This past year, Empowered Together piloted its two-sided online marketplace in New Haven. The pilot tested the hypothesis that customers living with disabilities and businesses desiring to attract these customers would gain value from the marketplace. The pilot also tested the hypothesis that the value gained by businesses would translate into revenue for Empowered Together. In short, the pilot disproved both hypotheses.
This means Empowered Together has come to an end. Last December I told my husband, John, that 2024 was going to be the make it or break it year for Empowered Together. At that point, the company had just enough cash to run the New Haven pilot. If that had been successful, I would've used the results to go out and fundraise in order to scale the marketplace to new business verticals and new locations. In the end, the product-market fit that had eluded Empowered Together proved to be its demise.
Reflecting on this 1,264 day journey brings these insights, offered with humility and vulnerability:
- Empowered Together amassed over 200 users. In a world that has historically overlooked people with disabilities, I am grateful Empowered Together assured them that their stories and pain points matter.
- Working so closely to a space that I'm personally living everyday took a toll. There were times when I had to step back from the work to gain some balance in my family's life.
- Empowered Together reached 400 businesses and support organizations, ranging from government offices to local businesses keen on becoming more inclusive spaces. Each touch point raised awareness about supporting families affected by disability. By putting Empowered Together's work on these leaders' radars, inroads were made to increase disability inclusion.
- I have wrestled with the reality that disability inclusion occurs when there is a distinct benefit to be gained by those required to change. We see this in the legislated web accessibility standards that made online access nearly ubiquitous. Businesses avoid lawsuits by complying; they gain an advantage by becoming more accessible and thereby more inclusive of online users with disabilities.
- Empowered Together's major pivot led me further from my area of expertise -- from an online community for caregivers to an online marketplace for customers with disabilities. I had less lived experience with the new iteration and decisions were less instinctual.
- I underestimated the effort required to build a marketplace. It takes twice the effort to build the two sides of the marketplace. Further, each side must reach a critical mass to be attractive to the other side.
- The next time around, I will 1) test business models voraciously and early, 2) find a co-founder, and 3) prioritize business growth over networking.
- Compared to years ago when I co-founded my first startup, there are now many more communities and venture capitalists that support founders first. I had the distinct pleasure of being a part of many of these which were highlights of my journey.
