The courage to forge a new path
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It's finally Friday letter getters!
Happy (early) Mother's Day to all the Moms out there. I recently became a first-time Mom as well. When my son was born, I chose to not re-enter the 9-5 workforce, and instead relaunched Southern/alpha, a blog I used to write, and with it, this weekly newsletter. I've been so lucky to get to spend the majority of time with my child, and have the unexpected opportunity to revisit writing about tech and startups. Because of my experience, I'll be writing more about the relationship between parenthood and entrepreneurship in future LaunchLetter issues as an ongoing theme.
If this is your first LaunchLetter, you've dropped in on a really special issue. Thanks for reading and a special thank you to our newsletter sponsors, Steadfast Media Company.
Katie Hoffman,
CEO and co-founder of Bundle
Being an entrepreneur is really tough. People compare it to running a marathon (tough) or having a baby (TOUGH) but what if you are really a parent with a family and you've turned down the security of a 9-5 job to bet on yourself and your own idea? It takes a large amount of confidence and a huge leap of faith to raise a child and start a company. If you are a new parent who has chosen to stay home with your child and build a business, you know that it can be a very difficult path laced with reasons to return to a work environment with healthcare, 401K matching, and the perk of a consistent salary. There are immeasurable joys that come along with the honorable title of "mom" and "dad," and joys that come with following a professional calling. You'd think we'd have the old work-life balance all figured out by now right? Yet Katie and her husband Jayme were inspired to create Bundle based on their own ongoing experiences and experiences of friends navigating new parenthood. Meet your five minute mentor, Katie Hoffman.
As a new parent, I have now experienced the absolute sheer joy a new baby brings, but also the anxiety, fear, and stress. I think there is a lot of opportunity to improve the experience for new parents, whether it’s for the first or tenth time. My husband put it best; parents meet on an app, they create their wedding with an app, they track their pregnancy with an app, and then you have your baby and you have no idea what to do, which is a terrifying feeling. Our company, Bundle, strives to improve the accessibility of newborn health services for new parents. We didn’t even know half of the services available for new parents until we ran into issues ourselves and had no idea where to turn. After speaking to dozens of parents, this is a common experience and we want to alleviate that anxiety for others.
Don’t make assumptions when it comes to others intentions. If you are unclear about something, ask. Having worked in HR for almost 10 years, I was most often helping to resolve conflicts that arose out of others making assumptions of others intent (that was usually inaccurate). If someone's reaction surprises me or I don’t understand their point of view, I always take a moment to step back and try to see things from their perspective. If I still don’t understand, I ask.
My husband and I got in the habit of saying at least one thing we are thankful for from the present day before dinner. It’s a very small thing that has made the biggest impact on my overall attitude. I find now that oftentimes I am most thankful for the stressful or frustrating parts of my day that ended up teaching me the biggest lessons.
The book Radical Candor, by Kim Scott, became very popular the last few years, and while I really enjoy the book and agree with her overall message, I found that many people often misinterpret the point and end up having more destructive conversations when they are attempting to be more direct.
Honesty and transparency. My career centered around building trust with the clients that I served and without absolute honesty and transparency (even when the messages are tough) there is no trust.
Katie Hoffman is the CEO and co-founder of Bundle, a marketplace for prenatal, postnatal and postpartum health services.
Recent Achievements:
The most significant I’ve ever done is having my son, Henry (he’s 7 months old). After having Henry, I decided to leave my full-time job (which was not the original plan) to focus on him and figure out what I wanted to do next. This was a very difficult decision at the time, but ended up being the best decision I could have made because my experience with Henry inspired me to start Bundle.
We partnered with Otterbase to bring you high demand/quality jobs in Nashville. This job is for $80,000-$95,000.
Think you are great for this role? Send Hunter from Otterbase an email at hmitchem@otterbase.com.
iOS Developer for a Nashville startup
Responsibilities and Duties
Design and build applications for the iOS platform
Ensure the performance, quality, and responsiveness of applications
Collaborate with a team to define, design, and ship new features
Identify and correct bottlenecks and fix bugs
Help maintain code quality
Successfully perform any coding tests or challenges as required
Suggest new features and expansions of existing apps to improve performance and usability
Deliver on time as discussed and clearly communicate any changes in deadlines as soon as possible.
For more information, see the full post here: https://southernalpha.com/may-ios-developer-for-nashville-startup/
Pendo, a Raleigh-based startup, acquired Receptive Software, a software company based out of the U.K. Pendo now employs around 225 people according to this article.
Gravy, an Atlanta-based startup just raised $1M to help subscription businesses focus on retention.
BatBnB, a Louisville-based startup that builds bat houses to help control backyard pest populations will be featured on an upcoming episode of Shark Tank.
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Steadfast Media: Empowering Innovators to Achieve their Goals
Steadfast Media’s team has spent the past ten years as growth partners to both tech-enabled businesses and startups. We love helping all kinds of digital pioneers accelerate the pace at which they are reaching customers and audiences. Our unique experience has led us to offer supporting services for all types of businesses looking to grow their technology offerings, as well as leverage our unique experience as startup founders to accelerate your business in general.
LaunchLetter is a weekday newsletter from Southern/alpha, a website that features collections of stories and resources for underestimated startup communities.
LaunchLetter is for founders getting started on an idea or business. Our goal is to share the perspective, habits and positive messages of more experienced founders and CEOs. We hope you find it relatable and delightful as you get focused for the day on your own goals. Enjoy the ride.
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