Believe in Yourself and Trust the Process

She started a company with her mother as a side gig. What she learned was a meaningful lesson about love, life, and business.

It was November 2014 when my mom, Kerry, then on sabbatical from her HR job, and I stumbled upon a problem that we would change our lives trying to solve. After attending separate events on the same weekend, we discussed the awkward ick that often accompanies networking. We questioned why there were many software platforms to get you to an event and many to help you follow up afterward, but none that focused on helping people connect once you’re there.

Over the course of a four-hour conversation, our business, Mixtroz, came to life—with our initial wireframe in the form of Post-its on my bathroom door. In time, our platform would allow for event attendees to answer questions in real time and make group matches based on their responses.

An event organizer would, in effect, be able to engineer dynamic engagement between real people in seconds while also collecting valuable data.