Innovation Archives

Walnut St. Labs & i2n Releases Office Hours

How do you ignite innovation?

The way you ignite innovation is to connect innovators with that “right person”.
And then do it again. And again. And again.That’s what we’re doing starting today.

Fact: 20 minutes with the right person can save you weeks, months, perhaps even years of time.

Walnut St. Labs and the ideas x innovation network (i2n) have partnered together to create an easy way to make the right connections happen, propel projects and accelerate forward progression in our region.

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“I”ve met with Chris a couple of times to discuss go-to-market strategies and business models for my startup. Not only did he provide practical advice around basic startup worries such as domain names and getting your first customer, but he also pushed my strategic thinking, encouraging me to think outside the box in terms of building out an expert marketplace. I’d definitely reach out to Chris again. He’s a great thought partner.”
– Asha Rangaraj, Founder of ResearchMole

So What Is Office Hours

Office Hours connects innovators with Innovation Advisors for face-to-face networking and advisement at three locations in the Greater Chester County area. Innovation Advisors are domain experts from the region who are willing to offer advisement for free. Here are the areas of expertise we have so far.

Government
Legal
Real Estate
Technology
Management
Financial
Startups
Marketing
Life Sciences

And here are the advisors we have for our launch.
Interested in becoming an Innovation Advisor?

Chris Dima
Kevin Fleming
Mary Fuchs
Dave Mann
Terry Kerwin
Raymond Sarnacki
Craig Schroeder
Eamon Gallagher
Mark Rybarczyk
Stacy Martin
Paul Prestia
Denise Smart
Wilson Chu
Lars Knutsen
Jim Lauckner
Leo Daiuto
Ben Bock
Jim O’Brien
Ilya Lehrman
David Chopko
Guy Fardone
Clay Zug
James Watkins
Andrew Brenner

Begin with the End in Mind w/ Jeff White

Jeff White, CEO of Media Analytics

@IMSReport
imsreport.com

“Be conscious of what path you will take when you hit the fork in the road. Know what NOT to do and be willing to admit it to yourself when you hit a dead end.”
— Jeff White, CEO of Media Analytics

“Your innovation can have a life on its own, so make sure you pay attention.”
— Jeff White, CEO of Media Analytics

“A lot of times entrepreneurial spirits don’t play well in big companies.”
— Jeff White, CEO of Media Analytics

“I didn’t want to be part of that cookie-cutter experience. When a company gets that big, you become dependent upon it.”
— Jeff White, CEO of Media Analytics

“Be flexible, nimble and follow the money.”
— Jeff White, CEO of Media Analytics

“Build your product. Make sure the product works, and make sure that your customers like it. Once you have those three things, then you really have something of value.”
— Jeff White, CEO of Media Analytics

“We knew our end game. We knew that we wanted an exit. I told Apple that it might just be cheaper for them to just buy us and it turned out that it was, so they did.”
— Jeff White, CEO of Media Analytics

“Keep the team small because you’ll get in your own way. Knowing which direction you’re heading in is very important!”
— Jeff White, CEO of Media Analytics

“Im a big believer in not leaving things to chance. Control your own destiny!”
— Jeff White, CEO of Media Analytics

“What do all entrepreneurs have in common? They understand where they want to end up.”
— Jeff White, CEO of Media Analytics

“If you’re not growing organically and not being valued, then make a change!
— Jeff White, CEO of Media Analytics

Tips for Business and Career Pivots w/ Chris Cera

Chris Cera, CEO of Arcweb

Arcweb.co
@Arcweb
@chriscera

“If you’re trying to figure out what you’re going to do in life, you have to recognize that all possibilities come through new people. It’s pretty much a necessity that you meet new people to create new possibilities. You have to set yourself up to meet as many people as possible, and in the process of building a number of relationships, you’ll meet the hustlers; the people that you want to partner with in your next company.”
— Chris Cera, CEO of Arcweb

“A lot of people, especially entrepreneurs, have experienced building features of little value, or perhaps the first iteration of a product that has little value. I try to focus on methods for minimizing risk and prove viable business models using the minimal amount of money possible.”
— Chris Cera, CEO of Arcweb

“I think the first person to mention the entrepreneurial career path to me was Gabe Weinberg, who’s been very influential to me in my career.”
— Chris Cera, CEO of Arcweb

“When you’re telling your partner or your family that you’re going to go work on this startup; what you really should be telling them from an expectation management perspective is, ‘I’m taking the plunge! I’m quitting my job and I’m never going back!'”
— Chris Cera, CEO of Arcweb

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“The whole reason why communities and coworking spaces exist is because it gets people out of their houses and into areas where they can be with likeminded people. I remember Indy Hall‘s original slogan use to be,’Because working alone sucks!’. I felt like that was a great slogan.”
— Chris Cera, CEO of Arcweb

“What I found to be unique at Philly Startup Leaders was that everyone there was trying to hustle and build their next thing. It was something that was really special to me and something that I hadn’t encountered at other events during that time.”
— Chris Cera, CEO of Arcweb

“Organizing an event is a great way to actually meet people and work with people that you wouldn’t otherwise work with.”
— Chris Cera, CEO of Arcweb

“Many of the people that I had organized events with and hung out with at PSL are now people that are buyers and ultimately customers of my company, as well as entrepreneurial peers that I have close relationships with. I know Bob Moore spoke here recently. I actually met Bob at a PSL event.”
— Chris Cera, CEO of Arcweb

“The community piece has been huge for me in terms of life pivots, and I would never underestimate the value of a places like Walnut St. Labs.”
— Chris Cera, CEO of Arcweb

“In the Philly scene, you don’t want to shut the door on someone because, who knows; that person could be your next customer.”
— Chris Cera, CEO of Arcweb

“I never seen a college class that teaches sales, which is amazing to me because selling is so important. Sales training even changed the way I dated girls.”
— Chris Cera, CEO of Arcweb

“The Awesome Pipeline: I built a list of everyone that I knew who is awesome, and even some of people that I wanted to know. And, the idea is to get in front of them and pitch them something, in order to test it out what you want to do.”
— Chris Cera, CEO of Arcweb

Instamour Demo

Kristen LaSalle, Cofounder & VP of Sales

@instamour
instamour.com

What was the problem that Instamour is trying to solve?

“At Instamour, our team has been using dating websites since the late 90’s and the newer mobile apps for years now. We have been carefully testing and diagnosing what the most common problems are. And, we keep finding the same problems over and over again. In a nutshell, they just aren’t personal enough because pictures and text don’t cut it anymore in this world of technology.”

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What’s the solution that you came up with?

“Our Mission is to solve the headaches of online dating with new functionality that has until, never been possible before! We’ve made our app available for both android and iOS.”

“Our solution is the world’s first real video relationship platform!
We’ve created a new opportunity to see real personalities by browsing video profiles, engaging in live video chats, virtual phone calls, and instant messaging. We are shifting the paradigm for online dating profiles and experiences.”

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What’s your vision for the future of Instamour?

“Well, we’re raising funds right now. So, we are interested in adding on more developers and configuring some persisting issue that are specific to the nature of these new online dating functionalities yield. We’re also in the process of demoing our products at other spaces and looking to gain as many more users as possible.”

Make Money, Change the World: Cora- A High Growth For-Profit/For-Purpose Startup

Molly Hayward, Founder of Cora

@Molly_Hayward
@CoraWomen
corawomen.com

“My work at Cora has taken hold of me. It really found me. I certainly wasn’t looking for it, but it’s been incredible.”
— Molly Hayward, Founder of Cora

“My background was in economic development, women’s rights and human rights. I thought I was going to work for a big NGO, join the peace core, or work for a non-profit after college. Fate kind of intervened and I very serendipitously joined a tech startup in Philly.”
— Molly Hayward, Founder of Cora

“I started as a intern. They paid me a thousand dollars a month, which was awful. Yeah, it sucked! Although, now I look back and I’d kill for a thousand dollars a month.”
— Molly Hayward, Founder of Cora

“Within three months, I was out raising money with the CEO. That was where I cut my teeth, and I learned by doing. I really loved the CEO’s role. It was that high level, visionary work that appealed to me most.”
— Molly Hayward, Founder of Cora

“My first company was a draw. I invested a lot and somehow broke-even, myself. After two years, I couldn’t get an entrepreneurial visa to stay in London, and so I was unceremoniously deported.”
— Molly Hayward, Founder of Cora

“Its really funny looking back on my journey, because it was just a fucking mess!”
— Molly Hayward, Founder of Cora

“(At Cora) wWe are a Women’s health company that aligns technology and products to a Woman’s natural cycles, across her entire lifetime. We started out as a monthly subscription box for organic feminine hygiene products.”
— Molly Hayward, Founder of Cora

“We let women create a customized box of organic feminine products, and we ship them to her every month. Like Tom’s Shoes , like Warby Parker, for every monthly box that we ship to a women here in the US, we provide a month supply of products to a girl in a developing country, who would otherwise be missing days of school every month during her period.”
— Molly Hayward, Founder of Cora

“This is a huge problem, all around the developing world. There are many NGO’s that are pumping tons and tons of money into girls education because we see these massive returns economically when we invest in girls’ education, and yet, girls at 12 or 13 drop out of school because they miss days of school, due to their period and they fall behind.”
— Molly Hayward, Founder of Cora

Toxic Chemicals: “I found that most of the products that most
women use in this country, conventional products like Tampax, Kotex, Playtex, they’re made from cotton that has been heavily sprayed with pesticides, mixed with synthetics and bleached. All of those substances cause there to be toxic chemical residue, that are linked to reproductive diseases and cancers.”
— Molly Hayward, Founder of Cora

“Women are exposing themselves to these products for days at time , every month, for forty years of their lives. And it’s really just wrong. I couldn’t in good conscience contribute to that.”
— Molly Hayward, Founder of Cora

“Prior to (raising 30,000 crowdfunding with) my plum ally campaign, I had completely bootstrapped it, including money from the job, as well as multiple credit cards. I don’t think enough people talk about that.”
— Molly Hayward, Founder of Cora

“Now, we are raising a seed round. And, I say we’re because while for a long time it was just me, I’ve more recently and all the sudden, hired on a team of five people.”
— Molly Hayward, Founder of Cora

“We advocacy center for women at Cora. We started out with menstruation, and we quickly noticed more comprehensive support system was needed. Our intention is to build a brand that is massive and inclusive, to become a mainstream provider, in a way that organic pr0ducts haven’t yet mastered.”
— Molly Hayward, Founder of Cora

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