Chalet & Expa — Our Take on Labs
Now that Expa Labs is accepting applications for its next batch of founders, Chalet co-founder, Chris Kirk, and I wanted to share some insight on our experience for future labs companies to consider.
It’s been nearly nine months since we applied to Expa Labs in May 2016. Still at our old jobs, Chalet was an exciting idea to build a tech-powered property management company when Chris heard about Expa Labs through a work connection. The program was brand new, accepting its first group of founders, and we didn’t know exactly what to expect. Clearly though, something special was happening at Expa. The impressive group of partners combined with the opportunity to commit fully to our young start-up was more than enough to cross our fingers and apply. Now, two months out of the program, we feel incredibly fortunate to have had the chance to learn and grow with the support of the Expa team. So, if you’re considering applying to the program, the short answer is yes, you should apply — but if you need some more convincing, here are a few highlights from our experience to consider.
The Interview
Looking back on the application and interview process for Expa Labs, two words come to mind — straightforward and quick. The process itself was exactly as the instructions described it to be. It started with an online application which consisted of core questions about the business, a founder video, and a pitch deck. The video and pitch deck didn’t have much explanation, but were our opportunity to show who we are as a founding team and dive deeper into Chalet. In hindsight, those were the most fun and rewarding parts of the application. The limited structure allowed us to present Chalet in our own style.
A week after submitting, we were invited to come into the Expa SF office for a 45-minute interview. Surrounded by the Expa partners and core team members, we explained our vision for Chalet and answered a series of questions about our solution, product roadmap, market, and competitors. It was clear that we were in the presence of a truly creative, analytical, and experienced group of entrepreneurs based on how easily they dove into the opportunity and solution that we were proposing. At the end, they were kind enough to go around the room and give us advice. Leaving the office, we honestly had no idea how it went, but felt incredibly lucky for the chance to learn from their questions and guidance. Three-days later we got a phone call with great news: we‘d been accepted into Expa Labs! The next day, we both quit our jobs and within two weeks we had incorporated the company and were working full-time on Chalet out of Expa SF.
The Breakfast Series
Now that the program was underway, every other Wednesday morning, we were treated to a catered breakfast and guest speaker. The speakers ranged from successful entrepreneurs to startup legal experts to venture capitalists. This was our opportunity to further our knowledge about how to start, grow, and run our business from those who have done it before or have insight into important areas, like fundraising. Every speaker brought unique knowledge and stories and, like most of the people we met through Expa, were willing to help outside of the structured breakfasts. Our favorite part of these breakfasts, aside from the quality of the speakers, was how intimate they were. The attendees were the three Expa Labs SF teams, Entrepreneurs in Residence, and a few core Expa team members. The small size of the group gave us the opportunity to ask more questions specific to us than we may have been able to in a larger group, and we certainly never would have gotten as thoughtful of answers off a blog post or podcast.
The Demo Days
Prior to Labs, my impression of a “Demo Day” was a several hour long pitch session where company after company presented to hundreds of VCs at once with the sole purpose of raising more capital. At Expa, they’re an intimate monthly event where Expa teams demo their products and share their recent learnings with the other teams. What really stood out about these demo days was how helpful they were for everyone involved. They weren’t about pitching your business, but rather taking the lessons and progress of the past month and allowing everyone else to benefit from it. For me, the Demo Days embodied what we believe the biggest value of Expa to be, a group of smart, driven people working together on the common goal of building the future.
The Office
Another big perk of joining Expa was receiving six months of office space in their SF location. Having worked in other startup offices, we were truly spoiled. The kitchen is stocked with snacks, groceries, an assortment of drinks, and even a full bar. We never had trouble finding a meeting spot thanks to the numerous conference rooms. The views are breathtaking and the space is cleanly decorated in a way that gives off both a start-up and professional vibe that will impress your guests. Most importantly though, the office gives you exposure to the other people at Expa which brings us to…
The Team
The most valuable part of joining Expa Labs is having access to the Expa network. Expa is unique from other accelerator programs in that they don’t only invest in early-stage external companies (Labs companies), but they also build their own internal companies (Studios companies). For this reason, you not only get access to other young startups hustling to do something big, but also to veteran entrepreneurs and experts in different aspects of building companies (i.e. HR, finance, etc.).
The Expa network is a group of incredibly smart, driven, and experienced entrepreneurs who truly want everyone to succeed. Through regular meetings with Expa Labs GMs, Eric Friedman and Andrea Funsten, and the Expa partners, we received valuable feedback on our direction on a frequent basis. Beyond those regular meetings, I was impressed and surprised by how extremely willing every person was to impart their knowledge about areas of expertise whenever we asked. There’s an unspoken feeling that together we can help each other achieve big things, so let’s help each other however we can. The reach of the network is deep as well, if someone at Expa can’t help you, they know someone who can.
Labs may come off as an accelerator, but because of the small size of the program, it felt more like being a part of the Expa team. Neither Chris, nor I, have been through another accelerator before, but I imagine it would have been hard to get the attention that we did in a larger program.
The Pitches
Half-way through the program and again at the end, we had the opportunity to pitch to the partners. This was a good chance for us to hone in our presentation and see what aspects of our business and product stood out, good or bad. It also allowed us to see in more detail what the other labs teams were up to. We had a lot of exposure to the SF teams since our desks were next to each other, but it was really fun to dive deeper into their businesses and learn more about what had happened in NY over the summer and fall. All in all, the pitches were helpful in getting us better prepared for when we pursue additional funding, and helped us identify weak points to work on and strong points to highlight.
The Takeaways
Now, two months out of Expa Labs, here are our top three takeaways:
- We cannot imagine a better program in terms of start-up capital, mentorship, and networking opportunities.
- You get what you ask for. Beyond the structured parts of the program, if you want to meet with or get an intro to someone, ask for it. People can’t help unless you tell them what you need.
- Pay it forward. The Expa team and network is potentially the best example of a group of people who genuinely want to help others when they can. We were welcomed with open arms and given valuable feedback at every step. That feeling is amazing. We should all put more of that into the world.
We hope this information is helpful to anyone curious about Expa Labs! You can find more information about the program and submit your application here. If you’re interested in learning more about what we’re up to with Chalet, you can find us on Twitter @withchalet, Facebook, Instagram @withchalet, and our website!
