Linda Coughlin is a serial entrepreneur who has launched successful ventures in retail, hospitality and new media. Hailed for her marketing savvy, Coughlin was awarded the prestigious "Enterprising Woman of the Year" award by Enterprising Women magazine in 2006.

Before launching Paralelles, Coughlin founded Metro-Home, which provides short-term and extended housing for visitors to New York City. Metro-Home’s inventory of 150 apartments and its reputation for excellence make it one of the premier housing services in the city. Revenues in 2006 topped $8 million.

Coughlin launched her first business – a company to import upscale children’s apparel from Europe – in 1984. Within a year, her line was on the racks of top retailers, including Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's. She was 27.

In 1997 she opened an agency to provide temporary lodging to visitors to New York. Coughlin’s agency grew exponentially through the 1990s as she wooed and won a roster of blue chip corporate clients, including Goldman Sachs and other members of the Fortune 500. The New York Times recently featured Metro-Home in an article titled "Home Away from Home."

Coughlin’s newest venture is Paralelles. In name and mission, Paralelles reflects Coughlin’s passionate vision that successful women entrepreneurs are capable of juggling their roles as businesswomen, wives, mothers, sisters and leaders in their communities. That’s a vision she embraces every day.

A mother of three and stepmother of one, Coughlin also is a founding partner of Women Impacting Public Policy, a bipartisan advocacy organization representing 500,000 women business owners in the U.S.

                          Enterprising Women

Taze Kolndrekai, Assistant to the President

Taze Kolndrekai is responsible for administration at Metro-Home and at Paralelles, both ventures owned by Linda Coughlin. Metro-Home provides short-term and extended-stay housing to tourists and business travelers in New York City.

Jessica Strul, Research Assistant

Jessica Strul is a research assistant for Paralelles. She has been a contributing writer to several publications, including Cosmopolitan, CosmoGIRL!, and the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.