How This Startup is Spreading Happiness through Art
Welcome to another edition of Profiles in Entrepeneurship, where we offer insights from the brightest entrepreneurs and VC’s from around the world. I spoke to Liz Powers, co-founder and Chief Happiness Spreader of ArtLifting. Her startup connects socially conscious companies with talented artists impacted by homelessness or disabilities.
What first inspired you to start ArtLifting?
I started ArtLifting because I saw there was a need for a marketplace that curates artwork from individuals who are homeless or have disabilities and connects them with buyers, whether that is corporations or individuals. I saw the need because during college I did volunteer social work — helping people who were homeless get jobs. I found there was a huge need for redefining what a “job” could be because so many of my clients applied to hundreds of jobs over the course of years and had no luck due to mental health challenges or other reasons many people do not fit into traditional 9–5 jobs. I found it to be a way to redefine jobs.
You secured a grant post graduation to spend a year establishing art groups in homeless shelters in the Boston area. How did you decide to work on something more autonomous rather than following a more traditional career path in a big institution?
At Harvard we are blessed with options off the beaten path. To me, I thought that this grant was a long shot but I thought I might as well try to get it. The thought of sitting at a desk of a normal job was never really an option. I am an artist at heart and I wanted to be an entrepreneur and to create new things. For me, it wasn’t really like I had to choose between the two because I never considered a normal job as an option.
Were there any classes or experiences at Harvard that allowed you to develop this entrepreneurial mindset?
Yes. I forgot the name of it, but there was a sociology class that I took during my freshman year that was called something similar to Sociology in the Community that enabled me to do volunteer social work. I loved it so much and I did it for the rest of college even if it wasn’t for college credit. The fact that I was in Central Square, working at the hub for social services in Cambridge and seeing real life problems rather than reading about them in books gave me the footing to eventually become an entrepreneur.
Your title on the ArtLifting website is “Chief Happiness Spreader” rather than CEO. Can you speak about why you decided to name your position in this way and how you intend to spread happiness?
Part of the ethos of the company is focusing on positivity and focusing on people with can-do attitudes. For example, one of our artists paints with voice recognition software. He is quadriplegic and still finds a way to create art. So, I am called the Chief Happiness Spreader because I have the privilege of sharing these inspiring artist stories to clients and spreading happiness in that way and spreading happiness back to the artists by 1) getting the dignity they deserve with a platform that highlights their amazing artwork and 2) helping them earn their much needed money. It’s a two way happiness spreading. Since we’re a very different startup, it felt very normal from day one to have a very out of the box title and not need to be called CEO.
Team is said to be an integral part of a successful early stage company. Can you speak to how you chose your co-founder and other key management positions?
My co-founder is actually my brother so that’s a little different than a typical startup. We had been brainstorming for years. I started an art show about 10 years ago that connected homeless shelter art programs with buyers one day a year in the Prudential Center. We brainstormed over car rides and over dinners and realized that this was only one day a year, only in Boston, and only original artwork. We brainstormed about how to change these three factors so that it could be every day of the year, all over the country, and help artists make endless money by each creating prints of each piece of artwork and also licensing the artwork. So that’s why we started it and as we grew the company, we figured out what skills we were lacking and then filled them in with key hires.
What has been a challenging part of running ArtLifting?
I think the most challenging thing for any entrepreneur is figuring out the best area to focus on. Entrepreneurs constantly have new ideas and have an endless to do list. So, I would think through 5 opportunities that we could focus in one year but make a bet on say two this quarter. I would look at the analytics and see what’s paying off. If those two don’t pay off, then I can look at idea three. I think the most important lesson I’ve learned over time is tiering these goals and realizing that you can’t do everything at once.
Are there any goals that you can share for 2019 that is in line for your company this year?
One thing that we are focusing on (my mom always says work smarter not harder) is on bulk deals such as hotel chains or bulk real estate owners who own apartment buildings, condos or office buildings. We are working on how we can get key contacts of millions of square feet so that we can fill up their empty walls.
Do you have any advice that you would tell students who are interested in either working for a mission driven company or starting their own in the future?
The first thing is that you must realize the pros and cons of being an entrepreneur. During the early days of ArtLifting, I had 5 jobs in order to make everything work. In the first two years of ArtLifting, I was not paid at all. You have to realize that becoming an entrepreneur takes sacrifice and you’ll have a very different lifestyle of friends who are going into investment banking or consulting. If you have the passion for it, it is so fulfilling. Also, always be creative in terms of realizing what your needs are and being creative of how to hit those needs. For me, I needed housing and food and I got that by working at one of the Harvard dorms after graduation which gave me free room and board and gave me the freedom to not earn a salary from ArtLifting for a bit. Keep an open mind and realize the opportunities out there.
Can you talk about incubation programs or accelerators that might have helped you along the way?
Being in Boston, we are so lucky to be surrounded by so many accelerators. We started out of the Harvard Innovation Lab and I will be giving a talk to ILab students next month. I am very grateful for the support they’ve provided. Also, another is MassChallenge which we participated in about 4 years ago. It was an amazing community with over 400 mentors and business leaders. Finally, we were at Tie Scale Up which helps companies go from seed stage to continued growth. This was with slightly more seasoned companies with several hundred thousand in revenue. That was fun to be at the next level with them and learn how to continue to grow.
What motivates you to go to work every day?
Our artists are what motivates me to come to work every day. To share their stories, help them build confidence, and earn money.
Interested in reading more? Learn more about ArtLifting here and check out other interviews from Profiles in Entrepreneurship (PIE) here!
