2023 Fellow Focus: Kathryn Adabonyan + GoPursue
Educator, life-long learner, dreamer…2023 Fellow Kathryn Adabonyan of GoPursue shares more about her journey as a social impact entrepreneur.
What life experiences propelled you into the entrepreneurial space and made you decide to be your own boss?
I quit my K12 job and started my own company in order to meet students' needs with more agility and flexibility. I spent almost 10 years as a K12 educator, first as a teacher, then an instructional coach, a career academy leader, and a principal-in-training. No matter whether I worked in a private school, public school, or district office, I was constantly confronting systems bound by constraints and bureaucracy. I was always asking "why can't we change the way we do things," especially when we know students need something different. Finally, after years of trying to implement change from within, I realized I could help more students and affect greater systemic change outside of the system.
What do you enjoy most about being a founder?
I love the freedom to focus on things that fire me up. In this early startup phase, when our team stumbles upon a critical user need, we can choose to prioritize solving that problem instead of being bogged down by legacy tech or other competing company priorities.
Also, it feels amazing to pitch our company and hear people say, "That's a great idea-I needed that when I was that age too!”
What do you wish someone had told you before you started your entrepreneurial journey?
Choosing a major like Business, Marketing, Sales, Econ, Finance, or pre-Law in college would have been helpful. Although I’ve been able to learn all of those skills along the way, I would have had less catching up to do while starting my own business.
Tell us about an experience you had as an entrepreneur or in starting your company that exemplified one of Camelback's core values: "Belief in Mission + Vision"; "Unafraid of Failure"; "Constant Learner"; "Humble + Hungry"; and "Give First."
[Constant Learner] I became an entrepreneur by accident. I never intended to be a CEO because that title comes with expectation, stress, and most importantly, know-how. However, I ended up here because I believe that the problem our company is solving is super important to millions of people. I spend every day learning how to listen to our customers, run this company more effectively, and solve this problem more effectively than anyone else has before.
How do you stay motivated?
Reading the feedback students and mentors have written about our app keeps me motivated through the long nights and stressful moments. I created this company to help others in the way I needed help when I was younger, so it's all about hearing that we’re having a positive effect on peoples’ lives.
Let's talk about your legacy. How do you hope your venture will make the world a better place generations from now?
There’s a common saying “you can’t be it if you can’t see it.” I dream of a world in which every kid can build a successful career in any industry. Beyond that, there are some sub-goals I hope to accomplish:
We close the gender, race, SES, and other representation gaps in the workforce by giving students access to mentors of all backgrounds and direct access to their employers.
We boost academic engagement by helping students draw connections between school and career earlier in life.
Students are able to save money on advanced degrees and reduce the number of lifetime career pivots by narrowing down possible pathways earlier in life.
What's your favorite book or podcast that you draw entrepreneurial inspiration from?
I started listening to How I Built This with Guy Raz many years ago - long before I thought about following the path of entrepreneurship myself. All of the stories on the show are so inspiring. In hindsight, the fact that I was so drawn to these stories should have been a sign!
Anything else you want to share about yourself and/or your Camelback Fellowship journey?
This will be my third accelerator program, so I want to shout out Halcyon and Founder Institute who helped me get this far!
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