Todd Khozein’s journey from medical school to founding SecondMuse was fueled by a lifelong passion for understanding and improving social and economic systems. As a young refugee from Iran who settled in the U.S., Khozein struggled to reconcile the racism and inequality he observed with his belief that more just systems were possible. These experiences drove Khozein to found SecondMuse in 2008, an impact and innovation firm dedicated to fostering systemic change.

In this exclusive interview with Entrepreneur Loop, Khozein explains how his unconventional background shaped SecondMuse’s unique approach to creating resilient economies that benefit people and the planet. Trained as a medical doctor, Khozein views economic systems through a biological lens, seeking to understand how economies can become sick and designing interventions that foster health and sustainability.

Over the past 15 years, SecondMuse has delivered over $10 billion in social impact across more than 160 countries by building relationships, designing solutions, and catalyzing change. As SecondMuse looks ahead to the future, Khozein shares his vision for innovating financial instruments to better drive positive outcomes, reflecting his lifelong commitment to improving systems that shape our shared future.

Please provide a brief intro of yourself and your background.

• I am the Founder and CEO of SecondMuse, an impact and innovation company dedicated to building resilient economies.
• My perspective on economic development and systems theory is deeply influenced by my personal history and a commitment to lifelong learning. Having left my home country of Iran to find refuge in Latin America before ultimately settling in the United States, I have struggled to make sense of racism and glaring inequality. These experiences shaped my belief that economic and social systems can be built inclusively and not at the expense of human dignity or the health of the planet.
• I continued to dwell on broken social systems as I pursued a medical degree at the University of New Mexico, where I began to imagine the human body as a framework for understanding economies. I saw that cancers hoard resources for a select few, and pathogens ravage cells throughout the entire system. After earning my degree, I  continued to study economic modeling based on biological systems, further solidifying my belief that all systems—whether broken or thriving—were the result of design.
• In 2008, I co-founded SecondMuse. Over the last 15 years, we have generated $10B in social and environmental impact, reaching over 160 countries and territories, prototyping 11,000 ideas for innovative solutions, and funding over $18 million to directly support over 1,200 portfolio companies. These supported ventures have, in turn, raised over $850 million in additional funding during their involvement with SecondMuse programs. We have developed a global reach and collaborated with renowned organizations like NASA, Nike, The Rockefeller Foundation, and more.

Please tell us a bit more about your startup/company – what does it offer, what problem does it solve, and who is your target audience?

• SecondMuse is an impact and innovation company addressing climate, equity, and tech challenges. We bring together innovators, entrepreneurs, and community resources to create market-driven solutions that benefit people and the planet. Our focus on building relational infrastructure drives deep and lasting outcomes, uniting diverse stakeholders for transformative change. Our adaptability in climate, equity, and tech realms fosters a regenerative future.
• We aim to bring about transformative change by understanding systems, designing solutions, and implementing them in alignment with reshaping relationships between people, communities, organizations, and the planet. Because of our highly collaborative approach, our audiences range from innovators and entrepreneurs to organizations and corporations.

How did you identify a gap in the market or need that your business fulfills?

• When we founded SecondMuse, dialogues about market impacts and climate change were limited, and resources for marginalized communities were confined to international development. Seeing an opportunity, we built a firm dedicated to creating markets that benefit people and protect the planet. Over the last 15 years, we’ve returned to core questions around our vision for the future, how to make it a reality, and what we need to get there. Today, we are at the forefront of blending economic prosperity with environmental sustainability.

What have been some of the toughest decisions you’ve had to make as a founder? Any stand out as pivotal?

• As an entrepreneur, navigating the delicate balance between maintaining relationships and making tough, vital choices for your business growth is inevitable. Early on in the development of our business, we had a client that represented about 80% of our revenue. As our partnership continued, we recognized that the work didn’t align with who we wanted to be as an organization. Making a decision that can threaten the livelihood of your colleagues is never easy, but going down a path that didn’t align with our mission was a non-starter. We found that staying true to our core values was key to sustainable success, paving the way for opportunities that resonated deeply with our mission and vision.

What have been your key strategies for growth and gaining traction?

• For many years, we didn’t have dedicated business development or marketing and communications teams. Our primary growth strategy was predicated on the delivery of outstanding work, with the expectation that it would naturally attract more opportunities. At a certain point, relying solely on organic growth becomes unsustainable and inconsistent as the organization expands. We’ve established specialized teams in the last few years to concentrate on growth. Still, our core strategy remains centered around cultivating strong relationships with individuals we enjoy working with.

How do you stand out from the competition in your space? What sets you apart?

• We are building economies that are good for people and heal the planet, but our argument is not necessarily moral; it’s economic. When our economies include more people and don’t destroy the environment they depend on, they’ll be more innovative, creative, and sustainable.
• SecondMuse stands out in the impact and innovation space through our unique, holistic approach to fostering systemic change. Our method has three core phases: Discover, Design, and Implement.
• During the Discover phase, we amalgamate diverse perspectives to comprehensively research and strategize for systemic transformation, leveraging our proprietary tools for deep insights into community needs and system dynamics.
• The Design phase sees us co-creating with communities, blending lived experiences, proven methodologies, and traditional wisdom to forge actionable, strategic visions and program designs.
• Finally, in the implementation phase, we scale these solutions to reshape systems globally, supporting entrepreneurs, building capacities, fostering innovation, and developing ecosystems that collectively drive transformational change.
• This adaptive, inclusive approach allows us to address the world’s most pressing climate, equity, and technology challenges. Across all of our work, we are committed to building and maintaining relational infrastructure while developing solutions centered around the community’s needs. This strategy differentiates us from other organizations and generates lasting and meaningful impact.

What do you find the most rewarding or challenging about being an entrepreneur?

• We all have unique insights into today’s world and how we can make tomorrow better. Entrepreneurship allows us to dedicate our lives to seeing those insights play out. Building something you believe in from scratch can be challenging, but it helps that we have an extraordinary amount of choice in who we surround ourselves with on that journey.
• The early stages of entrepreneurship often require us to juggle multiple roles, some of which we may not excel at—accepting that it’s okay not to be good at everything you have to do can be challenging in the early days.

What are some future goals or plans you have for your business in the next few years?

• We’ve spent the last few years building out our financial instrument design and asset management capabilities. One of the challenges we see is that today’s traditional financial instruments were not designed to create positive social and environmental benefits. So, they are ultimately limited in how well they can be used for those outcomes. I’m excited about scaling this work with impact in mind.

Through deep insights into economic systems and steadfast collaboration with partners worldwide, Todd Khozein has led SecondMuse in developing a bold vision for the future – one where economies prosper in harmony with people and planet. As SecondMuse continues to scale its impact, Khozein’s unconventional path offers invaluable lessons on the power of systems thinking and relational infrastructure to drive transformative change.

The post From Medical School to Impact Entrepreneurship: How Todd Khozein Leveraged Systems Thinking to Create Change appeared first on Entrepreneur Loop.

The past decade has seen an unprecedented rise in environmental awareness and concerns about climate change. With each new report highlighting the damaging effects of greenhouse gas emissions and pollution, consumers are increasingly demanding products and services that offer viable sustainable alternatives. This shift in mindset has created fertile ground for entrepreneurs and startups tackling sustainability challenges through innovative solutions.

The Economic Case for Green Innovation

Forward-thinking businesses recognize both the financial and reputational benefits of going green. Research shows that sustainability-focused companies experience faster growth, strengthened brand loyalty, and improved talent acquisition compared to less eco-friendly competitors. As social pressures and government regulations continue tightening around carbon emissions and waste reduction, investing in renewable energy, carbon offsets, and circular business models makes long-term economic sense.

For startups, targeting this growing green market opens up significant opportunities. A 2017 report from Clean Edge found global investment in cleantech startups surpassed $10 billion that year, a record high. Sectors like energy efficiency, renewable power, green building, and electric vehicles attracted the bulk of funding as investors recognized industry potential. Looking ahead, various forecasts project massive job and revenue growth within the green economy over the next decade, setting the stage for innovative new companies to scale rapidly by delivering needed sustainable solutions.

Promising Sectors for Green Startups

Several industries rife for disruption are particularly fertile grounds for purpose-driven entrepreneurs with the vision and gumption to pioneer green alternatives. A few key areas show especially strong potential:

• Renewable Energy: Off-grid solar home systems, energy storage technologies, smart grid integration, renewable natural gas, and other distributed generation innovations could transform how the world produces and distributes power.
• Clean Transportation: Electric and hybrid vehicle components, ridesharing apps, micro-mobility solutions, traffic optimization software, and technologies enabling the shift away from gasoline present huge opportunities.
• Zero-Waste Materials: Novel renewable and biodegradable production materials, recycling and upcycling processes, packaging redesign, and the rise of the circular economy offer openings for startups bringing greener solutions to manufacturing.
• Sustainable Food: Technologies improving crop yields sustainably, food waste reduction, plant-based protein alternatives, packaging redesign, and supply chain transparency platforms present chances to drive positive change in this massive industry.
• Green Building: Products, services and platforms enabling more energy efficient, renewable-integrated, healthy and sustainable construction, renovations, and facilities operations can disrupt a trillion-dollar sector.
• Climate Tech: Monitoring equipment, carbon offset verifications, low-carbon certification standards, recycling technologies, AI and IoT solutions applying data to shrink humanity’s environmental footprint open new frontiers for entrepreneurship.

Of course, unlimited possibilities exist beyond those highlighted. Thinking outside the box and identifying overlooked problems ripe for disruptive solutions will uncover many more startup ideas aligning business goals with planetary well-being. With perseverance and innovation, aspiring green entrepreneurs have an opportunity to profit while helping create a more sustainable world.

Funding Your Green Idea

Various sources exist to help get green startups off the ground, from seed funding competitions to impact investors eager to spur sustainable solutions. A few top options include:

• Crowdfunding: Sites like Kickstarter, Indiegogo and RocketHub offer chances to validate concepts by pre-selling products or memberships to interested buyers. Even modest targets met prove market fit.
• Accelerators: Dozens of green accelerators worldwide provide seed money, mentorship and connections in exchange for small equity stakes. Apply to accelerators aligned with your company’s vision and industry.
• Angel Investors: Impact-minded high-net-worth individuals may fund ideas they’re passionate about. Participate in pitch events, seek referrals through accelerators and consider equity crowdfunding sites matching investors and startups.
• Grants: Foundations focused on sustainability, energy and climate often award small grants for startups. Search foundation directories for mission-aligned funders. Consider applying for city- or state-run grant programs too.
• Green VC Funds: Dozens of VC funds specialize in green tech, cleantech and impact investing. Build investor decks showcasing your differentiated solution and plan to scale impact.

With a compelling sustainable business concept, green founders have abundant options to attract early donors excited by the potential for environmental solutions to thrive commercially. Developing a strong pitch, leveraging mentor guidance and demonstrating measurable progress remain keys to startup funding success.

Taking the Leap into Green Entrepreneurship

For those driven to pioneer green alternatives but fearful of risks, remember that passion alone can propel disruptors to success against all odds. Focus first on identifying true needs and building minimum viable products, then iterate based on customer feedback until a proven model crystalizes. Community colleges often offer affordable classes and training to hone relevant technical skills.

Perseverance is key, as is a lean startup strategy emphasizing frugality until demand justifies expansion. Seek out supportive ecosystems where accelerators, coworking spaces, mentor networks and affable investors provide social capital easing challenges along the journey. Form strategic partnerships when able to leverage others’ strengths for mutual benefit.

Startup journeys see many twists and turns, yet facing each obstacle with patience, humor and adaptability helps overcome all in time. Growing a sustainable business requires equal measures of technical acumen, business savvy and resilience of spirit. By tackling problems through a green lens and empowering others to do the same, purpose-driven entrepreneurs can build rewarding livelihoods while leaving the planet a little greener than they found it. With heart and hustle, the future remains wide open for a new generation of green founders.

The post The Green Startup Boom: Opportunities in Sustainable Innovation appeared first on Entrepreneur Loop.

Sol Nasisi has always had a knack for bringing creative ideas to life. As a student building rockets and gadgets with friends, to forming a band in high school, Sol saw the potential in nurturing creativity from a young age. This drive led him to pioneer one of the internet’s first digital companies and eventually found Booksie – a global online publishing platform aiming to elevate writers worldwide.

During a recent interview with Entrepreneur Loop, Sol reflected on Booksie’s 18-year journey and shared insights every startup founder should heed. From recruiting the right team to weathering challenges, Sol’s story offers a inspiring blueprint for building sustainable ventures focused on empowering communities. Under his guidance, Booksie continues pushing boundaries through pioneering AI and blockchain tools that provide avenues for artistic expression and monetization.

Sol Nasisi’s Journey

Neha Mehra: Please provide a brief introduction of yourself and your professional background.

Sol Nasisi: I grew up in a suburb of Boston in a small neighborhood with two friends living next door. We spent most of our time building things – forts, games, rockets, gizmos and gadgets. In high school, I formed a band and we spent hours writing and rehearsing our songs. We played a few gigs where we opened for some well-known local Boston bands. I think all of this provided me with a taste of creating something new and the exhilaration that comes from seeing it come to life.

In business school I started playing around with this thing called the Internet. It was early days and I was captivated. I started my first Internet company with a classmate selling posters and prints. Since then, I’ve started two more online companies, worked in the digital space for a Fortune 500 company, start-ups, and a higher education institution. I started Booksie eighteen years ago as a community of writers and readers and have bootstrapped it into an increasingly robust and large platform. AI is the first of several new technologies we’re going to be adding over the next couple of months.

Neha Mehra: Please tell us a bit more about your startup – what does it offer, what problem does it solve, and who is your target audience?

Sol Nasisi: Over the past 18 years, Booksie has helped hundreds of thousands of writers from across the globe tell their story via its online publishing and promotion platform. Its vibrant platform is a place where writers have practiced their craft, received feedback on their work, and connected with readers eager to find the next big writer. With the introduction of its AI and blockchain tools, Booksie will become an even better platform for writers to develop their craft and monetize their creativity. The Booksie Online Bot has been trained on millions of pieces of content, books, poems, short stories, and more so that it can provide writers with specific advice on how to make a work commercially and artistically successful. In addition, there will be new features launched on the platform throughout the year to continue to elevate the capabilities of Booksie for the writers. Booksie is an entity of TheNextBigWriter, LLC, a private, bootstrapped company founded to help writers tell their stories.

Building Booksie

Neha Mehra: What were some of the biggest initial challenges you faced in getting your business off the ground? How did you overcome them?

Sol Nasisi: One of the biggest challenges I faced early in my career was finding the right people to work with to build the products I dreamed about. When you’re young, you think the right fit comes along all the time. Like meeting someone romantically. But it doesn’t. I learned you really have to be deliberate in looking for people, have to put yourself out there, and once you find the right people, hang on to them.

I think another challenge was getting people to see the future. I started my first digital company in the early days of the Internet. At the time, I remember my business school classmates looking at me like I was cr@zy. They were all getting jobs at management consulting companies or Wall Street and here I was betting in something called the Internet. I took the plunge and never looked back. You have to make calculated bets and have the conviction to stick with it.

Neha Mehra: What have been your key strategies for growth and gaining traction/users?

Sol Nasisi: Our strategy has been to listen to our users and develop easy-to-use tools to help them achieve their goals. We’ve paired that with an acquisition strategy that cost effectively allows us to market and acquire new customers. For example, we run frequent writing contests which aren’t big money makers, but they draw a lot of traffic to the site and we’re successful at cross-selling our other services to these users.

It’s a formula. How much does it cost to acquire a customer versus the lifetime value? We’re constantly monitoring those metrics and increasing our marketing budget when the ROI is positive. Our product development roadmap is to create new products that increase our conversion rate and positive ROI. At least that’s the financial way of looking at it. Going back to where I started, we really want to create a great, valuable experience for our users so that they are willing to engage and take advantage of the platform.

Succeeding as an Entrepreneur

Neha Mehra: How do you stand out from the competition in your space? What sets your product/service apart?

Sol Nasisi: With a few clicks, we provide writers with the ability to publish their work, get feedback on their writing from humans to AI, promote their work, build an audience and following, and soon, earn money via blockchain platform we are calling Limited Editions. For readers, we provide an intimate way to discover new writers, become a fan, interact, and support your favorite work and authors. It’s a comprehensive site made to benefit writers and readers and we don’t think anyone has a platform that comes close.

And we’re going to keep adding functionality based on what our users tell us but also based on where we think the industry is going.

Neha Mehra: What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were first starting out?

Sol Nasisi: I wish I knew how hard building a business could be. You read all of the stories of entrepreneurs becoming overnight successes but I realize now that’s not the norm. It can take years of hard work with lots of ups and downs. Some people win the lottery with their company, but I suspect the vast majority need to put in years of toil to make it a success. Related to this is the fact that the highs are never so high and the lows are never so low. It’s important not to get stuck in the moment but keep moving towards that original dream. Progress can come in fits and starts but that’s normal. Entrepreneurs need to stay mentally tough.

Neha Mehra: What are the most important skills someone needs to be a successful founder, in your opinion?

Sol Nasisi: One of the most important skills is not really a skill but a mindset. As I mentioned, founders need to be mentally tough. You don’t receive any pats on the back or congratulations or adulation. It’s a constant grind to make your customers happy and satisfied and there are lots of long hours and hard work. So, being willing to put up with that is a key necessity.

As far as skills go, I think the most important is being able to recruit and retain the right people for your project. Without other people to help you achieve your vision, you won’t go far. No person can start and grow a successful venture by themselves.

In Booksie’s case, I needed technical people to code the website and maintain it because I’m not a developer. And I needed legal advice and help managing customer service. Creating a well-functioning team is as important as the initial idea, maybe even more so.

Neha Mehra: What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start their own company?

Sol Nasisi: I would tell them to make sure they pursue something which they believe in and feel some passion for. There will be times when the money won’t be there and you need some higher motivation to keep you going. If it’s just the money, then when the money is tight, you’ll fold. For Booksie, I was always interested in helping people across the world tell their stories. This is my north star and what motivates me to keep going. I think the world is a better place for it and it keeps me motivated. Find your north star, whatever it may be, and apply it to the business you want to start. Then, you’ll create something fantastic and the money will follow.

Sol leaves us with an important reminder that entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint. While the excitement of an initial idea fuels many founders, long-term success requires mental fortitude and true belief in a vision. Booksie has flourished due to Sol’s commitment to nurturing creativity and bringing writers’ dreams to life. Through ambitious plans to incorporate AI and blockchain, the platform looks primed to revolutionize the publishing industry. Most of all, Sol’s journey exemplifies that by empowering community, both founders and their customers can reach

The post Sol Nasisi, Founder of Online Publishing Platform Booksie, Shares his Insights into Building a Successful Startup appeared first on Entrepreneur Loop.

At just 15, Claudia Belchior-Martins’ life took an unexpected turn: she found herself pregnant. Faced with daunting challenges and societal pressures, Claudia’s story could have followed a predictable path. Instead, it became a testament to resilience and determination, an inspiring narrative of a young mother who defied the odds to become a successful entrepreneur.

Claudia’s journey, marked by an unwavering commitment to her education and personal growth, is a striking example of perseverance. Despite being advised to abandon her dreams for immediate financial stability, she enrolled in a professional tourism course during high school, an unconventional choice that laid the foundation for her future endeavors. Her pursuit of education didn’t stop there. Against all expectations, Claudia managed to balance raising her son, studying, and even earning her driver’s license. Her hard work paid off when she was accepted for night classes at a university, a significant milestone on her path to success.

Claudia graduated and worked several years in Events for Luxury Hotels, working with luxury brands such as Rolex, BMW, and Cartier, developing her passion for creating memorable and meaningful experiences for clients.
However, this also made Claudia realize the environmental impact of the merchandise that often floods in and ends up in the trash.

This refusal to accept the status quo led Claudia to her next major life chapter. In 2023, when she became 30 and during her visa process to the USA, traditional employment was closed to her. Yet, Claudia and her husband saw this as an opportunity rather than a setback. They founded House of Marbel, a company that reflects their passion for sustainable, high-quality gifts for companies and events like apparel, bag, pens and even candles and cork yoga mats. House of Marbel is not just a business; it’s a movement against the cycle of low-quality, disposable merchandise.

Collaborating with local suppliers who share a commitment to sustainability and offering a low to no MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity), House of Marbel represents Claudia’s vision of innovation, responsibility, and transparency. This makes it accessible for companies of any size that wish to align their gifting and merchandise with their ethos.

Claudia’s story is more than just a personal triumph; it’s a broader message about challenging the status quo and making mindful choices that can lead to significant change. From a young mother in Portugal to a successful entrepreneur in the USA, Claudia Belchior-Martins’ journey illustrates the power of resilience and the impact of challenging conventional paths. Her life is a beacon of hope and inspiration, proving that with determination and a willingness to question, one can not only change their own life but also make a meaningful impact on the world.

The post Resilience in the Face of Adversity: Claudia Belchior-Martins’ Journey from Young Mother to Sustainable Entrepreneur appeared first on Entrepreneur Loop.

Leading innovation in large organizations requires new ways of thinking. For serial entrepreneur Danny Nathan, founder of the product design and venture studio Apollo 21, the key lies in empowering intrapreneurs and establishing a renewed culture of collaboration.

With decades of experience launching innovative products and advising startups, Nathan recognized the untapped potential within companies to transform through empowering individuals with transformative ideas. This vision gave rise to Apollo 21, which partners with corporations to implement venture building practices and incubate solutions from within.

Through Apollo 21’s consultative approach and proprietary Mission Control platform, the organization works deeply within client organizations to understand needs, streamline workflows and unlock new efficiencies. Not content to solely drive clients’ innovation agendas, Apollo 21 also incubates its own ventures like Meeting Cost Calculator – helping companies analyze how they optimize limited meeting time.

In an exclusive interview with Entrepreneur Loop, Nathan shared insights from Apollo 21’s journey so far. He stressed the importance of resilience when tackling complex problems, and a collaborative mindset to effectively serve evolving client and market needs. Nathan also discussed lessons from prior ventures and the value of bootstrapping early growth through referral networks versus dependency on investors.

Nathan’s perspectives offer valuable guidance for entrepreneurs seeking to bring innovation to established organizations, as well as leaders looking to empower creativity from within their ranks. With its solutions-driven culture, Apollo 21 is poised to transform how companies embrace challenges through people-first innovation.

1. Please provide a brief introduction of yourself and your professional background.

Professionally, I am the consummate square peg. I’ve been called a product person, a UX guy, a designer, a strategist, a marketer, an entrepreneur (and a few other choice names like “The Cleaner”). I have led product build and launch efforts at an international scale, and I’ve helped many startups down the path toward product/market fit.

I’m currently the founder of Apollo 21, a product design and venture studio focused on helping our clients solve business problems (via technology), launch new products, and build new businesses. Today, Apollo 21 can be broken down into two core business units:

Apollo 21: This is our client services studio. We function as a business and technology consultancy and product design studio. Our clients generally come to us to because they have a difficult business problem to solve and believe technology can provide the answer. While this has come to fruition as consumer-facing product launches (mobile apps, commerce platforms, etc.), equally often our focus is on internal goals and workflows. We have helped numerous clients drive operational efficiency through workflow management and automations, coupled with AI, that are tailored specifically to that business.

Apollo 21 Ventures: This is the venture-building arm of Apollo 21. In addition to building new products, services, and workflow platforms for our clients, we also invest in and launch our own ideas. For example, we recently launched Meeting Cost Calculator, an analytics and insights platform designed to give team leaders detailed data on the health of their company’s meeting culture. (Did you know that the time employees spend in meetings has increased by 252% since the start of the pandemic??)

2. Please tell us a bit more about your startup – what does it offer, what problem does it solve, and who is your target audience?

Apollo 21 sits at the intersection of a management consultancy, a product design studio, and a venture studio. We partner with corporate partners to establish venture building practices as a path to transformative growth. We work with established businesses to implement technologies that remove barriers to scale, particularly around streamlining operations, automating workflows, and making data actionable via AI. And, through Apollo 21 Ventures, we work with ambitious founders to launch groundbreaking new ventures.

3. What inspired you to start your own business? What was the “aha” moment?

My previous role was at an L.A.-based, video-focused technology company called SEER. I was one of the founding team members and led the design of our initial platform offering. About two years into a bootstrapped journey with SEER, we secured outside funding from a family office with a small portfolio of investments. One of the stipulations of this funding was that our team would help their other portfolio companies accelerate their technology efforts. For the next year, in addition to my role at SEER, I led a small SWAT team focused on helping our partner companies design and develop new software that would underpin operations and increase efficiency by an order of magnitude.

At the end of this period, some of the folks at the investor level took note of our efforts and approached me about stepping out to create a new company focused on this type of work. This opportunity led to the creation of Apollo 21 and the introduction of our first major client — an engagement that helped us get our business on the rails.

4. What were some of the biggest initial challenges you faced in getting your business off the ground? How did you overcome them?

As a service oriented company, one of the initial (and frankly ongoing) challenges is growth. Finding clients in a busy ecosystem is difficult. I’m working to overcome that challenge by recognizing my shortcomings as a sales person and bringing in the right resources to help us establish a consistent sales pipeline.

5. What has been your approach to funding your startup? Did you use your own savings, seek investors, crowdfund?

Apollo 21 is entirely bootstrapped, and our client work funds our venture efforts. While difficult, I’m a huge proponent of bootstrapping your venture for as long as you can. The VC and investor market has gotten incredibly competitive, and most investors want to see substantive traction before they begin contributing. The result is that founders have been forced to travel further and further down the venture process prior to bringing in outside funding. While some businesses may benefit from the “growth at all costs” effort that VC involvement brings, many founders overestimate the need for that funding and underestimate the amount of control and decision-making power they’re giving up in exchange for money.

6. How did you go about building your team and attracting talent in the early days?

I leaned on people I’d worked with in the past. Our core leadership team at Apollo 21 is made up of folks who have all worked together in the past. We already knew one another’s idiosyncrasies and working styles — so when we decided to work together again, we had a clear idea of what we were getting into.

We generally source individual contributors on a contract basis. This helps to ensure that we’re hiring the right people for each project and allows us to manage cashflow by limiting resources at times when projects are in transition.

7. What have been your key strategies for growth and gaining traction/users?

To date, we’ve relied heavily on word of mouth and referrals. While that process works, it doesn’t generate enough opportunities in the sales pipeline to support the growth we’re pursuing. With that in mind, we’re pivoting in 2024 to more deeply explore how sales work for Apollo 21, especially given the unique place in the market that we sit in.

We’ll let you know how it goes!

8. How do you stand out from the competition in your space? What sets your product/service apart?

There are a few key differentiators that help Apollo 21 stand out:

1. There aren’t many companies focused on helping corporate partners innovate and build new venture practices as a means to growth. Our team’s unique experience across both entrepreneurial ventures and corporate client work positions us uniquely well to participate in this space.
2. Our other efforts are focused on building technology to support our clients’ ability to scale. To serve that goal, we have built a proprietary foundational technology called Mission Control. Not exactly a SaaS offering (we view it as a supported platform as a service), Mission Control is like a box of legos where each piece is a core bit of functionality that serves a goal. For every client, we assess the needs and then dump that box of legos on the floor and pick out the pieces we need. Having this core technology at our disposal enables Apollo 21 to build and release new products (particularly those focused on internal use cases) roughly twice as fast as building from scratch.
3. Our last major differentiator is our focus on absolutely relentless collaboration. Our clients find us deeply embedded into their organization as we assess processes, opportunities, and needs in order to define solutions. This level of strategic involvement is unique amongst software-focused companies who often want to take a laundry list of features and simply build them to spec. We’re not fans of rote execution without strategic involvement.

9. What have been some mistakes or failures you’ve made along the way as an entrepreneur? How did you recover and learn from them?

Too many eggs in one basket. With our focus on relentless collaboration, it’s easy to get deeply caught up in the needs of the client in front of you without considering where the next client or opportunity will reveal itself. And in a world where clients can disappear at the drop of a hat, not knowing means being caught off guard.

At the beginning of 2023, one of our largest clients rolled off somewhat unexpectedly due to internal strategic disagreements. This left us scrambling to fill the funnel and find new opportunities. Suffice it to say, 2023 was a difficult year.

We survived by turning our focus to one of our latest ventures and dedicating time and resources to building out Meeting Cost Calculator — an analytics dashboard to help managers understand how their team is utilizing meeting time.

10. What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were first starting out?

Trust is a currency. Spend it wisely.

I’ve made the mistake of assuming that some people close to me have my best interests at heart. Given my personal need to operate with integrity, I have fallen into the trap of assuming others do as well.

This is a mistake that’s cost me a few times throughout my career and one that I’m still learning how to overcome. It has taught me to be more careful about the assumptions I make in my business relationships. And it has taught me to step back and view business dealings through the eyes of the other person. Whereas in the past I might have taken someone’s words at face value, I now remind myself to think about the situation from their perspective to understand where they stand to gain or lose. In doing so, I can be more objective in considering deal terms, partnerships, etc. and in assessing the other party’s motives.

11. What are the most important skills someone needs to be a successful founder, in your opinion?

As I was starting Apollo 21, someone asked me if I was “ready” to be a CEO…to lead a team.

After a moment of consideration, the answer was obvious… No. There was no world in which I was “ready” to be a CEO and lead a company.

I’d led teams before. I’d founded a company before. But I also knew that there was an immeasurable amount that I *didn’t know* about running a company and how to support the team supporting that company.

In that moment I couldn’t imagine anyone ever answering “yes” to that question. Who in their right mind would think that they were ready for the endeavor that is starting a company, becoming responsible for the livelihood of others, aiming to keep clients and customers happy, etc?

But did I answer “no” when asked? No!

My answer was simply, “I’m ready to figure it out.”

Little did I know just how much that would ring true. I’ve learned more in the last couple of years running this company than I probably have in the decade or two prior (a time when I also would have sworn that I was learning a ton). And the amount of constant context switching required of a founder is intense. This isn’t something that’s talked about widely.

I think back on that question often: “Are you ready?”

Hell no. But I’m doin’ it anyway.

So, to quote Sam Altman, “The most underrated quality of a founder is being really determined… So much about being a successful entrepreneur is just not giving up.

12. What does a typical day or week look like for you? How do you manage work-life balance?

A combination of meetings and consistently asking myself, “What’s the one thing I can do with this chunk of time, right now, that would most benefit the company, the team, or our clients?”

13. What do you find most rewarding and most challenging about being an entrepreneur?

One of the most rewarding aspects of entrepreneurship is living outside the corporate fear cycle. My theory is that 95% of the negative aspects around corporate culture is driven by fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of losing a job. Fear of bucking the trend. Fear of standing out. As an entrepreneur, I get to set those fears aside and focus on building a company, a team, and a culture that aligns to my own vision for how we should operate.

That, of course, leads to the challenging part. While I get to remove myself from the corporate fear cycle, there are other fears and concerns that I still contend with. Fears around supporting my team, ensuring that they’re enjoying the work we’re doing. Fears related to client needs and whether we can deliver on them. Fears about how we establish ourselves and cultivate new opportunities.

Being an entrepreneur is incredibly difficult. It’s just a different breed of difficult compared to the “standard” career path.

14. What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start their own company?

Start small. Stories of entrepreneurship are generally focused on the wild success of folks who raise millions of dollars and grow their companies in record time, becoming billionaires in the process. What we don’t hear about are the hundreds of thousands of businesses that started with every bit as much gumption but didn’t become rocket ships. Every business out there started somewhere, and small is a perfectly reasonable place to start.

If you want to be an entrepreneur, start a side business. Learn by doing without the pressure of needing to raise money, build a team, etc. Instead, find something you love that you’re knowledgeable about and create a way to monetize that knowledge. Grow over time until you’re ready to pull the ripcord and focus on your endeavor full-time.

The post Innovating for Impact: An Interview with Apollo 21 Founder Danny Nathan appeared first on Entrepreneur Loop.

The entrepreneurial path is challenging yet rewarding. While starting a business is no guarantee of prosperity, certain inherent traits tend to predict greater chances of thriving long-term. This article examines 10 signs that may indicate your potential for business success.

Throughout, real-world entrepreneur stories illustrate how these qualities manifested. Practical advice suggests cultivating identified strengths. Remember, many successful founders strengthened abilities over time through challenges. With passion driving continuous learning, your entrepreneurial dreams could be closer than you realize.

Let’s begin the journey of self-assessment to determine if you have the fundamental characteristics of those transforming opportunity into reality. Your first step starts now.

1. You Have a Deep Passion for Your Business Idea

Nothing motivates like a cause you love. Entrepreneurship demands perseverance through obstacles – passion provides fuel. Authentic enthusiasm indicates strong internal motivation to embrace obstacles as opportunities for growth.

Sara Blakely exemplifies passion’s power. Despite fashion inexperience, Blakely loved her pantyhose idea so much she invested $5,000 creating Spanx. Today Spanx, valued over $1 billion, proves passion propelled an unknown into business history.

How can you cultivate passion? Brainstorm problems your interests and skills could solve. Experiment with low-cost solutions gauging demand. Transform curiosity into prototypes, strengthening your passion’s practicality. With time, passion will evolve practical ideas into thriving ventures.

2. You’re Not Afraid of Hard Work

Entrepreneurship’s inherent unpredictability requires fluidity working long, flexible hours problem-solving constantly. While tiring, founders enjoying challenges gain resilience handling stress. Are you willing to repeatedly improve through diligent, dedicated experimentation?

Elon Musk works notoriously long hours, even sleeping at Tesla’s factory early on. His tireless work ethic overcame production obstacles, establishing Tesla as an industry giant. Musk proves boundless work sustains visionaries facing complex issues.

Cultivate a strong work ethic by consistently delivering your best. View challenges not as impediments but laboratories for growth. Request feedback to enhance skills over time. Continuous self-improvement builds habits empowering efficient, creative solutions for any problems ahead.

3. You’re Adaptable and Flexible

Complex problems demand thinking beyond rigid assumptions. Entrepreneurship subjects founders to constant change – adaptability survives unpredictability. Flexible leaders apply lessons transforming difficulties into triumphs.

Initially designed narrowly, Twitter adapted when understanding users desired more sharing capabilities. Dynamism helped Twitter evolve into a messaging platform attracting hundreds of millions. Adaptability transforms.

Remain teachable, maintaining an open-mind. Study industry shifts spotting emerging opportunities. When obstacles arise, brainstorm creative solutions rather than dwelling on disappointments. Each experience enhances flexibility for future unpredictability. With an agile approach, you’ll pivot toward prosperity.

4. You Have Strong Communication Skills

Building rapport establishes trust enabling collaboration. As leaders, founders exchange visions motivating others toward shared triumphs. Career relationships also attract investors validating your potential.

Oprah Winfrey connected with live audiences through captivating storytelling and empathy. Her communication skills expanded her talk show into a prolific media brand. Winfrey proves the power of persuasion convincing others in your mission.

Develop active listening, learning others’ perspectives with curiosity rather than judgment. Practice articulating goals clearly yet sincerely. Be visible online networking to understand industry solutions. Nurture communication consistently, as proficiency opens invaluable doors.

5. You Have a Good Grasp of Financial Concepts

Money multiplies vision, but requires prudent management alongside risk calculation. Founders leading solvently utilize practical financial strategies allocating resources strategically. Understanding numbers empowers data-driven innovation.

Daymond John invested profits from clothing line FUBU back into the business, growing it into a global lifestyle brand. His financial discipline demonstrates how math skills multiply opportunities when complementing creativity.

Audit budgets monthly, tracking expenditures versus revenue. Research online courses cultivating financial literacy over time. Consult mentors experienced balancing creativity and fiscal responsibility. Strengthening money management provides a solid foundation for sustainable growth.

6. You Have Strong Leadership Skills

Transforming visions into reality requires inspiring shared belief. Leaders unite diverse talents toward collaborative problem-solving, retaining high morale despite hardships. Authority conveys purpose and possibility motivating others to excel.

Sheryl Sandberg boosted Facebook culture through empowering employees and open communication. Her leadership style nurtured innovation responsible for connecting billions worldwide. Effective CEOs leverage diverse strengths toward a cohesive mission.

Cultivate empathy, understanding others’ perspectives to strengthen rapport and trust. Convey enthusiasm through servant-leadership, prioritizing team success. Promote continual skills-sharing and appreciation, retaining top performers energized by your vision. Nurture your innate abilities motivating others toward profound impact.

7. You’re Creative and Innovative

Imagination spurs novelty satisfying unmet needs. Entrepreneurship demands discovering opportunities escaping competitors’ radar. Innovation transforms limitations into unique advantages separating you in oversaturated markets. Resourceful visionaries apply flexible thinking toward prosperity.

Two roommates faced with extra air mattresses conceived Airbnb, today a global phenomenon. Creativity resolved their housing dilemma while reinventing hospitality. Persistence developed a simple concept into a revolutionary industry leader. Innovation answers unsatisfied demands through fresh perspectives.

Generate numerous ideas regularly without self-criticism. Experiment frequently and learn from diverse mentors within other fields. Challenge standard assumptions combining unorthodox solutions. An innovative approach sustains market-leading through continual betterment.

8. You’re Resilient and Persistent

Setbacks unavoidably obstruct progress – resilience survives short-term failure transforming bitter lessons into long-term success. Grit refuses abandoning dreams despite frustrations, powering through toward eventual triumph. Persistence outlasts those quitting at the first difficulty.

Colonel Sanders endured over 1,000 rejections pitching his fried chicken recipe before finding a partner in KFC. His tenacity created a global fast food empire. Resilience survives today’s challenges to thrive in an unpredictable future.

Learn from “failures” without regret, focusing onconstructive analysis rather than self-blame. Maintain optimism through difficult seasons, remembering temporary issues rarely define you. Utilize adversity sparking creativity where you least expect breakthroughs. Over time, persistence overcomes any barriers standing between your vision and its full realization.

9. You Have Strong Networking Skills

Endless opportunities emerge through relationships within like-minded communities. Strong networks provide advice navigating obstacles, invaluable knowledge, potential partners and more. Connecting with others creates an empowering system of support.

From live events, author Gary Vaynerchuk built an audience of millions, parlaying social relationships into a successful agency. Networking broadened impact through helpful synergies. Make beneficial relationships a priority.

Attend industry conferences regularly, volunteering assistance without expecting immediate returns. Connect through local chambers or groups supporting interests. Provide value first through helpful social content. Nurture rapport through humble service, sparking inspiring connections fueling your venture.

10. You Have Relevant Industry Knowledge

Founders requiring learning curves risk costly setbacks. Deep expertise shortens the learning curve, offering immediate strategic advantages. Domain knowledge also breeds credibility attracting clients and investors. Mastery inspires progress.

Former aerospace engineer Gwynne Shotwell utilized technical skills leading SpaceX as COO for 20+ years. Her experience propelled the company toward pioneering commercial space travel. Knowledge power transforms vision into reality.

Interview experienced professionals, researching innovative strategies applicable to your field. Continually expand mastery through low-cost education (e.g. online courses). Experience breeds insight; gain it through educational internships or pro-bono consulting. Industry wisdom sustains endurance until your ideas inevitably prosper.

Conclusion

While inherent attributes alone cannot guarantee business success, cultivating identified strengths enhances your potential to thrive as an entrepreneur. The above 10 signs characterize many influential founders who persisted facing intense adversity.

With passion focusing your skills and resilience fueling grit through difficulties, your opportunities to convert ideas into realities stand strong. Take that first step – you’ve got this! Continuous learning will strengthen additional qualities over time. Now go start building toward achieving your entrepreneurial dreams.

The post 10 Signs You Have What It Takes to Be a Successful Entrepreneur appeared first on Entrepreneur Loop.

When tech industry icon Marissa Mayer co-founded her startup Sunshine in 2018, expectations were high for the former Yahoo and Google executive to disrupt the market. However, the debut of a basic contacts management app left some wondering if their ambitions aligned with Silicon Valley’s fast-paced standards. In a recent update, Sunshine rolled out photo sharing and event organizing functionality, further puzzling observers expecting flashier innovations.

As an experienced tech reporter given an exclusive look into the new apps, I was intrigued to learn how they enhanced the user experience. While AI elements power the backend, the front-facing functions seem comparable to existing offerings. Similarly, the events component resembles solutions from decades past.

However, Mayer may be targeting a wise strategy by embracing nostalgia. As technology rapidly changes, many gravitate towards familiarity. With older demographics controlling major spending and craving social interaction, Sunshine creates a comfortable space for sharing memories. Subtly invoking Yahoo’s purple branding also connects to Mayer’s respected leadership there.

When asked about the design choice, Mayer noted hosting photos indefinitely on secure servers and allowing easy sharing across platforms. Critically, Sunshine will never sell customer data or derive unrelated insights from uploaded content.

With numerous startups rushing to introduce revolutionary AI, Sunshine aims to apply the technology meaningfully to everyday problems. Prior to the new apps, their birthday greeting feature smoothly integrated with contacts. Mayer sees potential addressing life’s mundane yet universal moments through approachable design.

While early contacts software drew privacy concerns limiting traction, Mayer remains optimistic simple and free apps can gain popularity. With funding secured and self-financed operations, she teases soon rolling out video sharing and other features, staying true to a mission of enhancing routines through accessible technology. Whether capturing memories or coordinating schedules, Sunshine creates a calming online environment for users of all ages.

The post Marissa Mayer’s Sunshine Startup Focuses on Everyday Users with Photo Sharing and Event Planning Apps appeared first on Entrepreneur Loop.

I’m pleased to be joining Wendy Forkas, CEO of Adjoin and creator of Path-Now, to discuss her innovative new platform and over a decade of experience advocating for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Through her work developing programs and services to better meet community needs, Wendy gained valuable insights that inspired her to launch Path-Now – a groundbreaking digital solution aimed at tearing down barriers and opening new doors of opportunity. In this interview, we’ll learn more about Wendy’s motivations and vision for Path-Now, the challenges of building an startup, and the lessons she’s learned along the entrepreneurial journey. Her advice for aspiring change makers provides thoughtful perspective on bringing impactful ideas to life.

Please provide a brief introduction of yourself and your professional background.

I’m Wendy Forkas, CEO of Adjoin, and I bring over a decade of entrepreneurial experience in developing and bringing to life new ideas, programs, and services to better meet the needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including the creation of Path-Now, a progressive mobile app. My journey has been fueled by a passion for people, innovation and a relentless drive to make a positive impact in the world.

What is Path-Now and what problem does it aim to solve for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities?

Powered by Adjoin, Path-Now is a groundbreaking platform designed to revolutionize the way individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) connect with the services they need to have the best quality of life. Our platform offers a safe and accessible experience, bridging the gap between individuals with IDD and new opportunities. Whether they are seeking vocational, living, or social recreational services, Path-Now empowers users to unlock new opportunities. Our target audience includes individuals with IDD, family members, and care professionals as well as service organizations across the IDD community throughout California who are in search of or provide meaningful connections to accessing the community.

What inspired you to create Path-Now and address the need you witnessed?

The inspiration behind Path-Now was born from my realization of the urgent need for an interactive statewide system directory. This epiphany occurred during my involvement as a facilitator in focus groups within the disability community, engaging stakeholders such as families, professional staff, individuals with disabilities, and community partners. Through these interactions, a recurring theme emerged: the desperate need for a comprehensive statewide directory that encompasses all available services. Participants shared their struggles in navigating the complex support options and the barriers they faced in accessing these services.

Witnessing this significant gap in the IDD community, I embarked on a mission to create what is now known as Path-Now. This platform aims to break down the barriers to success for people with disabilities by offering personalized pathways tailored to each user’s unique needs. I saw an opportunity to harness technology to create a platform that not only unlocks opportunities but also fosters genuine connections and drives tangible outcomes for individuals with IDD.

What were some of the initial challenges you faced in getting Path-Now off the ground?

Like any startup, I have faced numerous challenges in the early stages from securing approval from the Adjoin Board to fund the development of the Path-Now application to gaining traction in the market, each hurdle presents its own set of obstacles. However, through perseverance, hard work, and my relentless passion and belief of the platform, I remain focus on the vision, and work to overcome these challenges and set Path-Now on a path to success.

How did you come to recognize the significant market gap that Path-Now aims to fill?

The need for Path-Now became evident through firsthand experience and analysis of California’s disability support system, revealing a significant market gap. With 400,000 individuals eligible for DDS services and over 40,000 community providers, a centralized platform for IDD individuals was lacking. Regional Centers’ basic directories were insufficient, as noted in stakeholder focus groups and DDS Community Resources Workgroup discussions. The demand for an online directory or marketplace for easier access to suitable services and the introduction of a new service model contributed to Path-Now’s development, aiming to improve access and outcomes in California’s IDD community.

What makes Path-Now stand out from other platforms and directories?

What makes Path-Now truly stand out is our unwavering dedication to people. Our passion lies in ensuring that individuals with disabilities have access to the services they need to fully belong in their communities. We are purposefully designed to empower and promote independence among our users. One of our standout features is our customized matching functionality, which streamlines the process and allows users to connect more swiftly with the services that are tailored to their needs. Our emphasis on user experience, personalized connections, and measurable outcomes sets us apart from traditional platforms. Unlike others that prioritize quantity, we prioritize quality connections, ensuring that every interaction on Path-Now leads to meaningful opportunities that make a real difference in people’s lives.

What have you learned about the importance of resilience and perseverance when developing a new application?

Recognizing the importance of resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity is key knowledge when developing a new application. Building a successful startup is akin to running a marathon, requiring mental fortitude to navigate the challenges and setbacks along the way. It’s crucial to understand the relationship with developers, as well as the different development models and the significant amount of time it truly takes to create a quality product. One person often cannot do it alone, emphasizing the importance of teamwork and collaboration in achieving success in the competitive landscape of app development.

What skills do you think are critical for a successful founder?

Critical skills for a successful founder encompass adaptability, resilience, strategic thinking, and the ability to inspire and motivate others. Understanding industry dynamics, market trends, and user needs is crucial. Additionally, gaining buy-in, staying focused on goals during challenging times, and being open to feedback and suggestions are key attributes that contribute to entrepreneurial success. And don’t forget having a sense of humor!

What have you found most rewarding about being a founder and what challenges does it present?

The most rewarding aspect of being a founder is witnessing your vision materialize and experiencing its positive impact on people’s wellbeing and quality of life. Although it comes with challenges like navigating uncertainty, managing setbacks, and overcoming obstacles, I find witnessing innovation in action exciting and rewarding as it challenges me to grow both personally and professionally. Also, seeing Adjoin fulfill its mission of creating limitless pathways for people to belong only adds to the rewarding nature of being a founder.

What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?

My advice to entrepreneurs is straightforward: believe in yourself, remain steadfast in your vision and values, and never underestimate the strength of perseverance. Trust your idea and intuition, and do not allow one dissenting voice to deter you. Remember to have fun, laugh often, and surround yourself with a supportive network. Embrace failure as a chance to learn and grow, and most importantly, never stop dreaming big.

Through Adjoin and Path-Now, Wendy Forkas is demonstrating how social entrepreneurship can drive tangible impact by addressing pressing real-world needs with creative solutions. With her relentless focus on empowering independence and community belonging, she serves as an inspiration for any aspiring innovator determined to make a positive difference through their work. As Forkas charges forward on her mission, countless lives stand to benefit from her vision of inclusive opportunities unlocked through both daring inventiveness and compassion.

The post Finding Limitless Pathways: An Interview with Adjoin CEO Wendy Forkas appeared first on Entrepreneur Loop.

Determination in the face of adversity is the driving force behind many successful entrepreneurs. For Amore Philip, CEO and founder of Apples & Oranges Public Relations, turning challenges into opportunities has been the key to her ongoing success. Starting her agency from scratch 15 years ago after being laid off, Philip used her savings to self-fund the startup and teach herself web development when she couldn’t afford to outsource it. With no prior connections or reputation in the industry, she spent countless hours networking to build relationships and credibility to attract early clients.

While the lack of resources and credibility presented huge obstacles, Philip’s commitment to solving problems for small businesses through consistent brand awareness kept her motivated. Through dedicated effort and perseverance, she overcame these early hurdles to steadily grow her client portfolio. Today, Apples & Oranges PR proudly partners with established brands while helping emerging companies establish their unique stories. However, Philip remains grounded, believing that continuous learning and improving skills are crucial…

1. What inspired you to start your own business? What was the “aha” moment?

I always had a passion for entrepreneurship. I wanted to create something that was not just my own but also positively impacted small businesses. After working in the corporate world, entertainment, and fashion for several years, I decided to bet on myself. It was not just starting a business; it was my way of taking a proactive role to change the trajectory of my family’s legacy.

2. What were some of the biggest initial challenges you faced in getting your business off the ground? How did you overcome them?

When I started my business, the biggest challenge was not having the resources to get started. I did not have money to pay a web designer, so I figured out how to build my website, among many other things. I didn’t even look at funding; I needed the credit or assets to secure financing, so I decided to start small using my funds and savings. Additionally, building a solid client base was another obstacle I had to overcome, as I had yet to build a reputation in the industry. Establishing credibility and gaining trust with potential customers required much effort and networking. However, with dedication and perseverance, I overcame these challenges and succeeded in my business. Fast forward 15 years later, here I am.

3. How did you identify a gap in the market or need that your business fulfills?

As I was getting started in my business, one of the things I also realized was that if I was going to be successful, I too needed to be more visible to attract my target audience, which is also when I discovered that many small businesses struggled due to the lack of consistent brand awareness.

4. What has been your approach to funding your startup? Did you use your own savings, seek investors, crowdfund?

I funded my startup with my savings and help from a few family members. I was not even in the position to go to a bank then, so I became my own bank. If I didn’t believe in myself, then who else would?

5. How did you build your team and attract talent in the early days?

I hired an admin assistant to help with my business in the early days, but it could have gone better. One of the main reasons was that I needed concrete systems and processes built out to run my business. I needed infrastructure. Over the years, I hired more people who were liabilities, as their labor did not result in a fruitful outcome for the company. I had 10+ employees pre-COVID, which I downsized to 4 during COVID. Since then, I have decided to build out my team from the inside, meaning that I would promote candidates who were either interns or freelancers with whom I have worked and who proved they would benefit the company’s growth.

6. What have been your critical strategies for growth and gaining traction/users?

My key strategy has been to keep myself engaged in learning and improving my skills to add value to my clients. In addition, building my network has been immensely valuable.

7. What does a typical day or week look like for you? How do you manage work-life balance?

A typical day for me: I rise at 5 am, mentally prepare, plan for the day, then head to the gym at 6:10 am.

Around 8 am, I start by checking emails and responding to urgent messages from clients or team members. I then research and gather information on industry trends, news, and competitors.

From there, I develop strategies and create plans for upcoming projects. This involves brainstorming sessions with team members, drafting press releases, writing content and other communications, or preparing presentations for clients. I meet with clients, attend industry events, pitch stories for roundups, gift guides, thought leadership, and editorial opportunities, and build relationships with journalists throughout the day. I may also analyze data and metrics to measure the success of current outreach efforts. Overall, my day is fast-paced and can go late into the evening. I rarely work less than 10 hours on a typical day. I plan to replace myself within the next three years to focus my efforts on expanding the agency’s footprint internationally.

8. What do you find most rewarding and most challenging about being an entrepreneur?

The most rewarding part of being an entrepreneur is the ability to turn your idea into reality and leave your mark on the world and your industry.

On the other hand, the most challenging aspect is dealing with uncertainty and facing the risk of failure. It takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and resilience to succeed as an entrepreneur. I have been in business for many years, and there is not one day that I don’t think about failure. On the other hand, quitting is not an option for me, no matter what happens.

9. What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start their own company?

My advice to aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start their own company would be to focus on their “why.” Why are they starting this business, and what problem are they trying to solve? Secondly, they should be prepared for the long haul, as entrepreneurship is a journey that requires persistence, patience, and resilience. Thirdly, they should be willing to take risks and embrace failure as a learning opportunity. Finally, they should surround themselves with a supportive network of mentors, advisors, peers, and family members who believe in their vision and can offer guidance and support.

The post Moving Mountains: How CEO Amore Philip Built A Successful PR Agency From Scratch appeared first on Entrepreneur Loop.

After exiting his scheduling startup Acuity Scheduling for $50 million, serial entrepreneur Gavin Zuchlinski set his sights on a new challenge – helping families stay organized. His latest venture, BeFamily, is a smart assistant app designed to help families collaborate and share schedules, tasks, plans, and activities.

As a father and husband, Zuchlinski was inspired to create BeFamily after frustrations trying to coordinate family life during an early retirement. He saw an opportunity to fill a gap in the market, as most productivity apps focus solely on individual organization rather than true family collaboration.

With BeFamily, the goal is to reduce the mental load of running a household by removing gatekeeping issues and improving communication. The app allows families to share responsibilities more evenly, with everyone’s schedules, tasks, and plans visible by default.

Zuchlinski brings a wealth of experience to his latest startup, having bootstrapped and grown Acuity Scheduling from a solo project into a business worth tens of millions. We sat down with the serial entrepreneur to learn more about his vision for empowering families through technology with BeFamily.

Please provide a brief introduction of yourself and your professional background.

With a background in computational mathematics, I initially worked at federal agencies in the intelligence community where I had a side hustle developing my own company called Acuity Scheduling. Acuity was an online appointment scheduling platform that I initially built to help my mom, a massage therapist. The side hustle eventually became full-time and by 2019 Squarespace acquired my company for $50 million. It was Squarespace’s first acquisition, and it included an equity grant to have me join them to lead Acuity’s integration efforts.

Please tell us a bit more about your startup – what does it offer, what problem does it solve, and who is your target audience?

BeFamily was created to address the real problem families have when they are trying to organize their lives, beyond scheduling matters. Typically, family work is unevenly shared between partners, as one family member almost always handles more of the load than the others – and even then families operate archaically. BeFamily solves this by providing the tools through its smart assistant, tools that remove gatekeeping issues which improve communication and in turn allows families to share more of the work and reduce the mental load of running a family. Every member’s schedules/tasks/plans are shared by default on the app, which makes space for partners to see what each other are doing, possibly help out on more tasks, and collaborate.

BeFamily was developed with families in mind, but it can also be used by any group of people who want to share schedules, tasks, etc. Anything from a very tight knit group friends to couples on-the-go who need to communicate about what is happening in their lives.

What inspired you to start your own business? What was the “aha” moment?

After my time at Squarespace, a stroke of inspiration hit me during my newfound free time with my family during an early retirement. I found over time that I was becoming frustrated with the difficulties my family and I were having coordinating things, schedules, and tasks – all which lead to more work! I started developing a platform that would best help families spend more time collaborating and less time working to get things organized. This is when BeFamily was born.

What were some of the biggest initial challenges you faced in getting your business off the ground? How did you overcome them?

My last business, Acuity Scheduling, struggled with efficient bootstrapping, but BeFamily is very different. After exiting Acuity with millions in the bank, BeFamily is a project of passion and one looking to solve a very personal need. To be totally honest, the biggest challenge is convincing my immediate family that, after such great past success, there’s even a need to spend our resources and so much time building something new.

How did you identify a gap in the market or need that your business fulfills?

After researching the market, I found that most of the apps in the scheduling/planning space focus entirely on organizational needs for users, but not necessarily how they could help families communicate better. I felt that there was room in this corner of the App Store for something that can help families be more present – and no one scheduling app seemed to be a silver bullet for this need.

What has been your approach to funding your startup? Did you use your own savings, seek investors, crowdfund?

100% my own money. My last company was purely bootstrapped, I took absolutely no money at all and saw the creative freedom it gave me. I’m open to investors in the future, however, as the only major negative to bootstrapping is the lack of acceleration a founder may need for growth at inflection points. UntilI see BeFamily at an inflection point, it will remain 100% personally funded.

How did you go about building your team and attracting talent in the early days?

Over the years I’ve worked with many talented people, but when starting something new it’s wonderful to pick the absolute top few of the greatest people. By choosing people I’ve already worked with I don’t have to sweat the vetting process but more importantly our work is accelerated from day one because we skipped past the “team gelling phase” and onto more productive work.

What have been some of the toughest decisions you’ve had to make as a founder? Any stand out as pivotal?

When to grow/invest and when not to are challenging. At a later stage so many of the most important decisions are resource allocation, and at an earlier stage those are less obvious but no less important. When I first started BeFamily we saw such an incredible amount of excitement and positive feedback it would have been easy to try to grow quickly. But, I didn’t. That was hard.

To question #6 I might regret this, you don’t always see an inflection point until after it has passed. Right now though we’re holding back much of our resources to ensure that there are 3 main points all signaling success: (1) people love the product (2) people stay with it for the long term (3) it can grow on its own. We’ve nailed #1 and #2, but #3 is still to be seen and it’s not clear what the future will look like.

What have been your key strategies for growth and gaining traction/users?

B2C products like BeFamily cannot grow by paid marketing alone. Looking at the top B2C profitable apps in the app store, none rely on paid marketing.

However, we’ve seen great success initially with Google banner ads (something myself from 5 years ago would never have dreamed of saying) and newsletters for acquiring users. Prior to investing in acquisition we spent a significant effort working on retention, which primarily is around making a product that people enjoy using every day (and don’t forget about). Our two main tactics for this were filling gaps in features & push notifications to pull people back in.

Finally, the hope is to snowball off of this initial paid acquisition and into more product lead growth through features, like collaboration, that are more valuable when others you know are invited.

How do you stand out from the competition in your space? What sets your product/service apart?

What makes BeFamily different is that the app helps families share work, tasks, and plans by being a smart assistant to help them run a calmer, more collaborative family. The app provides the tools that remove gatekeeping issues, which improve communication and in turn allows families to share more of the work and reduce the mental load of running a family.

Organization is great, but it is a byproduct of using BeFamily, not the means to an end.

What have been some mistakes or failures you’ve made along the way as an entrepreneur? How did you recover and learn from them?

Firing.

Hiring is easy and it’s definitely harder to hire the exact right people, but personally I’ve struggled more with firing. I want to get to the best company as quickly as possible to create something great for customers. I’m going to make mistakes along the way and most are quickly reversible -except for hires. Fixing the hiring process only works for future people, but current employees can drag down morale, distract high performers, and worse.

I had been too generous to low performers and productivity vampires thinking that I can fix them or find a root cause of their issues. Sometimes you can, but that usually turned out to be incremental, so over time I found it was better to suck it up, risk the legal issues, and just terminate someone who is dragging down the company.

What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were first starting out?

Everything is growth.

In the early stages (and possibly even later ones) if you can’t draw a direct line to how what you’re working on connects to growth then it’s not worth doing. I feel much more focused now and I see more results knowing this. Before I mistook customer happiness as the main success, and that’s only one of many factors.

What are the most important skills someone needs to be a successful founder, in your opinion?

Creativity.

As the cost of creating things continues to decline, your own creativity is the differentiation that creates value. Personally, this is one of the main things I’m trying to cultivate in my own children since I think market dynamics are changing and will disproportionately reward creativity in the future.

What does a typical day or week look like for you? How do you manage work-life balance?

I’ve worked too much in the past, it hurts creativity and my family life.

Now I work roughly 6 hour days, exercising in the morning and spending time with family in the afternoons. I strictly limit meetings to give space to productive activities.

What do you find most rewarding and most challenging about being an entrepreneur?

Most rewarding– talking to a random person at a party and having them use what I’ve built. It’s really fulfilling, it’s like the product is a child that has grown up on its own and been successful.

Most challenging– staying focused for the long haul. Entrepreneurship is definitely a marathon.

What are some future goals or plans you have for your business in the next few years?

We’re just at the beginning of our journey to help families think less about managing their family, and more time on enjoying their lives. We’ve created some phenomenal tools to keep things organized, and the future will be in doing more of those tasks for you.

What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start their own company?

Just do it already.

I meet too many aspiring entrepreneurs who overthink their ideas, or think they need more experience, more connections, or more of “something.” You’re probably wrong about almost everything, so it’s better to face it sooner than overthinking it and facing the same problems later.

After two successful tech startups under his belt, Gavin Zuchlinski shows no signs of slowing down. The BeFamily founder continues to refine his family organization app, with plans to further automate tasks and reduce the day-to-day management burden on users. For aspiring entrepreneurs, his advice is simple – stop overthinking and just get started.

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