When you meet Lindsey Brooks, you immediately sense someone who is both grounded and in motion – a person who thrives by doing, learning, stretching, and stepping into whatever the moment demands.
Lindsey graduated with a degree in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the Lacy School of Business in May 2024, and today, she’s the Operations Associate at King Lou Pets, a fast-growing, real-life-inspired pet nutrition company that makes super treats for dogs and cats. The Butler alum oversees warehouse flow, fulfillment, inventory, packaging, and anything else that keeps a young, nimble business running.
“Anything that would affect how we go about our day-to-day is what I handle,” she said. “And then some other overlap things. I help with our live streams, a little bit of marketing, whatever the business needs.” It’s the exact kind of environment she’s always quietly gravitated toward: hands-on, human-sized, and full of things to figure out.
Her journey to that spot started long before graduation – back when she was just a high schooler in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she heard about a small, private university in Indianapolis. “I knew I did well in 30-person classes,” she remembered. “But a 500-person lecture hall? That sounded like the death of me.”
LSB checked every box she didn’t know she had: intimate classes, a campus that felt big enough but not overwhelming. “And it was super dog friendly, which – huge animal person over here,” she laughed.
Even still, it wasn’t until she was invited to the Lacy Business Scholars Day that everything clicked into place. “The sessions, the alumni, what the program offered – everything aligned.” She came in as an Exploratory Business major, drawn to business but not yet to a single lane. And then she won the scholarship. “That was the difference between me needing student loans and not.”
Once at Butler, she didn’t just join campus life – she dove straight into it. Honors. Lacy Scholars. Entrepreneurship & Innovation Club. Stencil. Dawgs Serving Dogs. Club soccer. Coaching. Volunteering. “I’m someone who works better busy,” she said. “The more I have to do, the less I procrastinate. And everything I joined gave me an outlet that wasn’t academic.”
Inside the classroom, she found the professors who helped shape her path. Early on, it was Professor Kristi Mitchell, lecturer of entrepreneurship and innovation, in First-Year Business Experience. “That class made me realize I wanted to do entrepreneurship and innovation,” she recalled. “I loved problem solving – that feeling of having a million obstacles and figuring out how to get through them.”
Later, in Operations Management with Professor Matthew Caito, lecturer in operations management, something even more surprising happened. “I’m very black-and-white, type A – and operations just made sense to me. But it still had room for creativity. That balance felt right.” Professor Caito would also become one of the first people she turned to when she realized her first job out of college wasn’t for her. “He helped me think through what I liked, what I didn’t, what to look for, even what to say in interviews. That openness – it changed everything.”
Which brought her to the pivot she didn’t see coming. “I always said I didn’t want to do supply chain,” she admitted. But during a rough stretch in a sales role, she knew wasn’t the right fit, she reached out to Professor Caito.
“I told him, ‘I like talking to people, but I don’t like hounding people.’ I had no idea what was next.” He asked questions she hadn’t considered. What did she enjoy? What parts of her last job did she want to keep? Was she willing to trade the comfort of stability for the learning curve of a small business? “He basically said, ‘Worst case scenario, it’s not glamorous. Are you okay with that?’ And I realized… yes, I am.” She smiled. “Small business is exactly what I wanted. And he helped me understand how my experiences fit into that world.”
She took the leap – from an almost Fortune 500 company to a startup – and everything changed. “You don’t have to find your perfect fit first, second, or even third,” she said. “Just getting into an area or company you like is already a win. I was freaking out back then, but now? I’m 24 and I love my job. That’s already such a blessing.” Her advice to students feeling the pressure to have it all figured out: “Take the pressure off yourself. Be open to risks. Don’t worry what it looks like from the outside. Every step is a steppingstone.”
Looking ahead, she sees a future rooted in operations. “I love the raw materials side, I love relationships, I love the backend,” she said. Her long-term dream is clear: Director of Operations. Not just running the systems, but shaping them – sourcing new farms for ingredients, managing teams, building structure, being the person who keeps everything moving. She knows she’s ambitious. And she knows she’s in the right place to grow. “My old job had a clear track,” Lindsey said. “This job has a clear purpose. And that matters more.”
When she reflects on her time at LSB, one thing stands above the rest: the power of a network. “They emphasized it so much – and now I’m like, okay, I get it. The bigger your network, the more potential you have.” She remembers building a LinkedIn profile in class, talking to peers in Real Business Experience, meeting guest speakers, and staying connected with professors. “After speaking at an event recently, my LinkedIn was flooded with requests. That wouldn’t have happened if LSB hadn’t taught me how to show up.”
Her final words to current students are simple, honest, and lived: “Keep your mind open. Be willing to take risks. Every internship, every job, even the ones you don’t like, teaches you something. You’re not going to know what you want out of a career until you test things out. And that’s okay.”
