When Mentors Are Miles Away: The Inspiration That Drove Hugh & Grace Founder Sara Jensen

Sara Jensen’s journey has taken her from competitive swimming and diving as a student to the boardrooms of nonprofit organizations and leadership circles like YPO as a CEO. But while she brings the same discipline, focus and reliance she learned from swimming into her leadership roles today, it’s her personal story—navigating more than a decade of unexplained infertility—that ultimately led her to found her mission-driven wellness company Hugh & Grace in 2019.

Inspiration can come from anywhere. And no one knows this better than Jensen, who discovered a kindred spirit early on in someone she’d never met. Jensen was inspired by the story of Brownie Wise, the saleswoman who turned Tupperware into a household name. She pored over Wise’s Harvard Business School case study and even visited her museum in Orlando. Now, the CEO encourages leaders to look for guidance in unexpected places.

Jensen, whose wellness company was awarded Most Transformative Company by Real Leaders in 2025, reminds her peers that valuable lessons can be discovered far beyond traditional mentorship—or even beyond face to face interactions. “You can go back, read about people’s experiences, and learn incredible lessons without ever being in the same room with them,” she explains on a recent episode of the Corporate Competitor Podcast.

Mentorship, she said, can come from understanding a person’s journey and learning about how they approached success, even if they never shared those secrets with you directly. Walking in their footsteps or picking up ways they made their mark can lead to your own significant moments. “Find someone who’s living the dream life for you,” the Hugh & Grace CEO says. “And then contact them or even model and read about them—sometimes you don’t actually have to meet a mentor.”

The wellness company co-founder shared this and more on the podcast, including:

• Be authentic. Jensen stressed the idea that people want to work for leaders they can relate to, people who are open. So, as difficult as her story of unexplained infertility was to tell, she’s allowed herself to be vulnerable and share it. “People love that Hugh & Grace exists not just as another brand trying to make money, but that there’s a real purpose,” she offers.

• You can do hard. Along with being a competitive swimmer, Jensen has run marathons. This gritty effort was strengthened by something her dad told her: You can do hard. “When I was running,” Jensen says, “I would always remember ‘I can do hard.’ It’s not necessarily pretty, doesn’t have to be perfect, but I can do hard.” This helped the CEO gut out tough times as she pushed toward a solution.

• Keep going. Speaking of marathons, Jensen knows that achieving anything remarkable takes great endurance and strength. So, it’s important to build up your abilities—and those of your team—for the long road ahead. “When I know that my body strength [and] my mental strength is there, and I have a collective group of people who believe in the same things, that’s when we’re able to achieve amazing things.”