It Takes Two: Christie Horvath of Wagmo and Jarrid Tingle of Harlem Capital
“It Takes Two” is our newest column, featuring a conversation between two people making it in the world of entrepreneurship. In our debut article, we sat down with Christie Horvath, founder and CEO of Wagmo, and Jarrid Tingle, managing partner at Harlem Capital. Christie started Wagmo after a frustrating and expensive experience finding pet insurance for her dog, Aspen. Jarrid is Managing Partner at Harlem Capital, where he and his team are on a mission to change the face of entrepreneurship by backing underrepresented startup founders.
In this interview, we learn more about the journeys that Horvath and Tingle have embarked on in their respective roles, the lessons that they’ve learned in working together, and if they truly know each other’s coffee orders.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Tell us the story of how you met.
Christie Horvath: It all started when one of my early angel investors introduced me to Brandon Bryant, one of the venture partners at Harlem Capital. The initial conversation we had wasn’t like anything that I have had before, so I was super intrigued to learn more about him. Brandon then introduced me to Jarrid and from there I met the whole Harlem Capital team which marked the beginnings of our journey working together. We went from everything from pitch decks to due diligence and everything in between.
Jarrid Tingle: Brandon came to me super excited about Christie and her team but initially put it off because I tend to block things until I really need to focus on them. Brandon was quite persistent so I agreed to take a call with Christie in the midst of our fundraise. I didn’t even have time to make it back to the office for our meeting so I remember our first call with the buzzing of Fifth Avenue in the background barely able to hear Christie. From what I could hear, I was impressed by how sharp she was and her answers to my questions were super spot on. The second I got back into the office, I knew we had to make a deal. Time wasn’t on our side since Christie is really great at creating competitive dynamics. Luckily, everything worked out.
Christie, at what point did Wagmo go from being an idea to a reality?
Christie Horvath: The catalyzing moment was when my dog was having a seizure on the floor at the vet. Before I had to get his treatment, I had to pay a huge deposit of a couple of thousand dollars as well as sign a piece of paper saying that I can pay any additional costs. While signing the paperwork, I had this incredibly tense moment about whether or not I could really afford to save my dog. In a way, the pain from this experience instilled the fire in me to start Wagmo.
I started to dig into why people tended to hate their pet insurance and realized there was a huge gap in coverage for routine care and preventative care. I remember Googling wellness plans for pets to see if there was something that would fit the specific gap but there wasn’t anything that fit the bill. I quickly threw together a Squarespace page for the product that I wish existed. Shortly after, people started signing up and from there I realized that something was there and this could actually turn into a scalable and sustainable model. From there, we’ve just hit the ground running to the company that we are today.
Jarrid, how did you get into venture capital?
Jarrid: Henri Pierre-Jacques and I, the other managing partner, were both working at ICV Partners, a Black-owned private equity firm. We had a fantastic experience working for a small and diverse organization. At ICV, we realized pretty quickly that we loved investing but we wanted to build our own firm.
As an associate, you don’t have carry and you don’t have the opportunity to co-invest. Henri and I eventually decided that we should angel invest because we loved what was happening in tech now and we were eager to participate in it. It was the best way to learn by doing. We got a crew of friends together and got to work. Helping people create wealth, hire folks of diverse teams, and invest in their communities was the inspiration for building Harlem Capital.
Eventually we found out that most of our deal flow was coming from startups and that this was the best model in terms of economics. With our brand, we realized that there was an even greater need as there were few investors of color and women investors for that matter. We were meeting with a whole bunch of founders who were qualified but were struggling to raise funding.
By early 2018, we did six angel deals and were in our first year of business school. Instead of doing an MBA internship that year, we decided to try to raise a fund. We were able to meet the right people, use our NYC connections, and had good advisors to help us build something special.
Since starting our raise in June 2018 and closing a $40 million fund in November 2019, we have made 17 investments with two partners, one venture partner, two senior associates, and a team of amazing interns.
Helping people create wealth, hire folks of diverse teams, and invest in their communities was the inspiration for building Harlem Capital.
Partnerships like yours are very exciting because you represent two minority groups that have been underserved in the world of venture. What has working together taught you about the world of venture and what can improve?
Christie: From my standpoint, I think the biggest thing that I no longer take for granted is being able to sit across from the table from someone who genuinely respects you and has your best interest in mind. When you start pitching VC funds, particularly as a woman, and especially with my experience in the insurance industry, you meet a lot of fairly terrible folks. So it’s refreshing to have a conversation and genuinely connect with somebody and trust what they’re saying without having to second guess what they actually mean.
I don’t know if it’s attributable to the fact that both Jarrid and I are coming from underrepresented backgrounds or if there’s just a genuine connection, but I think that the relationship Jarrid and I have should be the norm. You should be able to have open and candid conversations with your investors and not have to worry about if you’re being manipulated or undervalued.
I think the biggest thing that I no longer take for granted is being able to sit across from the table from someone who genuinely respects you and has your best interest in mind.
Jarrid: By the time I met Christie, me and the team at Harlem were bought into the idea that women and people of color can be fantastic entrepreneurs. There was no adjustment needed when it came to building our relationship but Christie was tremendous. I admire her confidence and the way that she carried herself throughout the fundraising process.
We ended up co-leading Wagmo’s seed round with another VC firm that we really respect. The one thing I admired about Christie during the fundraising process was the partner level diligence that she did. It wasn’t just about focusing on the firm but rather which person on the investment team that she would be working with. This was so insightful to me because it got me thinking about how people’s interactions with us individually matter and whether we have a consistent culture. Learning this from Christie made me more in tune with how founders look at the world and helped me become a better investor as a result.
Jarrid, it was an oversubscribed round for Wagmo’s Series Seed. Can you speak more about your involvement?
Jarrid: Yeah, everything lined up. We ended up exceeding our fundraising goal which gave us more capital to support Wagmo in a meaningful way and have more prevalent ownership in the company. Christe reached out to us early in the process and said we’re thinking about raising another round. Christie crushed it when we invested the first time, so we definitely had to be supportive the next time around. It was really exciting to work on everything from how much to raise, what the valuation would be like, and what feedback to take into consideration. It was a great feeling that Christie chose us and allowed us to participate in a meaningful way even if she had other investors to choose from. To some extent, she also helped us build credibility as investors. By giving us the opportunity to be a key player in the round, it was a great way of showing advocacy
Not only am I excited about Christie but the market that she is serving is really exciting. The world of pet insurance is still very underrated in North America but we are seeing high penetration in Europe. With a surge of pet ownership in the past few months, we see the connection as well as the opportunity to unlock and support a company that can scale to new heights.
Christie, Your seed round was oversubscribed. How did Jarrid and the Harlem Capital team make the cut?
Christie: You have to be really deliberate about who you bring with you on your journey. As I think about who I want to work with, the voice in the back of my head is always thinking, “Who do you want to make rich at the end of the day?”
As a first-time founder, it was really important to find people who I can genuinely trust and lean on for help along the way. This sentiment was so clear in Harlem Capital and I felt this the second that they approached the deal. Seeing that they genuinely took the time to know me and know my company, I feel like it was a great start to a long-term relationship, if you will. It felt like an investment from both perspectives.
Working with Jarrid has made the founder journey a little easier because he is the perfect level of accessible and helpful without getting in the way which is exactly what you want as a founder. He’s always a text away to chat about everything from getting into the weeds about a financial model or go through the dynamics of raising a seed. While crafting my pitch deck, he offered insightful feedback on how certain things would be perceived from the investor perspective.
We have a very open line of communication which has been really helpful in finding a soundboard to talk things through with. I never have to wait to schedule a board meeting or investor update to get the help I needed.
What is motivating you these days?
Jarrid: Our motivation is rooted in building an ecosystem that gets funding into the hands of diverse entrepreneurs. It’s always energizing to partner with amazing founders and give recognition to founders who are traditionally overlooked. Not only are we making waves on the founder side but our internship program has been incredible and exciting to watch. With just over 50 interns, we are setting the foundation for making venture capital diverse by equipping our interns with the tools to get VC jobs.
Christie: It’s honestly my customers. Two weeks ago, I got off the phone with a customer who has been using Wagmo since we started the wellness plan for her service dog who keeps her healthy. It was awesome hearing her gratitude for the wellness product and how easy it made taking care of her pet during a customer interview. She even put off purchasing insurance with another provider when she heard news about us releasing our insurance plan. This customer has even recruited her father and the other dog owners at the dog park onto Wagmo by spreading the word.
Moments like that make the whole journey and the whole roller coaster as founders totally worth it. The ups and downs are amounting to a product that is helping people in a meaningful way and a way that I can personally relate to. Now that our insurance product is live, it’s all the motivation to keep going because we have built yet another way to help people.
Moments like that make the whole journey and the whole roller coaster as founders totally worth it. The ups and downs are amounting to a product that is helping people in a meaningful way and a way that I can personally relate.
You’re meeting up for a quick meeting in the city to chat but the other person is running late. What is their go-to coffee order?
Jarrid: I would get an espresso for Christie. She’s all about efficiency and would appreciate just having something that she can take and get back to work on. Hopefully we could enjoy it but I know she would quickly drink it.
Christie: Yeah, Jarrid is on the money with that one. I would get a red eye, coffee with a shot of espresso, for Jarrid. He’s working constantly, he’s probably not getting that much sleep so this will get the job done.
Abena Anim-Somuah is a contributing writer at All Raise. When she is not working on the Business Development team at Ada Support, she is avidly baking and elevating Black culinary creatives on Instagram, listening to a podcast, or digging into a good book. You can find her on Twitter.
