Where were you when the lights went on and you saw a future you had never before imagined for yourself?

Kelly Robb was in Paris. Never a bad place to be and T.S. Eliot once explained why: “The chief danger about Paris is that it is such a strong stimulant.”

Robb had traversed thousands of miles of green fairways before Paris, her life from Concord, Mass., to Northwestern University filled with years of travel to quench her thirst for elite competitive golf that was a testament to her uncanny skills.

Then came an exchange program her senior year at Northwestern to “The City of Light,” and oh, l’eveil.

“Paris did it for me,” said Robb.

The cafes. The food. The fashion. The art. The culture. “I caught it all. I said to myself, ‘I like this.’ ”

The prodigy who had proven her mettle on the national scene, who had become the youngest winner of the Massachusetts Women’s Amateur in 2002 at 17, who had earned a golf scholarship to a Big Ten power, who had always dreamed of making the LPGA . . . she made a decision to take her life in a new direction.

“Golf, it was everything to me, until it wasn’t,” said Robb. “I had never appreciated the life outside of golf and how much I gave up.”

This is not to suggest that Robb 14 years ago sat in the shadows of the Louvre, gazed out at the Eiffel Tower, and promptly walked down the Avenue des Champs-Elysees, past the Arc de Triomphe and into the invigorating life she now leads – CEO of purplecork.wine, an intriguing start-up in the world of wine out in the Napa Valley area.

Don’t be silly. That happens in fairytales. Robb’s journey was in real time and only takes place when a person is well-grounded with ambition, focus, clarity, and a resolute work ethic. Those aspects describe Robb, which is why she played golf at such a high level for years and while the sport is not her calling any longer, she sees correlations between being an entrepreneur and a competitive golfer.

“I took golf very seriously for so long, but there are no regrets. I got so much out of golf. I made lifelong friends and there are deep bonds. All the van rides and travel time, I loved it.

“Athletes who take it seriously know the level of character it takes and the commitment you need to make. With an entrepreneurship, it’s the same; you plug along through the good, the bad, and the ugly. Always trying to learn and get better? That comes from golf. That part of the game has stayed with me all these years.”

To study purplecork.wine is to smile at the ingenious ways in which business leaders are adapting to a new world and that a woman is guiding the endeavor. Robb’s company was born in March of 2020, at a time when lockdowns were entrenched in our COVID-19 world.

“We were spending a lot more time at home and I joined a virtual wine-tasting,” said Robb. “I came away thinking something was missing. But how could I replicate the feel you get from a real taste room.”

Welcome to the world, purplecork.wine.

Robb’s creativeness brings together wine lovers virtually and provides options to enhance the experience. There are breakout rooms where conversations can be more personal, videos that walk you through a vineyard, and the key is the wine – it is produced by upper-echelon wineries whose products “you are not going to find at your local wine store,” said Robb.

Her connection to famous winemakers such as Ted Lemon of Littorai Wines in Northern California or Reid Bosward of Kaesler Wines in Barossa Valley, Australia is at the intersection of Robb’s creative juices and the experience she has gathered on an adventurous road since leaving Northwestern.

“I loved Northwestern,” said Robb, who had two majors – psychology and pre-med – and always figured she’d be involved in the medical world somehow.

But smitten with Paris once, Robb (Class of ’07) chose to return after graduation, this time as a student at the renowned LeCordon Bleu.

“One day I’m so focused on nutrition that I’m eating nothing but salmon, kale, and blueberries; next day I’m at a cooking school making things with butter that tasted delicious,” she laughed. “After a year in Paris, I realized I was not a chef, but it opened my mind to the world that was out there.”

Robb was on an impressive business trajectory the last 12 years – retail specialist with McKinsey and Co.; strategist with eBay; vice-president with Revinate – when the urge to start purplecork.wine hit her. She discussed her vision with colleagues, good friends, and trusted mentors at some of the leading wineries, many of whom she had met through marketing campaigns at her previous jobs.

“I received so much support and people thought I was on to something. I signed a half-dozen wineries and we were off,” said Robb.

Business has been very good, and Robb, who recently moved “to put my roots down in Petaluma,” which is about an hour north and west of San Francisco and a little more than an hour to Napa Valley. Her virtual tasting sessions are popular with businesses, with anywhere from 20-to-40 people and upwards of 200 and a huge selling point is the opportunity to buy exclusive wines.

“Wine helps close the deals,” said Robb.

Just as golf opened doors for her. Of that, Robb is adamant and while she is no longer immersed in playing the game, she will never forget how it taught her to compete, helped point her toward an elite education, and afforded wonderful opportunities.

“Golf built character, the ability to handle adversity, and made you face heart-wrenching results,” said Robb. “Being an entrepreneur is no different. (Like golf) it demands creativity and can be difficult when you get it wrong. But if you get it right, it feels wonderful.”

Let the record show, she got it right many times as a golfer and has continued that trend in her business career.