Alli on
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We re building a human first
fundraising experience
Q: What's your background, and what are you
working on?
Way back in undergrad I was heavily into clinical psychology andalways thought I d get my Ph.D. and follow that track. After interning
at a state hospital, I realized I just didn t have the emotional fortitude
for that type of work and wanted to try something different before
committing to the Ph.D. journey. I joined a start up boutiqueconsulting firm upon graduation to see how I liked the businessworld.
I took to it right away and loved the ability to apply my knowledge ofhuman behavior and data analysis to effect immediate and realchange. After a few years, I got my MBA as I had heavily focusedon science in undergrad and needed a business education. Since thenI've grown start ups ranging from web analytics to medical devices
with a constant theme of using data to understand human behavior.
Scroobious combines that skill with my passion for supporting diverse
groups. We incorporated in January 2020 and are building a video
based platform for investors to efficiently source the diverse dealflow they re missing out on and a humanized way forunderrepresented founders to establish investor relationships.
Current sourcing channels leave investors missing out on great deals
and diverse founders without the money they need. Scroobious isworking to change that with a human first fundraising experience.

Investors use your deck to
decide whether you areworth a first meeting
Q: What motivated you to get started with
Scroobious?
Before founding Scroobious I co ran a start up medical devicecompany. We successfully raised $9.6 million, but it was a gruelingprocess. I was struck by just how inefficient the whole fundraisingprocess is for both founders and investors, plus the extra challenges
faced by anyone from an underrepresented segment who doesn't
pattern match.
While fundraising, I knew I could make an impression on theinvestors I got to present to, but the first step is sending a pitch deck.
Investors use your deck to decide whether you are worth a firstmeeting. A pitch deck is a static document; it doesn t allow you toportray elements of your personal character. Contrast that with thefact that the abilities of a founder are the most important factor
driving investment decisions at the early stage (Stanford Business),and you immediately have a huge inefficiency. Static decks are thewrong medium for a first interaction when fundraising is such apersonal process.
For underrepresented founders, having the opportunity tocommunicate personal characteristics can literally make or breaktheir company, and many never even get the chance. This is anenormous missed opportunity for investors as well since diverse
founders are under invested and deliver higher returns, making theman undervalued asset class poised for outperformance if given thecapital they need.

Nearly all of our 90 users
have come from referrals
from other users
I envisioned a video based platform that incorporates humanconnection at the first step, systemically bettering the odds forundernetworked founders and allowing investors to efficiently
discover them.
Q: How have you attracted customers and grown
Scroobious?
We have bootstrapped to date and are running a beta program on
our prototype. Nearly all of our 90+ users have come from referrals
from other users for true organic growth. The demand for what we'rebuilding has been incredible. The public attention given to investing indiverse entrepreneurs is unprecedented as are the remote work
restrictions. This is the perfect time for Scroobious' virtual pitching
platform and the tangible value we have already delivered is
attracting others. We are now building our MVP, which is far morerobust than our prototype, so we can scale and market to a broader
customer base.
Q: What's your business model, and how have you
grown your revenue?
Our business model is to charge founders a very affordable flat feeto access our program, create their deck and video, and be added toour platform for investors to discover. Investors will be charged amonthly subscription fee to access the platform. We are also working
with organizations such as legal firms and banks that support start
ups to sponsor entrepreneurs to go through our program. We are
pre revenue and preparing to monetize shortly.

I m very passionate about
supporting mom founders
Q: What are your goals for the future?
We want to help as many founders as possible develop a robust,
investor ready pitch video that allows them to connect with investors
in a human first way and cultivate the social capital that is aprerequisite for receiving financial capital. We also want to help themillions of investors efficiently find founders they connect with on a
personal level to radically expand and diversify their network.
Q: What are the biggest challenges you've faced
and obstacles you've overcome?
Scroobious was incorporated two months before COVID hit, which
was the biggest challenge we've faced. I suddenly had two school
aged children home all the time and we couldn't leave our house formonths. I m very passionate about supporting mom founders,
especially during this time when I believe we re going to see a huge
number of women forced to leave the workforce or never become
entrepreneurs.
We pivoted our go to market plans and actively engaged withmultiple online communities to replace traditional networking. Social
distancing and the public reckoning of racial injustice has emphasized
the need for our solution, and I'm proud of our ability to workthrough unexpected challenges without burning out.

Underrepresented founders
have an incredible resiliency
in the face of challenges andinjustice
Q: Have you found anything particularly helpful oradvantageous?
My community of founders! One of my customer segments is start up
founders, and I'm a founder myself. It has been incredible learning
about all the companies being developed today, and the founders of
those companies are genuinely looking to help others. They havehelped me build my own company along the way by offering theiradvice, feedback, and help. Underrepresented founders have anincredible resiliency in the face of challenges and injustice, which ispart of what makes them a smart investment. I'm lucky to have somany in my own community now.
Q: What's your advice for female founders whoare just starting out?
My advice is to take things one day at a time and just keep at it aslong as you retain your passion. When you pitch, whether it's to an
investor for fundraising, or to a partner for sales, you should
naturally feel yourself getting excited about your business and vision.
Grab onto that passion and use it as fuel. If you feel it slipping, stopand assess. Are you no longer passionate about your idea, or do you
need to stop and address other aspects of your life to allow thepassion to return to the front?

our life and your businesswill take you in directions you
can t fathom at the moment
When schools closed in the Spring, I tried to keep working on thebusiness as usual while also managing remote learning with my kids.
It just wasn't sustainable. I had to slow down progress on thebusiness, which was really difficult, but I would have lost my passion
due to exhaustion. And you know what? It's OK! Women can bereally hard on themselves because we know we have to overcome
stereotypes, but what seems like an enormous deal at the time isgoing to seem like small potatoes later. Your life and your businesswill take you in directions you can't fathom at the moment. Giveyourself the space to enjoy it.