------ A two-sided marketplace ------
The Mom Project — Focused on connecting women, including parents, with jobs from organizations specifically open to employing people who meet that profile.
"Oftentimes, I think women can be a bit more conservative than men, and Eddie helped me step out of that shell and bring forward the big vision that would attract incredible investors. His input and support have been huge throughout the fundraising journey."
When Eddie and Allison met, TMP had only five people and less than a year into the business. This is the evolution of their partnership.
He was critical in helping us land our seed round.
What I love about Allison is that throughout the journey, even though she’s swinging for the fences to make a big impact, she cares.
Meeting
It was really early on in the business. I think I had been working on the company for less than a year. I just loved meeting Eddie. I was fascinated by his insights and his perspective on the business. We just instantly clicked upon meeting.
We met when I had an operating role (@Shiftgig), so I was pretty busy. I met her because she was referred to me by a VC in town.
Allison had a dynamic personality, so instantly I was drawn to her conviction for the mission.
In our first meeting we talked about the opportunity to go from a smaller clientele to a bigger clientele. When I left Shiftgig, she immediately came to mind, and I knew I had to reach out to her.
What impressed me in addition to her vision was that she had won a big enterprise client and found a technical employee who was equity incentivized. She proved to me that she had the ability to get things done as she had accomplished the two things we had discussed in our last discussion. In addition to Allison’s grit, The Mom Project had real traction from a revenue standpoint.
Post Investment
I don’t have a financial background and certainly did not come from this space. I needed to fundraise in order to grow the company, and Eddie was there to help. Not only in terms of relationship building and bringing great partners and funds to the table, but he also coached me on how to articulate the big vision to everyone. He was critical in helping us land our seed round.
Overcoming challenges
Oftentimes, I think women can be a bit more conservative than men, and Eddie helped me step out of that shell and bring forward the big vision that would attract incredible investors. His input and support have been huge throughout the fundraising journey.
We operate a double-sided market place and there’s the constant chicken and the egg (dynamic). We’ve been really fortunate and the supply has been relatively easy for us to capture and grow, but the demand side is a much more challenging piece of the marketplace. Our success has been on the back of large enterprise clients. Eddie understands this ecosystem really well. He has made some huge introductions for us at companies that control billions in spend a year. He was able to really fast-track the access to their C-suite executives, which has had a really profound impact on the company and its trajectory.
At the stage we’re at now, it’s all about making the right hires. Eddie is so tapped into great talent and he really leans in on recruiting. When we were first hiring our key executives, he immediately began calling CEOs of Chicago companies to get an early peek at talent that was going on the market. He has helped us land some major executives which were instrumental for the company.
Women In Tech
When I was raising my seed round, I was pregnant. I felt like there were all of these factors that were stacked against me. Today, I think the market has changed. When I was pitching to a big VC last year, they said, “We actually see this as an asset.”
That certainly wasn’t the case when I got started. We’re such a family business with 350,000 moms that we engage in our community.
Confidant
Eddie’s operating and founder experience is huge. There’s a level of empathy that is super hard to understand if you haven’t started a company before. These are the things that keep you up at night.
So working with Eddie feels like a trusted space where I can share challenges I’m having with the business or the team. I never feel silly. I know he’s seen it all and is there to support me. I can tell him anything, which is really rare.
Working Together
We run a relatively complex business. We sell B2B, but we also have a community of 350,000 moms that we engage. So much of my job is educating people on the context of why we’re making decisions, and why it makes sense — that’s not necessary with Eddie. He just gets it.
Eddie's level of understanding accelerates the rate at which we can make decisions and get to deeper things.
Learning From Each Other
When I founded the business, I didn’t set out to build a company that had the potential to go public. I’m constantly trying to up-level myself to carry the company into the next phase of the growth journey. Eddie has been like an on-the-job mentor to me.
Whether it’s ‘here’s how to most effectively design a board meeting to here’s how CRO compensation could be,’the acceleration of learning has been in large part due to Eddie and some of my other mentors who have really invested their time in me.
The opportunity in front of the mom project is big. Allison knows it’s big and it’s exciting to be with founders that are chasing after a big opportunity that can be rewarding for shareholders but as importantly rewarding to the community — enterprises, moms and female professionals.
What I love about Allison is that throughout the journey, even though she’s swinging for the fences to make a big impact, she cares. She’ll read emails when moms send messages and she’ll reach out.
It’s great to see founders have a big vision and big goals, but also care about the individuals and every single consumer. That kind of passion is exciting.
The Essence
Trust, Ambitions & Mission Alignment.
Conviction, Mission & Passion.