How my obsession became a business

Hey Steemians! Iris here! I'm the other co-founder of HyperFundIt. 

* If you didn't read Rob's introduction go here first! ---> Robert's Intro 

Looking back on it, the story behind how Robert thought of influeners during that panel is pretty funny and embarrassing. During that time I had quite an unhealthy obsession with following YouTubers. I was following beauty gurus, comedians and vloggers almost 12/24 hours of my day on all of their socials (YT, Insta, Snap, Twitter). To be fair we were in college and between my internship and classes, I had the free time. I was talking about these YouTubers non stop to the point where Robert knew the full life story of at least 3 gurus I was following and could recognize their voices from across the room! 

Needless to say, the idea just came naturally to him, and although I was hesitant at first (as I'm usually the more level headed one when it comes to new business ideas) I was won over quickly because I saw first hand just how powerful influencer marketing really is. You can't imagine the amount of money I spent on products that YouTubers recommended. If you're doubting the effectiveness of influencers, just take a look at Colourpop. They went from a small internet startup cosmetic brand to being in Sephora in just three years thanks to the promotion of online beauty gurus!

What really excites me about HyperFundIt, however, is our mission. During the time we were coming up with the specifics of the business, the 2016 elections were in full swing. We were living in New York City at the time and as I was traveling to work the day after the elections, I saw the absolute sorrow in peoples eyes. The entire city fell into a state of gloom and I've never felt such tension in a subway car. The tension was not from hate or anger, but rather fear and a sense of hopelessness. Rob and I spoke afterwards about the extreme divide in the country and about those who had felt forgotten. We made it our personal mission with this company to bridge that divide. 

We understood that it was the small businesses and entrepreneurs that were the backbone of communities around the US. We believe that if we help these businesses thrive, then communities will thrive and people will learn to support one another other despite race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or political beliefs. Our platform networks people from around the country to open the lines of communications and allow for creative energy to thrive. At the end of the day our mission became to inspire a diverse community of individuals to break down (social and economic) barriers and collectively bring their visions to life.    

I'm truly blessed to be a part of something like HyperFundIt. Our mission gives both of us a reason to get up in the morning and give it our all each and every day because we know our business isn't just about making money or riding a trend. I think I can speak for the both of us that we're really excited to be sharing our story with you all and hope that you will be cheering us on and support us in our business!

 Iris Lee, CMO