Increasing Startup Success One Deal at a Time

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Charlotte Clark, Co-Founder of Foresight, located in Kansas City, MO, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Foresight is a software platform that allows financial institutions, like banks and CDFIs, to assess early-stage startups' progress and allocate funds to them so that startups can continue to build and grow their business.

Our customers are financial institutions, and our users are startup founders. The criteria for a traditional loan approval do not take into account how early-stage startups build and become successful. Using Foresight will give them a clearer picture of what makes startups a worthwhile investment. Startups do not grow without access to capital, and Foresight opens up alternative avenues for founders to receive the funding they need.

Tell us about yourself

I made my transition from a full-time software engineer to startup consulting in 2020. I spent about two years navigating the ecosystem in a variety of roles, all of them in support of founders and building their startups. Out of 10 founders that build startups, 9 of them are set to fail within the first three years. I believe that this is not just because founders are learning to build as they execute quickly but because navigating the ecosystem is not as intuitive and helpful as it could be. In early 2022, my co-founder approached me about joining Foresight, and it perfectly aligned with what I want to do in the ecosystem. Every day I'm motivated to build infrastructure and processes to help groups of founders be successful now and in the future.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment comes from each and every conversation I have with individuals in the startup community. So much of being a startup founder is putting yourself out there and opening yourself and your business up to feedback and criticism. In doing this, I've been pleasantly surprised by how many people emphasize the mission and vision of Foresight and are excited to brainstorm, give feedback, and make new connections.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

As the CTO (Chief Technology Officer), it's my job to ground the vision of Foresight into reality and build what's feasible in the short term. The hardest part of this is turning theoretical ideas into something that works and exceeds what we've promised to our customers and users. The good part is that there are so many possibilities in how software can be built, and that's part of the fun, despite it being hard at first.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

To start a business: utilize free business mentorship and consulting through SCORE and the SBDC. For startups, check out YC Startup School and Techstars Entrepreneur's Toolkit.
To run a business: automate everything by utilizing software tools.
To grow a business: there are so many ways to get funding to grow your business. Two resources I recommend are OpenGrants and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs)

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.tryforesight.io/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tryforesight/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-a-clark/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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