Winning Ideas from
Winning Women
Erika Mangrum, Iatria Day Spa

Erika Mangrum, President of Iatria Day Spa in Raleigh, clearly possesses an entrepreneurial spark. The idea for her business began in 1997 as a result of a project for her MBA program. At that time, Erika was working as Marketing Director for a large telecommunications company and was earning her Masters Degree in Business during the evening at UNC-Chapel Hill.

As part of the curriculum, Erika was required to select a subject for her grad project. At that time, she was feeling the stress from a full-time job, a recent marriage and a car accident, all while balancing the demands of earning her MBA. Erika decided that she needed a massage to help relieve her stress.

Erika Mangrum

While lying on the massage table, the idea for a business that catered to stressed-out individuals came to her. The subject for her MBA project, and ultimately what would become her future business, came to light. The central idea was to create an integrated center for preventative care that felt like a day spa, but had the credentials of a healthcare facility.

Shortly after conceiving the idea, Erika and another student presented the concept for a health-centered spa business and requested group feedback. The level of enthusiasm about such a business amazed her. Her fellow students offered positive feedback about the proposed business which would combine a relaxing spa-like environment with all the knowledge of a medical office. And, so the concept for Iatria Day Spa was born.

Erika continued in the corporate world, but the idea for her project kept tugging at her. After careful consideration, research and development of a detailed business plan, Erika made what she describes as “the hardest and most worthwhile decision of my life.” She held her breath, quit her job, and took a leap to start up a new business of her own.

With support from her husband, Dave, who agreed to help her part-time, she began to build the business. Dave’s accounting and finance background was a perfect complement to Erika’s human resource and marketing background. They worked together to develop their first location and within a few years expanded to a second facility. It’s plain to see that Erika’s bet has paid off handsomely, as she and Iatria continue to win award after award. And, with two highly-regarded spas under her belt, she has plans to open two more over the next year or so.

What has made Erika so successful? The minute you meet her you can tell that her work ethic was instilled at a very early age. With a father who teaches at the University level, writes and speaks about pharmacy and medicine, and a mother who has had three distinct careers all while balancing motherhood, Erika has had great role models for what is possible in life. Even her grandparents were entrepreneurs; one of her grandfathers owned a grocery store, and the other a dry cleaning business. Erika explains what growing up in a family like this has meant to her, “I was instilled with the belief that I should work very hard and be proud of what I do, and that has been with me always.”

daughter, Heather

Although Erika continues to win awards and gain recognition, she credits her success to simply doing what she loves. Besides loving her business, she is passionate about her family. Her husband, Dave, is now her full-time partner in Iatria. And don’t get her started on the topic of her beautiful little girl, Heather, unless you’ve got plenty of time to listen. But beyond her business and her family, Erika has a driving passion for her community. And she shares that passion with other North Carolina women. “We all live and work in great communities that are part of a wonderful state. As women, we have the opportunity to make such a difference. I hope every one of us reaches out to become more involved in supporting our community and our state.”