Q&As With Some Of Our Recent Accelerator Graduates
With the final deadline (December 8th) for our 2018 Impact Accelerator fast approaching (click here for more info on our rolling application process), we thought it would be fun to chat with some of our recent graduates about their experiences in the program and where their businesses are now.
#1 Q&A with Richard Portelance, Founder/CEO of CareerPath Mobile
If you had to give just one reason why participating in reSET’s Impact Accelerator was the right decision, what would it be?
The business model improvements gleaned and honed based on the program’s main summits completely overhauled our assumptions and go-to market strategy.
What did you enjoy most about the program?
Meeting so many wonderful people who are in or around the entrepreneurial community here in Connecticut. We knew we weren’t alone, but now we have friends and associates to call upon, which is awesome.
What surprised you about the program?
We were surprised by the quality of the companies, mentors and people that reSET has been able to curate. It’s really a “who’s who” of the Connecticut startup scene.
Did the program have you rethink any element of your business model and how did it evolve thereafter?
Absolutely. By modeling various market options, we have put less emphasis on monetizing the platform via sales directly to schools, and now have a much more robust and diverse strategy that brings together various parties. We are also no longer just a technology play, but have expanded our offering to include content and workshops to help seed the platform and create engagement.
Where is your business now, almost a year later?
We are growing, establishing more customers and connections, and going through a complete overhaul of our platform. In addition we are working on our baseline content set, building in more data intelligence capabilities to allow us to identify a more diverse constituency with varying interests. For fundraising, we landed a lead investor for our seed round this summer, and hope to close out the round by Christmas.
What advice do you have for future participants?
Open yourselves up to the possibilities of change. Entrepreneurship requires two essential ingredients: perseverance (survive to thrive) and flexibility. Don’t make big pivots, make lots of smaller, iterative adjustments and talk to lots of people. Exposure, understanding, patience and hard work all play a part. The following quote is attributed to Thomas Jefferson, and I wholeheartedly agree with it…“I am a great believe in luck. And the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.”
#2 Q&A with Lanna Nawa, President of Impact Everything (Formerly Known as Impact Mart)
How did your business benefit from participation in reSET’s Impact Accelerator?
The Impact Accelerator really made us organize our new business through its lessons and advice from experts who have been in our start-up shoes. We developed a thorough idea of the “ins and outs” of our business from finance to HR to marketing.
If you had to give just one reason why participating in reSET’s Impact Accelerator was the right decision, what would it be?
You meet amazing people! Peers, customers, and mentors that last a lifetime.
What did you enjoy most about the program?
I definitely enjoyed meeting people. Our group was diverse and came from a variety of backgrounds and fields of business.
What surprised you about the program?
That it could relate to businesses in different phases. There were very beginner start-ups to business that were already making substantial revenue that all made good use of the program.
Did the program have you rethink any element of your business model and how did it evolve thereafter?
The program challenged us to think a lot about brand creation. From this, we developed a solid value proposition that we would never have thought of ever creating before.
Where is your business now, almost a year later?
We just moved to Providence to open our flagship storefront (name now changed to Impact Everything)! We have also opened an associated non-profit, Impact Travel, since then and are on to building our second school in Uganda.
What advice do you have for future participants?
Connect with others as much as you can. We make a bigger difference when we’re in it together.
