.
A more defining story came in 2013 when I hosted a conference called “Inside Edge”. I committed to a large-scale venue at the Gaylord National Hotel, a contract valued at roughly $300,000, knowing it would force the business to rise to a new level. With just 30 days remaining, we had filled only 11% of the room block and needed to sell 400 tickets. What followed was one of the most demanding stretches of my career: nonstop outreach, long days, living off McDonald’s, barely showering, and absolute focus on execution. We ultimately filled the room and delivered the event, and it taught me that real confidence doesn’t come from theory. It comes from doing the work, delivering under pressure, and learning you can trust yourself to finish what you start.
I learned that until you’ve actually gone through the experience and created the result yourself, you don’t know as much as you think you do. You have to “bake the cake” to know how to bake it; you can’t just read the recipe. Many business owners stay stuck because they consume free webinars and think they know how to do something without ever getting the result.
The other lesson is that you don’t quit. You make a decision to hit the goal, and you do whatever it takes. When you go through the experience of creating a new result, you become a different person. You build muscle memory and trust yourself to get the outcome you want. No one can take that away from you.
Yitzi: Can you share with us any exciting new initiatives, announcements, or projects you’re working on now?
Angelique Rewers: We actually changed the way we are working with our clients for 2026. We looked at our last 19 years and asked, “If we wiped the slate clean, what would we do?”
First, we completely rebuilt our learning management system this year, creating over 150 new lessons on how to win and work with B2B clients. That was a massive undertaking, especially since being diagnosed with MS.
Second, for 2026, we are introducing “All Systems Go Week.” We realized the best way to help clients was to put them in a room with me and the faculty for one week to build their business development engine, rather than spacing it out.
Distractions are kryptonite to small business owners. We will have about 30 clients come in, get training and strategy, as well as guidance about how to use the right tools to get things done faster, and build their systems on the spot. This, combined with the new learning management system, allows us to scale and ensure clients actually get the work done. To go from good to great, you have to be willing to let go of the good things to make room for the great things.
Yitzi: This is our signature question. Based on your experience, can you share five things small businesses need to win enterprise-level clients?
Angelique Rewers:
- Think like a decision-maker. You have to understand the human on the other side of the table, the one who is tired, has too much on their plate, and maybe has mac and cheese in their hair. You must truly empathize with them, not just follow old-school sales training.
- Solve an urgent, recognizable problem. You must solve a problem that the decision-maker has explicitly asked for help with. The urgent always trumps the important.
- Use authentic, high-trust techniques. Your approach must come from a place of service. Decision-makers can instantly tell the difference between a manipulative sales email and one that is truly service-oriented. Avoid “red herring” strategies, like fake podcast invites designed to trick people into sales calls.
- Educate without selling. You need a transparent way to educate decision-makers on what you do so they understand when they need you and how to work with you.
- Engage authentically. You have to be good at what you do, but you also need a way to get decision-makers to spend time with you. They have about one hour a week to spare for outside content. You need to win that hour with high-value engagement, not just by seeking likes or followers.
Yitzi: This is our matchmaker question. Is there a person in the United States or in the world with whom you’d like to collaborate or have a power lunch?
Angelique Rewers: I would love to connect again with Kristen Bell. We are both involved with the same nonprofit, the United Nations Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund. I met her two years ago on the red carpet at a gala. She is a great entrepreneur, influencer, humanitarian, and mother. I am a Global Luminary for the fund for 2026, and she is the official Global Advocate for WPHF. The fund raises money for women in parts of the world impacted by war, conflict, or natural disasters. We know that when women have a seat at the reconstruction table, the community heals.
Yitzi: Angelique, how can our readers continue to follow your work?
Angelique Rewers: BoldHaus.com is the best way to learn more about us and see our calendar. I’m the only Angelique Rewers on LinkedIn, so it is easy to find me there, and you can also find me on Instagram at @AngeliqueRewers.
Yitzi: Angelique, it’s so nice to meet you. I wish you continued success, good health, and blessings. I hope we can do this again next year.
Angelique Rewers: I hope so too. Thank you so much. If there is ever anything we can do to support you, please let us know. We have a close-knit community of about 800 BoldHaus Collective members and a very large global community. If you need an expert on any topic, from leadership development, to marketing, to preventing suicide in companies, to reducing safety incidents, we likely have someone.
Yitzi: Thank you so much for that very generous offer.
Angelique Rewers: Have a fabulous holiday weekend!
Angelique Rewers on BoldHaus, Blue-Collar Beginnings and Teaching Small Businesses to Win With… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.