Interviewing Toronto Entrepreneurs: Stephanie Andrews, Brittany Nguyen, & Alison Osborne

Welcome to our Friday Feature: Toronto Entrepreneurs segment, where we bring you insights, experiences, inspiration, and advice from prominent entrepreneurs in the Greater Toronto Area!

We’ve interviewed business leaders who have been kind enough to take the time to share their experiences with us on what it’s like starting their very own business (and nurturing it as well)!

We believe that these stories would be valuable to other aspiring or established business leaders. On behalf of TorontoEntrepreneurs.ca, we hope that you enjoy reading this as much as we enjoyed creating it! Feel free to share this story with your networks.

Introducing Toronto Entrepreneurs of Origins Media Haus: Stephanie Andrews (Chief Executive Officer), Brittany Nguyen (Chief Creative Officer), and Alison Osborne (Chief Marketing Officer)!

Company Profile

Company name: Origins Media Haus What does your company do? Origins Media Haus is the go-to marketing agency for tech startups, focusing on full suite podcast and video production. Our latest podcast series, Haus of Tech, connects startups who target enterprise executives directly to their prospects by engaging both parties in a face to face discussion. Year launched: 2018 Number of employees: 5 Website: www.originsmediahaus.com

The Interview

1. How did you get the idea to start your business?

Origins Media Haus was born as a new way for tech startups to create connections with their customers and craft easy to understand messaging about their offering, at a realistic price. Starting as an online magazine in 2014, Origins Media Haus came to life after our Founder and CEO, Steph, found a unique need in the marketing space for tech startups. After travelling to various trade shows, it was apparent that tech startups who are targeting enterprise executives are lacking three vital things: 1) Connections to the right person in the right organization, 2) creating clear, compelling messaging that resonates with potential customers, and 3) lack of sustainable funds. These three problems became the core of Origins Media Haus’ value proposition.

2. What's the best/worst thing to happen since you started your business?

Best: Pivoting to podcast and video production and acquiring the team we have today. We’re lucky to be working with incredibly talented individuals who compliment each others skill sets.

Worst: Hands down, convincing ourselves that we wanted to run an online magazine, we were passionate about the topic but not at all about the production.

3. What are some of the challenges you’ve faced as an entrepreneur?

a. Being taken seriously. As a young team, it’s often hard to be taken seriously. But at the end of the day, we’ve learned that the most important thing is the ideas and execution - not our age.

b. Acting too fast. We’re pretty impulsive. Our team loves big ideas, but we’ve learned that acting to fast on those ideas only leads to poor execution.

c. Assuming we know everything. When you move so fast, it’s easy to pretend that you’re basically yoda. But we’ve learned the more you’re open to asking questions and being the least educated person in the room, the best experiences and lessons come. Today, our entire value system is based on continuous learning from the process that’s in front of you.

d. Lack of funding. Having zero funding definitely makes it harder to build a startup. We’ve had to work 10x harder to get clients and keep the business going. So, investors - if you’re listening… check us out :)

4. What are some lessons you’ve learned as an entrepreneur?

a. Slow down, success doesn’t mean the same to everyone

b. Never be afraid to stand up for your values.

c. Integrity is everything.

d. Know your numbers.

e. Follow your gut - it’s usually right.

5. What are the best parts about entrepreneurship?

Freedom, work-life blend, being able to work on something that you’re passionate about every single day, seeing the results of what you built.

6. What has been your most effective form of advertising?

Networking - hands down. Getting in front of people and being able to talk to them about what their needs are has led to the highest conversion rate for us. In addition to that, some of our favorite tools are LinkedIn, Shapr, and Instagram.

7. Who are the entrepreneurs you look up to?

Arlene Dickinson, Tim Ferriss, Elon Musk

8. What goals have you achieved for your business so far?

a. We were incubated by the Transmedia Zone in January.

b. After our pivot, we tripled our client count in three weeks.

c. Getting the first opt ins for our new podcast series.

9. What are your goals for your business in 2018?

Building effective podcasts, videos, and events that will help tech startups!

10. Where do you see yourself and your business in 5 years?

a. Creating several podcast series that focus on various tech verticals and being able to take our work around the world.

b. Being able to say the name Origins Media Haus, and people automatically recognizing it and the work that we do.

11. What upcoming projects are you working on?

Our new podcast series, where we will be pairing startups and enterprise executives to discuss about how technology is advancing their particular industries.

12. What trends are you seeing in your industry?

Everyday a new tech advancement is made that solves a problem and grows human capabilities. For us, we see podcasts and videos as the future of content marketing of the tech world. As customers become continuously interested in how their data is being monetized, the ability to build a genuine relationship with them is going to be vital to a company’s engagement and conversion strategy.

13. What business advice would you give yourself if you were to start all over?

a. Slow down, take time to learn

b. Never get offended - it’s not personal

c. Remember to breathe and enjoy what you’re working on

d. 10 coffees per day is never the answer.

14. Last but not least, let’s end off with a fun fact! What might we be surprised to know about you?

Every year, we award one of our teams the “F**k-up Award” to openly celebrate failure and the biggest lessons that we’ve learned.

Social Media

Let's get social. Follow Origins Media Haus on social media!

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/origins-media-haus/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/originsmediahaus/

Instagram - https://twitter.com/originsmedia

Twitter - https://twitter.com/originsmedia

Many thanks to Stephanie, Brittany, and Alison for sharing their story with us! Stay tuned for our next featured Toronto Entrepreneur(s)!

Do you have someone in mind who should be on our Friday Feature – Toronto Entrepreneurs segment? If so, email andrew@torontojobs.ca