The Power of the Pivot: Devin Wilmott-Johnson on Reinvention, Sisterhood, and Takeoffs

When life hands you an unexpected turn, some women sink in the change, and others take off. Devin Wilmott-Johnson is one of the latter. As founder of Girls Trip Society and CEO of DWJ & Co., she embodies what it means to pivot, persevere, and lead with heart.

 From Passion to Purpose

Devin built her career on branding, creativity, and operations, and she didn’t set out just to throw great events. She envisioned places where women could show up as themselves, free of pressures like “What do you do?” or “Where are you positioned?” Sisters need spaces to exhale, to connect on deeper levels. That was the spark behind the Takeoff Series. urbanmag-online.com

Launching it in Dallas was meaningful: Devin’s community, her foundation for both personal growth and professional experimentation. From there, the Takeoff Series expands, pop-ups, retreats, international visions, to connect more women globally. urbanmag-online.com

Challenges, Branding, and Breakthroughs

Like many founders, Devin encountered early obstacles, partners and sponsors not being able to see her vision, being asked to prove legitimacy without having a “track record.” But she leaned into what she does best: strong branding, intentional strategy, and refusing to compromise on what she knew was possible. urbanmag-online.com

Consistency in branding not only built trust but showed others that her vision wasn’t just hype, it was real. That movement from doubt and under-imagining to follow-through and flourishing is the pivot people often don’t see. urbanmag-online.com

Sisterhood, Mentoring & Community

For Devin, success isn’t about going solo. It’s about pulling others up. Girls Trip Society doesn’t just host events; it fosters authentic connections, mentoring, and support systems. It’s where a new entrepreneur can meet a Fortune 500 exec, not defined by titles but by character and shared stories. Those relationships don’t end when the event does, they become collaborations, friendships, resource shares. urbanmag-online.com

What This Means For You

• Redefine what success can look like. It might not be a straight line. Sometimes, what feels like a detour becomes your runway.

• Invest in your brand. How you show up, visually, experientially, with integrity matters. People support vision and consistency.

• Choose community. The people who believe in you, share values, and lift each other are part of what makes pivots possible.

✨ Takeoff Is Just the Beginning

Devin Wilmott-Johnson’s story reminds us that setbacks aren’t failures, they are setups. For growth, for purpose, for deeper impact. The Takeoff Series is more than an event, it’s a movement: of women reshaping what success means, together.

If you ever doubted the power of pivoting, let Devin’s journey inspire you: your next phase might be the one that lifts off.