Founder spotlights: insights from Alli Kasirer, Robyn
In case you haven’t heard, we’re hosting a virtual event series in partnership with the NY Tech Alliance! Hosted by NYTA’s Andy Saldaña and Grasshopper Bank’s Micah Baldwin, “Don’t Panic, Let’s Talk” is a bi-monthly check-in for tech founders, entrepreneurs, and small business leaders looking to have candid conversations while we all navigate a global pandemic.
Coronavirus is forcing many small businesses to make quick decisions under a LOT of pressure. The central theme of our latest virtual chat in our “Don’t Panic, Let’s Talk” series was about remaining mindful in how we approach decisions during this time, and always. We were delighted to discuss all of this and more with our guest Allison Kasirer, Founder of Robyn, a rapidly growing community driven platform that provides access to integrative maternal wellness tools, community and resources to assist women and families’ on their unique paths to parenthood. Alli’s corporate background, entrepreneurial grit, and willingness to get personal made for an insightful conversation. We have some fantastic takeaways to share with you here.
Be continuously thoughtful about your approach
The wellness startup ecosystem is growing quickly, which can make it difficult to rise above the noise. At launch, Alli and her team spent a considerable amount of time researching what their clients wanted and where they spent their time. And they didn’t stop once they found answers. Instead, the Robyn team makes it a point not to assume that their audience will stay the same forever. They A/B test all the captions and creative images accompanying their social posts and continually revisit what’s resonating with their audience and what’s not. The Robyn team also asks their audience to tell them about the biggest challenges they’re facing so they can create thoughtful content with intention, curate much-needed products, and offer services that the Robyn community both wants and needs.
Go at your own pace
Alli was uncomfortable with a ‘friends and family’ fundraising round and opted against it. She acknowledges, “I think a lot of founders are scared to say that {they’re uncomfortable} because they think if you’re passionate about your business, you should be willing to take anyone’s money”. The Robyn team decided they’d grow at their own pace until they were ready to fundraise. We also see this rejection of a “one size fits all” approach in the way that Alli supports other entrepreneurs. Many wellness-focused small business owners rely on Robyn’s website for customer referrals. Alli makes it a point to give these local businesses, many of which are female-owned, a platform to promote their products and services, including calling out the entrepreneurs by name and linking to their website. The focus is on support within this community and it’s okay that everyone’s journey is moving at a different pace.
Keep your mission top-of-mind
It’s important to keep your mission at the forefront when it comes to marketing, but does it really help you in other aspects of your business? It’s certainly helped Robyn. When COVID-19 hit, Alli and her team had to make decisions fast. Alli cites her team’s ability to embrace what she calls “radical prioritization” as one of the things she’s most proud of. Their shared belief in Robyn’s mission became a guiding factor in the many choices they had to make during an intense, short timeframe. Alli shares that doing good and making money don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Robyn is a great example of a business whose ability to stay focused on their mission — helping families on their journeys to parenthood — has ultimately been a key factor to their success in a crowded wellness market.
How are you handling decision making right now? We’d love to hear your thoughts.
Our next virtual conference in the “Don’t Panic, Let’s Talk” series will focus on a Seattle based founder and her quick actions to pivot, keeping a small business with a global footprint afloat during this time. On Thursday, May 21st at 12PM ET we’ll be joined by Annie Cheng, CEO + Founder of The Table Less Traveled, a boutique, culinary-focused, small group tourism company, taking travelers beyond popular tourist attractions and deep into local culture. Annie will walk us through how they’ve transitioned from in-person travels to virtual community cooking class experiences, managing to not only save their own business, but continue to support the local tour providers in destination countries like Italy, Peru, Malaysia and Japan, amidst this global pandemic. Register here to join us!
In the meantime, please have a look at some resources we have pulled together that we’d like to share with you: Grasshopper Bank’s Resource Guide — A compilation of the best articles, strategies and tips for managing a business and maintaining your mental well-being during challenging times.
