Why Growing Up Startup?

Since leaving The Meet Group, the company I co-founded, I have been reflecting on my 18-year journey as an entrepreneur. It all started when I was 15. One idea for meeting new people in high school turned into a company responsible for some of the top social apps in the world. I navigated building and marketing a product, raising venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, and being a public company. I also navigated all the life stuff that went with it: graduating high school, college, falling in love, and starting a family. I matured alongside the company – learning along the way as the company grew into something extraordinary. I hope to use this space to share some of the things I learned, memories, and some tips that can hopefully help others on their entrepreneurial journey.

I was exposed to entrepreneurship at a young age by watching my brother, Geoff, start his first company from his Harvard dorm room. I got to see the fun parts like his cool office in Palm Springs that had a foosball table, the magazine and newspaper articles, and of course, his eventual exit in a multi-million dollar deal. I saw Geoff’s successes, frustrations, and turmoil on his journey. Entrepreneurship involves high highs and terrible lows. If aspiring entrepreneurs read this, I hope to be the voice in their heads that keeps them chasing their curiosity even after they hit roadblocks.

I also want to highlight the other things that go on alongside starting a company. The phases of my life are marked by what was going on at the time with the company. We closed our Series A round shortly before my acceptance at Georgetown. I graduated college 6 months before our first $100 million “exit” – taking reporters’ phone calls while on the beach at my cousin’s destination wedding in Costa Rica. I started dating my now-husband Drew shortly after a painful reduction in force. We married in 2017, about a month after we acquired Tagged. I returned from my first maternity leave a few weeks before we announced our upcoming acquisition by Proseiben. I returned from my second maternity leave only a month before leaving the company. No matter what is going on at work, life still is going on. The typical growing-up stuff: college, home ownership, marriage, parenting, and other responsibilities.

I am so grateful for my time building the company and hope you enjoy reading about what it’s like to grow up while also growing a startup.