“Audentis fortuna iuvat.” Latin for ‘fortune favors the bold”, it’s been attributed to the Roman poet Virgil and the message of the maxim is that people who take risks are more likely to succeed in life – something that resonates with Ashley Sodipo. “This journey is not for the faint of heart,” she said of entrepreneurship, which over the past few years has led her to where she is today, the owner of Pink Flamingo Party Co., a luxury party supply, event rental and “over-the-top” balloon installation company. She said she’s been tested and learned a lot about herself including the importance of following your instincts – which is what she did when she made a spontaneous, career-altering decision six years ago.

A local girl (she spent much of her childhood in West Hartford), Ashley always wanted to live in New York City and so went to college there, at Wagner in Staten Island. Along the way she built a great friends group and she and the girls would often gather and travel together for birthdays and other special events. Ashley also always loved event planning, so for the get-togethers she liked to order unique party favors and supplies – plates and napkins, maybe an embroidered banner or headbands, things like that. “But it was frustrating,” she said. “I’d spend hours searching online.” There was clearly a need, she knew, for a centralized, curated source of classy, cute, personalizable party supplies, and so she created just that. “I basically decided overnight,” she said of taking the plunge. “That was my thought process.”

And so the Pink Flamingo Party Company was born, starting as an Etsy shop out of her Brooklyn apartment. Ashley had other jobs – she worked in sales for a tech company and part time time for Rafanelli, a big-time event planning company, and also nights at a steakhouse — and she used her earnings to buy inventory. “We worked hard,” she said, quickly clarifying her use of the plural to say she was referring to “me, myself and I.” Her business got traction and she created a company website and all was good but then came Covid. Masks and social distancing put the kibosh on the parties that fueled Ashley’s business, with one critical exception: Balloons. She’d always had balloons in her inventory, and with people locked down, demand for extravagant balloon displays soared. “They became such a big deal,” said Ashley, who had come home to West Hartford to ride out the pandemic. For people who couldn’t hug or even visit one another, a colorful balloon bouquet had appeal. Parents used them to treat their quarantined kids who had to settle for drive-by birthday and graduation celebrations. Corporate clients emerged. By the end of 2021, just three years after starting as an Etsy shop, the Pink Flamingo Party Company had a brick-and-mortar home at 1001 Farmington Ave.  A team of eight now staffs the store while also keeping up with online orders, and balloons are still a core product. No job is too big, as they do enormous garlands and columns and more while also offering everything a party planner could want, with special themes including featured seasonal inventory. From business meetings to baby showers to bar and bat mitzvahs, Pink Flamingo is ready. “It’s been really fun but very challenging,” Ashley said. Her father is an attorney and mother owns her own small business (cleaning and home organizing), so Ashley has had mentors and support – but starting and running a business by yourself takes a certain bravado. “I’m pretty fearless,” she said, adding that she hasn't thought a lot about what’s next. “I’m focusing on the journey right now. Just trying to become a better leader.”

 For the Pink Flamingo Party Co. website click here and follow on Instagram  @pinkflamingoparty.co