Young Female Entrepreneur’s Continued Curiosity Leads to Forbes Agency Council

Ann Arbor, MI, October 12, 2016 --(PR.com)-- Ida Abdalkhani, Founder & Chief Catalyzer at Ability to Engage, a boutique consultancy that specializes in brand building, marketing, innovation and consumer research, has been accepted into the Forbes Agency Council, an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Ability to Engage was hand-selected as one of the first members of this special community.

In recent years, Ability to Engage has grown over 300% and works across the globe with some of the world’s largest and most respected companies in brand and marketing such as Clorox, ConAgra Foods, McGraw Hill, PepsiCo, Pfizer, and Procter & Gamble, as well as start-ups, non-profits, universities, and government groups. Ida’s dedication to the pursuit of curiosity and the power within every individual for innovation has made her a sought after speaker at local, regional and national events.

Scott Gerber, founder of Forbes Councils, says, “We are honored to welcome Ida Abdalkhani into the community. Our mission with Forbes Councils is to curate successful professionals from every industry, creating a vetted, social capital-driven network that helps every member make an even greater impact on the business world.”

Ida grew up in the small, Midwestern, town of Lima, Ohio. She went on to become a Buckeye, holding an MBA, BSBA, and BA from The Ohio State University. While growing up in Lima, Ida’s natural creativity, leadership, and sense of entrepreneurship started to take form. While still in elementary school, she and a friend developed a newspaper, The 4th Grade Times and she went door-to-door with a neighborhood friend selling handmade jewelry. During high school, Ida started “Help Your Community Day,” bringing classmates, teachers, and administrators together to volunteer in the community once-a-month.

Ida’s curiosity only grew when she went to college. She was the President of Ohio State’s student-run entrepreneurship group an went on to declare entrepreneurship as one of her majors. However, after graduation, she did not become an entrepreneur. Ida interned at The Coca-Cola Company and Procter & Gamble and found she loved the world of marketing and brand. She went on to become a global brand manager at P&G. However, Ida felt a need for more opportunities to discover and create. She resigned from her job and went backpacking around the world - visiting approximately 50 countries over 8 months!

During her travels, Ida realized that traditional consumer insight methods and related marketing were only scratching the surface of what was possible to connect with audiences on a deeper level. Ida started developing methods for deeper insights and innovation when she returned from her travels, and the journey creating Ability to Engage began.

“People will always be at the core of what I do. I am driven by helping people better understand themselves, and the world around them. It’s what motivates me to continue digging deep and innovating through Ability to Engage.”