In this session of ‘Surviving a Recession’, an all-star panel of entrepreneurs, Lili Hall, Founder & CEO of Knock, Inc, Janet Johanson, Founder and CEO of BevSource and The Lab, and Scott Burns, Co-founder & CEO of Structural share valuable insights and advice on adapting rapidly to save your business during challenging and uncertain times.
QUICK CONVERSATION TAKEAWAYS
- Transparency and open dialogue is key.
- Inclusivity starts with “I”.
- Customers are just as panicked — take this opportunity to better understand their challenges and build relationships with them.
- Balance cutting hard and fast with your long-term goals.
- Don’t be afraid to pivot.
- If your leadership team lacks diversity, that’s likely a sign of implicit or explicit bias within your organization.
- Cut everything that does not keep the ball rolling forward and keep investing in the dream.
ABOUT THE GUEST SPEAKER
Lili Hall, Founder & CEO of Knock, Inc
Lili Hall is CEO and President of KNOCK, inc., a US-based creative agency leading strategic brand development on a national and global scale. She founded KNOCK in 2001 with a commitment to impeccable client service and a nimble response to new opportunities. In conjunction with two sister companies — TREAT AND COMPANY and NEIGHBOR — Hall’s teams design virtual-to-real experiences that create loyalty and love for brands in such industries as retail, healthcare, higher education, technology, and the arts. Named one of EY’s Entrepreneurial Winning Women and for six consecutive years was one of Inc. magazine’s 5000 fastest-growing private companies in America. Hall measures success not only in the culture, growth, and profitability of her companies but in the impact they make on communities at home and around the world.
Janet Johanson, Founder and CEO of BevSource & The Lab
Janet Johanson is the Founder and CEO of BevSource and The Lab. She has spent her career helping beverage entrepreneurs make their dreams a reality. Johanson and her team at BevSource have launched and managed operations for more than 1,000 beverage products. Passionate about growth and innovation, She recently led BevSource's acquisition of European-based MyDrink Beverages, as well as the launch of a first-of-its kind, pilot production facility and “beverage playground,” called The Lab. Janet was named a 2018 Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal Women in Business Honoree and was a finalist in the 2019 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. She serves as a board member for Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest, and Give Us Wings, a non-profit that helps people in Uganda develop projects in the areas of economic development, medical, and educational support.
Scott Burns, Co-founder & CEO of Structural
Scott Burns is a leader in bringing data and technology to complex challenges. He is currently the CEO & co-Founder of Structural, an all-in-one people directory that humanizes data to connect people and teams. He started his career at McKinsey before joining one of the first cloud-based software companies in 1999. He co-founded GovDelivery in 2001, with the company still in its early stages just as the .com bubble burst. Despite this chaotic timing, GovDelivery became the largest digital communications platform for the public sector. Scott led the company through some challenging times, such as the Great Recession, successfully growing it from two employees working in a basement to 250 people globally. He sold the company in 2016, and by the time he left, the company was serving over 1,000 government agencies and enabling personalized communication with over 200M citizens.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR
Casey Shultz joined BETA from the Bay Area with a host of relevant startup and accelerator experience. She was one of the original employees of CouchSurfing International—a precursor to AirBnB —where she helped the company raise its $7.9M Series A-round. She then moved into the capital side of the equation as a leader of the Citrix Startup Accelerator. Most recently, Casey was the head of Business Operations at Serverless, Inc.
ABOUT THE SERIES
"Surviving a Recession" is a five-part series presented by BETA and Launch Minnesota featuring local and national thought leaders sharing how they are applying lessons learned from their experiences weathering multiple recessions (such as the dot com bubble, September 11 and the 2008 housing crisis) to their businesses today.
OTHER CANDID CONVERSATIONS YOU MAY LIKE
The Adventures of Code42 Post-911
Moderated by Cihan Behlivan, Entrepreneur in Residence at BETA
Mitch Coopet, shares his co-founder journey and how he and his fellow co-founders scaled Code42 in the aftermath of the dot-com bubble.
Staying Grounded During Times of Economic Uncertainty
Moderated by Mike Gietl, J.P. Morgan Industry Executive
Jodi Hubler shares her experience at Definity Health (the VC backed insurance innovation bought by United) during 9/11 and the dot-com bubble burst, leading Lemhi Ventures during the Great Recession and thaw of 2008-2010, and the how she’s applying those lessons to today.
How to Survive and Thrive When Your Business Doesn’t
Moderated by Kelly Buhl, Operations Lead at BETA
Elaine Rasmussen, Founder and CEO of Social Impact Strategies Group (SISG), shares how she overcame losing everything in 2001 to become a successful entrepreneur and community activist today.
Moderated by Eri O'Diah, CEO at Collective.ly Digital
In this session of ‘Surviving a Recession’, Seena Hodges, Founder and CEO of The Woke Coach, guides us through an unfiltered conversation around becoming our best, most understanding, and empathetic selves during challenging times.
