Seattle Chapter Member – Christopher Iovin of Envia Technology, Inc.
Q. Describe what your company does in 25 words or less.
A. Our AI assistant is on a mission to reduce the mental load for parents by automating and streamlining the chaos that comes with managing family schedules.
Q. Why does the world need your company?
A. The reality full time working parents face…
Constant flood of message from schools, clubs and sports
Fragmented scheduling across emails, apps and texts
Repetitive coordination with teachers, caregivers and each other
Increased workload and no cognitive relief – just growing mental load
The chaos created…
Missed payments and deadlines
Showing up at the wrong arena/field
Last minute dash to the store for a birthday gift
Tomorrow is “Dress Like a Book” Day and no costume in sight
Oh and that fundraising form for the hockey team? Due yesterday!
Q. If you were a hero/villain, what would be your origin story?
A. The Count of Monte Cristo…classic.
Q. What has been the biggest win for your company?
A. We just won the Founders Live pitch competition, a nice win in Bellevue, WA.
Q. What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made along the way?
A. Neglecting our financials along the way.
Q. What do you like most about being a founder?
A. The ownership and responsibility and ability to manage employees and investors the way I want to (with transparency) and affect the outcome.
Q. What is the hardest thing about being a founder?
A. Expectations.
Q. What has been the biggest obstacle you’ve had to overcome as a founder?
A. Boot-strapping the company without deep pocket investors.
Q. What’s your favorite hack for dealing with the demands of running a startup?
A. Microsoft Excel. So many tools, but this classic keeps powering everything.
Q. What were you doing before you started working on your company?
A. Senior Technical Program Manager at Amazon, Snapchat, and a couple of startups, as well as an investor in several tech companies and partnerships.
Q. If you weren’t building your company, what else would you be doing now?
A. Spending the summer with my two children before one goes to college, and yet, this startup is intended to give back time to parents everywhere for what matters most, their family.
Q. What advice do you have for founders who are two stages behind you?
A. Be proactive, try, keep going, don’t give up. It’s trite but it’s true, ideas are endless, it’s the people and the execution.
Q. How has Startup Haven helped you on your journey?
A. I just joined last month, and already have attended 2 events, found a network of support and friendship, an investor, and expansion opportunities into Canada. It’s great to have hometown Startup Haven. I take the sailing analogy of a port in a storm seriously, and that is what Startup Haven is for founders.
Q. What superhero power would help founders most?
A. The ability to see the future. I’ve often been asked, what power would I possess…invisibility? strength? flying? And the most powerful is a crystal ball.
Q. What do you need… what’s your “ask”?
A. Pre-seed investment, hands down.
Q. What help can you offer to other Startup Haven member founders… what’s your offer?
A. Feedback, beta support, and free Envia app membership.
Q. What question didn’t we ask you that we should have… and what’s the answer?
A. How did your last startup go? Assuming that several founders are serial entrepreneurs? And I would say it was in hyper-growth, then it got Softbank money and topped. The CFO also embezzled money and lost it in crypto. It’s a wild tale! #fabric
Q. If you were to found another company (after you exit your current company) and you could choose any real person living or dead to be your cofounder, who would it be?
A. It would not be a founder or tech magnate, it would be Michael Jordan due to the competitiveness shown in the movie “Air” which would exceed expectations. It’s this type of person, not the type of company, that matters.
Q. What company would have been your company if it didn’t already exist, and why?
A. Godaddy.com, because I started a hosting company in the 90s before they took off.
