Conference Presentation, Panel
Elli Sharef at Female Founders Conference 2014
- Speaker Profile: Ellie Chareth, founder of Higher Art (a recruiting and job-finding tool) and member of the Winter 2012 Y Combinator batch.
- Core Advice for Founders:
- "Done is better than perfect": Chareth delayed launching her startup for seven years (from college age to 27) waiting for ideal conditions, realizing no perfect moment exists for funding, co-founders, or healthcare.
- Timing and Luck: Her company, Higher Art, emerged from a five-hour phone call with co-founder Nick Sedlitz after a mutual friend reintroduced them; they started immediately after he quit his job at Goldman Sachs.
- Persistence and Pivots: While the core idea of Higher Art remained stable, the company executed numerous small pivots over a long period to align with customer feedback.
- User Growth Trajectory: The platform initially secured only two users, then five, requiring significant time before reaching its current scale.
- The Role of Confidence:
- Internal vs. External: Founders must cultivate deep internal belief in their vision to eventually project it convincingly to stakeholders, investors, and hires.
- Gender Dynamics: Chareth notes that women often lack the "bravado" of male founders due to greater humility and realism, which can hinder the ability to disrupt industries.
- Required Mindset: Belief in the company's potential is essential for navigating difficult days, even if that confidence is not immediate at the start.
- Handling Failure and Near-Failure:
- "Near-Failure" State: Chareth characterizes the startup experience as constantly trying to beat a "security line" (failure) rather than recovering from total collapse.
- Meg Whitman Case Study:
- Whitman invested $140 million of her own money in a failed California gubernatorial race, describing it as a "humiliating and devastating" experience.
- Post-failure, she spent a month watching daytime TV before her husband suggested she return to work.
- She immediately accepted the CEO role at Hewlett-Packard during a turnaround period, accepting high risk despite her recent public failure.
- Higher Art Fundraising Crisis:
- Three to four weeks after Y Combinator, Higher Art had raised zero funding while batchmates secured investments from Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia.
- Chareth experienced a breaking point after receiving a rejection email from Sequoia, initially believing the company would fail.
- Co-founders urged her to continue pitching, leading to 70 additional meetings before securing investment.
- Forward-Looking Statements and Personal Reflections:
- Global Impact: Higher Art expanded its recruiting platform to 150 countries, eventually adding Chareth's home country, Colombia, allowing her peers to interview on a tool she helped build.
- Emotional Resilience: Chareth advises founders to enjoy the "otherworldly" experience of the journey, including the challenges of fundraising and the prestige of being on Sand Hill Road.
- Call to Action: Founders are encouraged to start immediately if they haven't, or to keep pushing if they have, emphasizing that enjoying the process is as valuable as the outcome.