The Tenth: How GSB Founders are Facing the Crisis
When confronted with the fact that 9 out of 10 start-ups fail, entrepreneurs are the rare breed to say “ah but the tenth!” But with the globe thrown into an unprecedented public health crisis and an uncertain economic future, what say the entrepreneur now?
Temporary Pivots:
In February, Dylan Robbins (’21) soft launched Lifetime Vintage, a wine-focused registry for weddings. But with weddings cancelled across the country, Dylan postponed his nationwide launch, planned for mid-March. “At first we were only going to delay for a week or two,” he reflected, “this has made me realize how quickly life can change.” Realizing that many of his partners at specialty wine stores had closed their shops, Dylan retooled the start-up’s infrastructure to launch “Wine From Home” — a website offering fine wine home delivery to help these small businesses sell inventory online. He’s hopeful that he can launch Lifetime Vintage soon, and is actually grateful for what he’s learned so far from Wine From Home.
Lorraine Ma (’20) and Nate Kanefield (’20) also faced a direct impediment from social distancing restrictions. The pair founded Minema to connect people through high quality events like movie screenings and discussions in unique venues. They postponed a three-location event, something they’d spent weeks planning and personal money marketing. They are experimenting with virtual events, like a Zoom-based Brené Brown podcast listen-and-discuss. Lorraine is optimistic that when social distancing measures are lifted, Minema will be ready to help people fulfill their craving for deep interpersonal connections. “Listen, we can weather this,” she recalled Nate saying in a recent check-in, “it’s going to be great timing when we launch.”
Lending a Hand in Crisis:
Some GSB entrepreneurs have found their start-ups well-positioned to help respond to the COVID-19 crisis. Andrew Powell (’20) and Sasha Seymore (’20) founded Learn To Win as a tool to help sports coaches teach their playbooks, but are now in talks to use their platform to train medical professionals and military personnel on PPE usage and rapid response protocols. The machine learning analytics software developed by Vannevar Labs (Nini Moorhead (’20) and Brett Granberg (formerly ‘20)) is helping US intelligence agencies to effectively “telework” — keeping the country safe while maintaining social distance.
Alissa Orlando (’20) remembers the last recession in 2008 all too well. Just as she was applying for college, her father’s work as an independent contractor dried up, and with it their family’s financial security. Largely motivated by this experience, Alissa founded The Indy Hub to provide portable benefits packages to independent workers. As unemployment across the country spikes, the financial precariousness of independent workers is in focus now more than ever. Alissa is energized to be working with employers and governments to quickly design and deploy emergency aid to displaced workers. But she hopes these efforts don’t stop with emergency aid: “There needs to be changes in how independent work operates full stop… I want to do everything in my power to provide economic security to these workers.”
Money on the Mind:
Despite the creative workarounds, one topic raised by every founder was fundraising. With the public markets in freefall and layoffs rampant, descriptions of the “frothy” venture capital funding environment seem years outdated, not just weeks. Founders like Nini who’ve already raised money say, “I feel pretty lucky… fundraising isn’t on the near-term horizon for us,” thanks to the $4.5 million seed round raised last April.
Other GSB founders weren’t quite as lucky. Oladoyin Oladapo (’20) was planning to use Spring Quarter to fundraise for Window, her retail-tech start-up. “I’m still having conversations with VCs… I just need to be more flexible with my timeline.” She says the extra time may actually be a boon to product development and long-term success. Other founders are considering alternative financing options, such as bootstrapping, crowdfunding, or seeking philanthropic grants.
Despite the uncertainty, most remain optimistic. “If you build something valuable, there will be capital for it. In a recession you want to invest in valuable assets.” said Adrian Githuku (‘20). He and Evan Lee (’20) are focused on making Amplify, a hiring platform for contract work, into a need-to-have rather than a nice-to-have for customers. Andrew Oved (‘20), founder of Reformation Partners, a new venture capital firm, is bluntly optimistic for his peers: “if you’re a GSBer and you have a good idea, you are going to get funded.”
“If you’re a GSBer and you have a good idea, you are going to get funded.” — Andrew Oved (‘20), Reformation Partners
Above Else, Dedication:
No matter the stage, industry, or funding level, one characteristic unified all GSB founders: steadfast commitment to entrepreneurship. “I came here for this. It’s my dream and I want to pursue my dream,” said Alissa. Lorraine admitted that the crisis had prompted her to reflect on her post-graduation plans. But, “the macro conditions don’t change the answer for me,” she decided, “When a crisis happens, it gives you more clarity on what really matters, and if you still want to do this in a crisis, you really want to do it.” Oladoyin summed up the perspective of the GSB entrepreneur best: “I can’t see myself doing anything else… I’m not about to let ‘corona’ force me to get a ‘full-time’ job!”
