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[00:00:25] Stuart Paap: Let's get started. I am so delighted to see Amy Van Haren. I. Uh, CEO of pump spotting builder of brands owns her own agency, uh, mother to 14, no two, I don't know, lovely children. And in July, 2024, and I'm gonna try to time, this episode is launching on another national tour, worldwide tour with.
[00:00:50] Barb and the new bus and pump spotting. There's just so much to dig into. I consider you a friend, please, everybody in the studio [00:01:00] applaud for Amy Van Herrin. Everybody inserting applause here. Uh, picture the Roman Coliseum, but on the good days. All right, Amy, it's just so great to see you. I have so much to talk to you about.
[00:01:12] Let's just start with so much around pump spotting. I wanna know the origin story of this for you. You can start wherever you want and then we'll get up to the present day. But yeah, talk to me about building this very distinct, unique company.
[00:01:29] Amy VanHaren: Amazing. Well, it's so nice to see you, such an honor. Thanks for having me here.
[00:01:33] You, before, before I started, uh, talking about my story, I just, you've been instrumental in helping me craft my story around pump spotting and who I am, and so. We can talk more about that, but I do, I just remember us in, you know, in the back office of Mass Challenge working on my first ever speech for Creative Mornings, and I just, I think I was like really struggling.
[00:01:58] What I remember about it is you'd helped [00:02:00] me shape so much. We had kind of gotten to this point where it felt like this almost emotional. Release of trying to get the story right and trying to show up and really capture the audience and tell it. And you were just such an amazing guide and champion and it was magic at the end of the day.
[00:02:16] Oh my gosh. So thank you for that,
[00:02:18] Stuart Paap: that first of all, I have the tingles. Second of all that, that's all the time we have everyone. I just.
[00:02:24] Amy VanHaren: And now we're done. Yes.
[00:02:27] Stuart Paap: Thank you. Alright, see you. Um, that makes me feel great. Thank you for sharing that. And I just wanna say everyone should watch it on, on your, uh, site.
[00:02:36] It was so much fun to do that with you and, um, yeah, I know there's just so much, so much in there, but yeah, so. Let's, let's talk pump spotting again. Yeah. So what is the story?
[00:02:45] Amy VanHaren: Yes. Yeah. Okay. So my journey with pump spotting begins like so many women, I think, and it's really one of raw need. So for me, about eight and a half years ago, I was trying to keep a tiny human alive and [00:03:00] fed, and just finding the journey of breastfeeding to be.
[00:03:03] So isolating, so overwhelming, just so all encompassing. It was like every day I was either nursing or pumping or thinking about nursing and pumping all the time. And for me it was just a massive struggle. I really found myself wanting to quit both that. My job trying to navigate and manage it all. And because my background was in community building, uh, the one thing that I really needed was connection to other women.
[00:03:31] And so I remember really the breaking point for me was a very dirty bathroom floor in the San Francisco airport. It was sticky, it was smelly. I could, you know, feel the line of women out the door wanting to get in there, and I was sitting on the floor. I was hooked up to a breast pump that at that point was sounding like Darth Bader.
[00:03:50] And I just was beside myself at the end of this journey and I remember getting a text from my sister and in that moment it was a lifeline for me of what it meant to [00:04:00] be seen, to have someone understand the, the struggle that I was going through. And so that really became the onus for the idea of pump spotting.
[00:04:08] And you know, imagine a world where we could use the technology in the palm of our hands to connect. Millions of women who are navigating this feeding journey to connect them to one another, to connect them to places that weren't bathrooms, to get them out to the services they need. And so I really, from that point forward, just couldn't stop thinking about how we could build a human-centric support system that really transformed what is such a vulnerable, emotional, complex period of life.
[00:04:40] Stuart Paap: So there's something that occurred to me because it's such a profound story, and I'd heard it before, but something occurred to me right now that I hadn't paid attention to before, which is that you took that moment of. Profound isolation, that emotional, you know, loneliness and [00:05:00] said not only there has to be a better way, but I can build it.
[00:05:04] Talk to me about that Gene, Amy, that thing in you. Is this something in born, you've always been this way? Is this something you learned? Maybe, maybe a little bit of both. Like, what is that? Because a lot of people would have those feelings and just cope or vent or get more depressed. Like what is that?
[00:05:26] Amy VanHaren: Yeah, I think for me it's a combination of, you know, I think I'm a, an idea generator. I get excited and get really pumped up. If we're gonna stay in the, the world of puns, I can get really pumped up, you know, about an idea or the kernel of something, or the essence. If I'm able to see a creative path or a solution forward, whether it's big or small, I can get really excited and really fired up around that.
[00:05:54] I think I've probably always been that this way. This was the first time I [00:06:00] went from an idea, from a concept or an idea to really feeling motivated to build in a space, in a format in technology that I'd never done before. And I think the transition for me was that I just, I couldn't. I couldn't let it go.
[00:06:16] I couldn't stop thinking about it. Once I had this idea of imagine what we could build and, and how it could look, I could, I was seeing the vision of it, you know, and usually sometimes those come and go, but for me, I just, it was, I was holding onto it and the more I talked to other people about it, the more it felt that there was something to it.
[00:06:36] That no one was trying to forge this path. And, and then I just started to feel like I had to do it, that, you know, that there was no turning back. And I think once you really set your mind to something, what I have known to be true is that then the universe sort of conspires in your favor and they put the people before you that help you build.
[00:06:54] And so I think for me it's passion. I just, I see something, I feel as though it [00:07:00] needs to exist in this world. And I just couldn't, I couldn't let it go. So I had to, I had to create it.
[00:07:05] Stuart Paap: So you had this feeling, you had an idea. Then the ideas come and then you sort of tested it or validated with other people.
[00:07:13] Felt like there was enough evidence there and then, but mostly driven by your want to see this in the world. You sort of looked at the world and said there has to be some community to support women who are going through this phase and going through the pain and isolation of breastfeeding and all of that and said, let's build something that is a light.
[00:07:34] In an area that's not lit up. There's no, there's nothing there or there's not much there is that? Is that the journey
[00:07:43] Amy VanHaren: I. Yeah, I mean, the first part I think that, yeah, that was definitely the first part for me is just, you know, imagine the power of connection and how could we build it and what could it look like.
[00:07:53] And I also think, you know, even eight and a half years ago, the world of, I. Lactation [00:08:00] and maternal health was very different. We're even in a different place now and we have further to go, but at that time, you know, breastfeeding, it was, the conversations were clinical or they were gear oriented around a pump or, um, you know, those sorts of things.
[00:08:15] And for me it was lifestyle. This was a day in and day out experience, and it was emotional and it was physical and it was all these things. And so I think that's really what spurred me is what if we flip this on its head? What if this human journey, what if we start to think about the human support that we need day to day?
[00:08:33] And what if we build something that helps women feel nourished during this time of nourishment? Um, and I, there was something fun and playful and exciting about that, not just. Solving the problem and really helping women. But for me as a creative person, there was something to be done there in how you do, how you build technology in a way that feels nourishing or feels connecting and [00:09:00] community centric in a way that doesn't, you know, especially in this day and age of digital, it's very easy for us to feel a drain from technology.
[00:09:08] And I wanted to, I wanted to build something that felt the opposite of that in this moment, and. That's, I think what really excited me when we started and when we set out.
[00:09:18] Stuart Paap: So you went fully in that direction. You sprinted there because I want to talk about Barb and if, for those who don't know, Barb, you need to get on the interwebs and start finding out about Amy Van Herrin, pump spotting, and Barb, but why don't you introduce.
[00:09:34] Barb into the picture, the protagonist or one of the protagonists of pump spotting and of course Barb 2.0 I believe. But so tell us how Barb entered the picture from this initial vision. I.
[00:09:48] Amy VanHaren: Yeah. Well, I think the best way to introduce Barb is really to introduce the way Barb came to life and the idea, 'cause Barb essentially was the second iteration I think that we had around pump spotting and how [00:10:00] we really solved this pain point.
[00:10:01] So after we had launched the pump spotting app, so Lindsay Whitmer Collins is my partner and she's, she builds the app and she's, she's. On the development side has brought pump spotting to life since day one through the tech. But we had this idea that the best way to get massive exposure for pump spotting would be to go on a reality TV show.
[00:10:20] 'cause you know, that's the path most people take. And at the time Apple HA was making a foray into television. And so there was a show called Planet of the Apps that was essentially the voice meets Shark Tank for app developers and what they were building. And you had. One minute to pitch your app idea on a literal moving escalator that was moving towards Gwyneth Paltrow and Jessica Elba and Will I am and Gary Chek.
[00:10:51] And so you had one minute to give your pitch and if they liked it, you could try and persuade them to be your mentor. And then you got to pitch for a share. Uh, you know, the VC [00:11:00] opportunity around $10 million. And Lindsay and I thought this would be a great idea. And it was the first time I had ever pitched my business a business, a VC pitch.
[00:11:11] So of course you wanna do it on tv on an escalator doesn't on an
[00:11:14] Stuart Paap: escalator Going towards some A-list celebrities. Yeah, of course. Yeah, makes sense.
[00:11:19] Amy VanHaren: Yeah. It's not scary at all. Yeah, it was, um, yeah, the nerves were sort of through the roof in terms of making this happen. But we went down and with the experience, you know, we gave our pitch and we had kind of a shining moment.
[00:11:30] We made Gary laugh and Gwyneth was very sweet to us. Um, but it, it really didn't go well because we were too early and there were a lot of questions, you know, what's the business model and how are you gonna gain the traction you need? And, and all of those things. That was, was pretty. Brutal for us. And so in a lot of ways it was, it was probably one of the biggest moments of failure for me to be rejected from that show and in that moment.
[00:11:56] But after that, you know, that night Lindsay and I [00:12:00] maybe had a lot of tequila, a few cocktails to sort of, mm-hmm. Ease the pain. Wash away the pain. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Of what it was. Um, but we woke up at 4:00 AM the next morning and one of the questions that Gary had asked us, really stuck with us and he said, how well do you really understand the needs of this population that you're trying to serve?
[00:12:22] And. For us, it kind of changed everything. 'cause I knew my journey, I knew the journey of women we had talked to, but if we were really gonna solve the problem of breastfeeding support, we needed to meet a lot more women. And so at 4:00 AM that morning, Lindsay, I had an idea to really prove all the people who didn't believe that this was a real problem and, and something that needed to be solved wrong.
[00:12:43] And we said, what if we buy a bus? And turn it into a mobile nursing and pumping suite and really take it across the country and just unite moms and get them on board and get to know them and understand what it is they need and really turn that into the technology. And so, [00:13:00] you know, at that point I did what every 38-year-old mother of two would do, and I bought a 23-year-old RV that had a I mean version.
[00:13:12] Yeah.
[00:13:13] Stuart Paap: You and everybody else. I mean, everybody. I mean, that's why we stay off the shopping apps. Everyone's buying school buses after a night of drinking. Amy, this is the, I mean, I've heard this story over and over again. You're just the ninth. Today. But anyway, it's so, yes. Buy a school bus. Sure makes sense.
[00:13:31] Amy VanHaren: I know you buy a bus and turn it into this. And so that's what we did. We bought the bus and the first she became Barb. So her name was Barb from the people we had bought from. And she was, um, she was our first, you know, I mean I had, again, I had this idea, what if we take this mobile vehicle and turn it into a tiny home?
[00:13:49] Connect moms in the living room, feed them in the kitchen, connect them to lactation consultants and services and really, you know, hold babies and help them transform. But again, this is something I'd never done. In fact, I'd never [00:14:00] been on an RV when I bought the bus the first time around. So. All new territory.
[00:14:05] Um, but I ended up living on the bus for five months and the first tour we traveled to, you know, I think over 20 cities and really amazing discovery and connection to our community and growth for pump spotting and all of those things. And so. I became kind of a magical being that united parents in person and helped us unite them virtually and, and together.
[00:14:29] And, um, we were on the road for two years and then Covid, you know, put a pause to everything. And so we decided that this year, 2024. The year to get back on the road. And so we bought a new bus and we're in the midst of building Barb 2.0.
[00:14:45] Stuart Paap: So there's so much to dig into and it's such a great story. And your brain needs to be in the Smithsonian.
[00:14:51] You need to be everywhere. 'cause we need this thinking process. I'm so inspired by this. So a couple of practical questions because I also want people who are listening [00:15:00] to this to think, you know. There go with I, and I think there's so much, I mean, your energy, your enthusiasm, your willingness to try things, you're looking at the world and seeing something not there.
[00:15:11] These are all wonderful attributes. And then of course you did it, you do it, you actually do all the work. I'm curious, as you were building up the Journey, journey, even now, you know what happens with your agency. Obviously you have, you know, a family, like, how are you, and I'm not gonna use balance, but how are you?
[00:15:31] Moving the calendar around to, to accommodate all of these initiatives because, you know, you, you're, you're full of energy, but, you know, 24 hours a day is 24 hours. How'd you, yeah. How do you do that? How did you do that? I.
[00:15:48] Amy VanHaren: I mean, some days not, well, some days better than others. I think, you know, sometimes I like to think about it as work life, harmony, the best.
[00:15:55] There's, they'll never be balanced. So the best is how can we achieve some level of [00:16:00] harmony. The first time around, I had to have a very understanding husband. I had two little kids, you know, I left them for weeks at a time to be on this bus to. Pursuing this passion, and it was incredibly hard. There were, I remember, I remember it was all fun and games, building the bus and putting it together.
[00:16:17] And I remember it being in, in our, um, you know, at first it wasn't all fun and games, but the, the excitement you're talking about the passion. I remember Barb being parked in our, our driveway and it was really, you know, the kids were on the bus helping us build and they were part of it. One of the ways that I've gotten through this is, is that there's no separation.
[00:16:35] In my family between the mission and the work that I'm doing with pump spotting and my children, so they feel invested as part of the company, as part of Barb's journey and very. Tied to what I'm trying to do in the world and how much that matters. And so there isn't a lot of separation. But I remember, you know, the bus was parked there and there was a day when I was about to leave and the kids, we said goodbye and they left.
[00:16:59] And I mean, [00:17:00] I think I just sat in my living room and cried for about two hours straight once they had left the house. And I was about to get on the bus because the realities. Of what I was choosing or the decisions I was making around moving this dream forward. But having to navigate the family, um, is complex.
[00:17:18] And I some days feels, you know, the choices were the right ones. Some days they were harder than others. I think for me it's just staying super close with my family and keeping them involved and it's staying super close to the community I serve, which makes it all important and, and matter. And so.
[00:17:38] Stuart Paap: You know, it's inspiring, Amy.
[00:17:39] I think that's one of the biggest takeaways I get from hearing your story. And there's so much to love, but just the closeness that, you know, you can do it with family. And there are entrepreneurs, I, I think of Richard Branson a little bit, who, you know, incredibly close with his family or so I've, I've read.
[00:17:56] Um, and there are people who just [00:18:00] involve their family in the journey. And so it feels like there's not this wall between, this is what. You know, parents do, and this is what kids do. And I, I don't know when that wall went up, but I feel like it happened in the last, you know, century, but now we're in a new era and just blending those, because I think the lessons your kids are going to get are the lessons anyone needs to not only survive but thrive, right?
[00:18:27] I, I don't want my kids doing arithmetic over in the corner unless they feel passionate about it, but I also want them to know how life and business works. So. Yeah, I can only
[00:18:37] Amy VanHaren: imagine. Yeah, and I think that in this post Covid era, I mean, in some ways the whole idea of the wall between work and family and all of those things, whether you're an entrepreneur or you're a career or whatever you're doing, it just, it got blended and we were forced to look at all those things in one place and really consider what that meant.
[00:18:53] And it, I think. It's been interesting for me just not only profess professionally with what we're doing at pump spotting, but [00:19:00] just to see how we're starting to redefine what all of that means. And I don't know that we've, that I've done it the right way. I've, I've done it the only way I knew how I could, the only way I knew how was one, you know, through it, with the family this way.
[00:19:14] Um, but it has allowed a lot of amazing conversations with the kids. You know, I'll have a day, I'll have. Failure or something happens and we're sitting at the dinner table, and that's what I'll talk about is my day was really hard because of this. And, you know, for Mother's Day, my daughter wrote me a card in it.
[00:19:31] She, you know, she wrote, she goes, you just show us that you never give up. You always accomplish what you put your mind to. And just like having your kids see you and know that even though I'm not always home for dinner or they're I'm away, or things are challenging within our household, that at its core.
[00:19:51] They feel proud of me and good about that is just, it's like the best thing to ever happen. And so I don't know if it's the right way or the wrong way, and [00:20:00] certainly I don't do it. I don't get it right a lot of the time, but I'm excited about the fact that we're redefining how much we involve our kids in seeing us as real people.
[00:20:11] Stuart Paap: I think it's, it's so fundamental because if you're lucky enough to be around your kids for a long time. The journey evolves, right? I mean, going from children to young adults or, you know, and then adults and with their own lives. I think these lessons, everything I read in biographies is about watching what their parents did, not what they said.
[00:20:33] And I think we all know this. Mm-hmm. It's just mm-hmm. You know, so I want to talk about sort of the modern day now where we are and, but I really wanna know the impact that this journey has had on you. The journey impact it's had on the people's lives. You've touched and continue to. And then talk to me about the summer, summer tour.
[00:20:56] Amy VanHaren: Yeah, it's been pretty astounding. [00:21:00] I think the connections that Barb has made way more than I ever could have imagined. You know, while we were on the road, I remember a couple of moments standing out and being pretty spectacular. I remember when we were in Baltimore, there was a mom who came on the bus and she had a child in the nicu, and she said it was the first time she'd left the hospital in four weeks.
[00:21:20] The bus felt like the safe space where she could go and she could be, and she could, she could be away from her baby for a day to get what it is that she needed. And that was just one example of the power of what it gave women and moms when they were on board, you know, I could see them step on the bus carrying their baby, carrying the weight of Early Parenthood, and we would hold their babies and we would feed them and we would spend time connecting them and they would leave lighter.
[00:21:47] And that impact. You know, I still hear from people three years later who say, meeting you on bus and being on board essentially changed the entire trajectory for me of [00:22:00] confidence in what it means for me to feed, to be a mother to, and so personally. To know that you're able to touch people at such a vital time in such.
[00:22:12] An amazing way because healthy, you know, healthy moms mean healthy families, healthy communities, healthy workplaces, and so the ripple effect that we feel in being able to have a small role in the support and the transformational health journey of women and mothers is just. It just lights me up to this day.
[00:22:34] It's the reason that I keep going. And so, and we can talk a bit a little bit about it, but you know, we had some rough years in Covid and PumpSpot and growing and uh, we now offer a workplace lactation program. So we're helping companies really transform their cultures to be breastfeeding friendly and selling to employers and B2B.
[00:22:53] It's been an interesting path, all of those things. And so I think for me. What we decided is that its [00:23:00] core pump spotting is about that community. And so putting back the bus back on the road is essentially repositioned our company back to the North star of what makes us so unique of what really drives things forward.
[00:23:13] And it's, it's had a tremendous business impact. And personally, I feel like getting on that bus, standing on that bus again, I'm gonna feel like myself, sort of like a coming home to. What I really wanna be doing in this world. And so it's pretty powerful.
[00:23:30] Stuart Paap: It's, it's funny that you say from never being on one to now feeling like that's home, that's a big transformation.
[00:23:36] And that's, for you, that's your, that's, that's, that's your journey to sort of come home to yourself in this environment. And it's, uh, it's, it's really inspiring.
[00:23:48] Amy VanHaren: Yeah, well my, my, uh, photo on my phone, you know, my home photo is me hugging the new bus. 'cause the joke amongst the team is when I put my hands on the vehicle, the first bar of the [00:24:00] second bar or what have you, there's a tangible nature to it that feels grounding in a way.
[00:24:05] And I mean, who'd have thought, I never, you'd never in a million years would I have ever thought that I would be on a quest. To solve a maternal health solution. That's not my background. That's not where I thought I'd be, who'd have thought that a bus would be what grounds me. You know, it's just interesting where life takes us.
[00:24:24] Stuart Paap: So I wanna pick up a theme that I think just permeates everything you do. If you get to know Amy, and I suggest everybody does and and go find
[email protected], you can go to pump Spotting and all the places. But one of the things that just is. Who you are from the minute I met you till hearing about your journey, your branding agency, pump spotting, and it's a concept that's gotten a lot of press lately, but I want to get your take on authenticity and so everyone will probably have a slightly different interpretation.
[00:24:56] I just think about it as being the truest you [00:25:00] that you can be in any context. Um, not, you know, being wildly open and openly weeping it while you're in the bank and like, I'm just being authentic. Like, there's, there's a rate, but I feel like you, you just own this authenticity and I don't want to put that on you, but I'd like to know how you think about that, whether it's communicating your brand or, or clients or are just speaking for pump spotting.
[00:25:24] How, how do you think about this concept and, and what, how powerful it can be when you're communicating? The why behind your company and what you do.
[00:25:35] Amy VanHaren: I think authenticity has been a journey for me, I think for all of us and what have you. And so I think, I think about it in, you know, every day I, I've had to learn my way in the world of entrepreneurship, in the world of fundraising and the world of technology.
[00:25:51] And I think for me, what kept coming up. Is that when I tried to do it, when I've tried to do anything, whether that's asking for money or building [00:26:00] the product with technology or just even building a team, if I did it in a way that was counterintuitive to my intuition of how I felt that I should show up, or how should I lead or what should my pitch look like, all of those things.
[00:26:14] I think there's a lot of trial and error and a lot of times when I've tried to take. Lessons or tried to model it after other successful people and it really hasn't landed. And so over time I think I've come back to crafting it to what is my intuitively, how do I feel about how this should go? I think we don't talk a lot about heart in building startups or in building tech companies or businesses or any of these things.
[00:26:41] 'cause I think so much of it is, um, you know. It's fast paced and it's, it's big and it's moving, and it's about the data and the numbers and all of those things. And for me, the only way forward has been a hundred percent heart. That's just the truth. And I can't remove it from things and I can't [00:27:00] take it out.
[00:27:00] And so I've had to learn how to be a leader, where that is true in a world where that's not. Always true, and I think I just keep going back to my north star of how does it feel? What feels right to me? How, you know, how can I show up and be the most Amy that I can be and embrace that rather than shying away from that because that's truly when I.
[00:27:25] The success has happened and I'll, I'll just briefly tell you one story. I remember one of the first investor pitches I ever gave, and I remember standing, it was a group of angels and it was probably 50 men and a handful of women. And I remember standing off to the side and watching others pitch and just thinking to myself.
[00:27:44] This is not gonna land my, my pitch in the way that I was gonna go forth with, you know, I was a solo female founder of a breastfeeding technology company in Maine. I was already starting from a place where that alone, and so I threw my pitch out on [00:28:00] the fly and I went in and I said, all right, raise your hand.
[00:28:04] You know, if you feel me, the breastfeeding is really. Ing hard and they all just looked at me. No one knew what to say. And then they started laughing and I said, great. You don't know, but I do. And here's, here's the truth. And I built the credibility in that moment for them to believe in me. And those are the little pivotal ways that I've learned to be authentic to who I am and how I need to, to show up in a room.
[00:28:30] And I think I just more and more, the further I get in this, this journey, the more I try and lead with that and not shy away from it.
[00:28:37] Stuart Paap: See that makes you next level because you're, you're employing that emotional intelligence and the social cues to read the room. And, you know, the three Rs that I always talk about with, with my, you know, clients and people I work with is you have to be able to read the room, which you did recognize patterns.
[00:28:57] Like, okay, wait a minute, they're not gonna get [00:29:00] this. And then respond in a way. And then that really shifts everything. I love that you did that and it. Builds a bridge and it just gets away from that scripted narrative. So, I mean, no wonder, just no wonder it's, and you know, if you break entrepreneurs into sort of two uh, categories, and it's not fair to do this, but in category one, let's make the smartest people who know how to figure it out and they just wanna like, make a ton of money.
[00:29:26] And then category two could be the smartest or most impassioned or driven people who don't know how to figure it out, but just know that they're gonna keep going. I think most people will bet on that group because the first one will probably give up after a while. 'cause if you can't figure out the Rubik's cube or the puzzle to exit with billions, which is fine and it happens a lot, this is the second party, which is, is you, is gonna keep going and figuring it out.
[00:29:51] And I feel like one of the themes that you've had is this pivot or refine or change or listen and tune in and then put your head [00:30:00] down and you have this. Relationship between listening to what your mentors or the Gary Vs say or your, but then turning around and doing the work. How do you think about sort of seeking input versus like going and doing or selling or being in go mode?
[00:30:15] Do you think consciously about separating those two or is it all go all the time? How do you apportion those two parts of life?
[00:30:25] Amy VanHaren: I think one of the best pieces of advice I ever got is fall in love with your problem, not your solution. And I think that essence of you have to be always listening. You're always selling, but you're always listening.
[00:30:39] You're selling and then listening. And what does that mean for what you build? And what is, what is the market really asking and what do people really need? And so in some ways, I think you can't completely separate them because one informs the other in terms of selling and insights. But for me. Just nothing is precious.
[00:30:58] It can't be, you sort of have [00:31:00] to just keep going towards the mission or towards the outcome of the business. Well, you have to be clear. There needs to be real clarity and focus. I've learned that the hard way sometimes for sure about what we're building or what our business objectives are. But you have to be nimble with the details.
[00:31:16] And the more I talk to the people we're selling to, the parents we're trying to serve, the more the conversation happens. The more it that those insights direct what it is and where we need to go. And I think maybe that's somewhat been my superpower, is that I'm really. I'm really curious. I'm really open.
[00:31:36] I want, I want advice, I wanna ask mentors. I want feedback. I think I'm really open to learning from other people and what they, they have to say, but I almost do it through the lens of being a reporter. You know, when you're a reporter, you're asking questions and you're looking for the sound bite or the golden nugget that, like, what is that one thing that resonates, that's gonna stand true?
[00:31:56] And I. I feel as though I do that in sales, in [00:32:00] mentorship. I'm having those conversations. I'm listening for the feedback and information. I'm listening for the golden nugget that is true for me or the population I wanna serve. And then I'm using that to adapt or refine what it is, what we build. What we create.
[00:32:15] Stuart Paap: Yeah. So if what, if I'm getting it correctly, you know, paying ruthless attention to what will actually serve. The community or the goal that you're, the community you're trying to build, right? Like what's going to actually enhance or make this better for the people who I'm here for?
[00:32:35] Amy VanHaren: Yeah. And you know, they'll tell you in all the ways, they'll tell you with their words.
[00:32:39] They'll tell you in the ways they use your product, they'll tell you in what they're buying. And I, I mean, I've had to come to learn this. 'cause I think coming from the creative there, there's a world in which I'm always like, this idea's amazing and we're gonna put this out there and we do this and everyone wants that.
[00:32:54] And it's, it's, it's always the better ideas come from the community that you're trying [00:33:00] to. Testing and listening and connecting all the time.
[00:33:05] Stuart Paap: Yeah, I love that because you know, part of my journey has just been about showing up with a simple idea and then listening to what is missing and then trying to solve that, and then not solving the problem forever.
[00:33:18] But I think what you said, you know, falling in love with the problem and figuring out why isn't it being solved? What can I do to help solve this? And. I think about another concept like the infinite game that you're playing or the people who are really committed to what they're doing. It's sort of an infinite game.
[00:33:34] You'll never be done, right? Mm-hmm. There is no end. It is the journey. Mm-hmm. And so the proverbial bus trip is, is never done. You know, there's, there's infinite more trips with Barb because why would you ever be done? There's no exit, you know, plan here.
[00:33:50] Amy VanHaren: No, and there's no playbook. And so in some ways the only way to build is the way that excites you, that is authentic to what you bring to the [00:34:00] table that connects with those that you're trying to serve.
[00:34:02] And so it's kind of always a dance between the data and the insights and you know what people need and what, what you believe you wanna put forth and, and that's what keeps it interesting and complex.
[00:34:13] Stuart Paap: So knowing what I know about you in the, in the journey, I could imagine if somebody's listening to this, it because you're so optimistic and your energy is infectious.
[00:34:24] Someone if they're not paying attention might think, wow, that, that sounds like you, you come up with an idea, you just try it. You, you bump your head and it sort of all works out. Of course, everything looks simple looking backwards. But I would actually like to talk about one more thing, which is how.
[00:34:42] Which is with pump spotting, which is truly something that is so true to you. But there's also an agency part and there's also the, the, the family life stuff. But I guess I'm curious more about the balancing, I don't wanna call it day job with passion project, but I [00:35:00] think we hear a lot about this where it's side hustles or people are quiet, quitting to build the other thing.
[00:35:05] But I, I just think about like, if you're lucky enough to have work and you wanna work in multiple areas. I'm curious about your insights. If you were giving this advice to, you know, an Amy from eight years ago today, looking at what your, you know, agency is looking at building this, would you do anything differently and still arrive where you are now?
[00:35:31] Um, how would you think differently about that?
[00:35:35] Amy VanHaren: Yeah, it's a great question. I, and I actually talk about this a lot with my kids because I think the richest experiences in life are varied and vast. And I think in some ways, you know, whether it's a side hustle or a project here or or different clients there, the things that you do, they sort of open up creativity and innovation and ideas.
[00:35:58] And so for. [00:36:00] Building in different lanes or thinking expansively about where I put my time and efforts and what I do has only enhanced the journey across the board and my capability, my skillset, my networking, all of those things. And so I think I. That it's been vital. My journey has not been a straight line.
[00:36:18] It's kind of been where is something of interest or where is the opportunity lie or, or where, you know, have I met someone and moved and I, and so I wouldn't do that differently. What I would say is that, and I now am, am full-time pump spotting focused on building the business, and we've grown it to such a point that it's, you know.
[00:36:37] Where I spend my time. And I think the focusing sooner and the clarity in some ways is probably one of the things I would say is, you know, you can do lots of things, but you gotta focus on one thing, doing it well before you start to build the octopus or expand around. That has been my experience, and so I think it's [00:37:00] amazing to be varied, to wear different hats, to do different things, and I think it's.
[00:37:03] Super important to also be clear and focused for periods of time and sprints of time so that you're able to learn, accomplish, be in enough to understand something before you, you spread yourself thin, and so I might have done that differently in different places.
[00:37:20] Stuart Paap: Yeah. Well, so. A few more questions. One of the things that I know well, having spent some time with you, is you're an exceptional communicator.
[00:37:30] You're a brilliant storyteller. You have a way of bringing things together to make it clear and accessible. Talk to me about how you think about communication in terms of building your brand, building your impact, sharing the mission and vision, um, bringing on new team members and just keeping everyone aligned.
[00:37:50] How do you think about it? For everything you do inside of pump spotting, outside of pump spotting, and and beyond.
[00:37:59] Amy VanHaren: Well, it's very nice [00:38:00] of you to say that, you know, I think communication is an ever evolving thing we have to learn and in the different formats. I was fortunate that my background, I started, you know, I got my MFA in creative writing.
[00:38:11] So for me, before even I went into the world of business, I came from the world of. Writing. Writing and the written words. So for me, that's always been a core tenet of how I, how I show up, how we show up at pump spotting. I think the words matter so much in terms of what we do, but we have had to, and, and in the past year in particular, we did a brand.
[00:38:33] Refresh. And part of that for us was to go, what is our North Star? Let's make sure we're crystal clear about it. Let's make sure everybody is communicating and using the same language and you know, what are our values and how do we wanna show up? Because it's easy. Without those, without communicating this center internally for your team externally.
[00:38:53] At least in my experience in the world of startup, there's many things that come at you or many directions you can go, and [00:39:00] many ways to be bounced around away from the clear communication of who you are and what you wanna put in the world. And I think the more clarity around that, the more you rally and unite people to you.
[00:39:13] And so I think for us, it's always revisiting alignment across the board and the team around what it is. And I, and I, again, intuition. Like, how do we wanna speak? How do we want the communication to be? Because sometimes the words and the, the essence of how you show up as a brand matter as much if as if not more as the product that you're selling.
[00:39:36] And that's always been important to me and to us.
[00:39:40] Stuart Paap: Yeah. So my last question to you is. You know, if you were somebody's listening and they're like inside their brain and their heart, they're just exploding with a possibility of something that scares them but excites them and they don't even know how to think about a first step or where to [00:40:00] go or what to do.
[00:40:01] And I know people like this and their just heart is full and their head is full of ideas and they just don't even know where to begin. What, what would you say to them to give them a little bit of extra encouragement to. Get off of that. Um, paralysis.
[00:40:18] Amy VanHaren: Yeah, I mean, get curious. Just start asking questions, start having conversations.
[00:40:25] When you talk to people and build a network, it'll take you places you could never imagine. And so, you know, gather people around you, find your own version of a bus, whatever it is that feels big and shiny and possible, and just start driving. Start driving. There'll never be a right time. There'll never be a perfect moment.
[00:40:46] And if you have a passion, you have a vision, you have a kernel of an idea that needs to be out in this world, then your voice matters. And all you've gotta do is, is start. That's what I would say.
[00:40:59] Stuart Paap: Yeah. [00:41:00] I love it. I love it. Um, all right, Amy. Well, this has just filled me with so much. Inspiration. And what I'm taking away from this, aside from all the amazing stories, is just the power of falling in love with your problem, talking to your, the people who need you, and figuring out what you can do to serve them.
[00:41:24] Um, and just the value in just starting and just not overthinking it because version 0.1 or 1.0. If you're lucky enough to get a one, then you gotta go get the two and the 3.0 and you just keep going and keep changing and upgrading. So,
[00:41:39] Amy VanHaren: yeah. Yeah,
[00:41:40] Stuart Paap: it's awesome. Yeah. Where will people go to follow, uh, the summer tour?
[00:41:45] Like where would you point everyone so that they can, uh, join in the journey and meet up and go to all these, uh, meetups? So what, where, where would you point people?
[00:41:56] Amy VanHaren: Yes, definitely. Well, we we're gonna be in over 13 cities [00:42:00] from July to October, so pump spotting.com/tour, and as you said before, if you go to amy van haen.com, I love to cheer people on, so tell me your idea.
[00:42:10] If I can pump you up in any way, it's my favorite thing to do. And so thank you Stuart, for letting me tell my story and so fun.
[00:42:18] Stuart Paap: This was a total joy and I loved every second of it, and I'm gonna find out if you're coming to my city and hopefully we get to connect and I can give you a big hug in person.
[00:42:29] But thank you for doing this. Thank you for sharing your story, and I'll see you on the road.
[00:42:35] Amy VanHaren: Amazing. Thanks Stuart.
[00:42:36] Outro: subscribe at dnate.com to get access to our cutting edge research expert insights and deep dives with industry leaders shaping the future of biotech. You've been listening to a podcast production from dnate.com, all rights reserved.
