Monique Mills received her undergraduate electrical engineering degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology and her MBA, with a concentration in Management of Technology, from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
After many years of corporate industry experience, she took the plunge and stepped out on her own to create and lead the growth of her own software company as well as a multidisciplinary management consulting company, TPM Focus. TPM Focus provides revenue-focused strategy to startups and small to medium-sized businesses by aligning their marketing, sales, technology, and customer success with revenue goals (finances).
In 2022, Monique and her family launched a family-owned venture that takes her business innovation skills to the heart of America---into small businesses. This company, Focused Innovation Group (called FIG for short), was formed to acquire established B2B services companies that are ripe for innovation and digital transformation to increase their efficiencies and profitability.
Monique was a Research Faculty member of Georgia Institute of Technology, advising tech entrepreneurs at the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), the oldest technology incubator in Georgia. ATDC has an international reputation for fostering technological entrepreneurship by helping tech startups navigate the ambiguous journey of taking an idea from concept, to prototype, launch, and finally, to scale. Participating companies have created hundreds of jobs, millions of tax revenues, and raised over a billion dollars in outside funding from angel investors and venture capitalists.
Monique served as an Adjunct Professor at Georgia State University in the College of Business as part of the University's Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute. She taught students how to apply evidence-based entrepreneurship methods to go from an idea to a sustainable business model.
As a woman in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), Monique has experienced many challenges and rewards along her journey. She is committed to helping and connecting with others who share the same love of STEM and may be considering pursuing or actively involved in a STEM field. Monique partners with many organizations to support the recruitment, retainment, and advancement of women in STEM-related educational tracks and career fields as well as organizations that incite and support the entrepreneurial spirit in others. As part of her work in this area, she serves as a Research Affiliate for the EDEFI (Explorations in Diversifying Engineering Faculty Initiative), federally-funded research conducted by Vanderbilt University.
EDEFI investigates the institutional, technical, social, and cultural factors that affect the decision-making, career choices, and career satisfaction for doctoral students, postdoctoral scholars, and faculty who have been marginalized by race and/or gender.