David Hunegnaw of AboutOurWork
Meet David Hunegnaw, founder of AboutOurWork, a small business-to-business network.
What is AboutOurWork?
AboutOurWork is a small business network designed to automatically identify business-to-business opportunities. Just like Amazon can recommend the next best book for us to read, and Netflix can consistently queue up the next best movie for us to watch, AboutOurWork was built to identify next best business opportunities between businesses.
We’re on a mission to help small businesses discover new business opportunities, connect them, and through those connections, help them grow.
How did you come up with the idea?
As a small business owner myself for a number of years, I know firsthand how difficult and time consuming it can be to identify B2B opportunities.
Small business owners already have to wear enough hats in order to grow their businesses. Having to spend three or four hours a week at networking events to grow their businesses often means they’re taking three or four hours a week away from other critical business activities.
We believe that just like eHarmony and Match built a better way for singles to meet, we can do the same for small businesses.
What was the biggest surprise in starting your business?
Networking is truly like dating. I never really thought about it until Michael Dalby of the
Columbus Chamber dubbed us “the eHarmony for small businesses.” I then made the connection that attending networking events is like the equivalent of attending speed dating events.
What does a typical day in your business look like?
Anything but typical!
What are some of the advantages to doing business in Ohio?
There’s no shortage of fellow startups in Central Ohio. We just don’t get as much attention as Silicon Valley and NYC. I feel lucky to have access to such an amazing pool of startup talent that have “been there, done it” for feedback, advice and mentorship.
What resources or organizations in Ohio did you take advantage of and how did they help?
There are dozens of resources and organizations available to help entrepreneurs and founders in Central Ohio for funding, mentoring, strategy and more. My go-to list is
TechColumbus,
Founders Factory,
10X,
NCT Ventures,
Reservoir Partners,
SBDC and
ECDI. There isn’t a day that goes by when I’m not emailing or calling one of these groups for assistance. For example, I've spent quite a bit of time with TechColumbus and NCT Ventures on my business plan and model to ensure that we're on the right track with our idea.
Can you share a funny or amazing entrepreneurial experience with our readers?
I wouldn’t necessarily call this funny, but rather amazing.
Even though I’m a three-time Internet entrepreneur that actually mentors many startups in Central Ohio, I too need mentorship and often reach out to the very companies that I’m involved with for advice and mentorship!
What inspires you?
Validation. That moment during a conversation with a fellow small business owner when I explain our business and vision for AboutOurWork, and the feedback during the conversation is consistently, “I can’t believe no one else has thought of your idea.” That’s what keeps me up at night and more excited about our business every day.
Can you share some of your favorite off-time activities or hobbies?
Thinking and dreaming about AboutOurWork.
What founders do you admire and why?
It takes an immense amount of determination, passion, and a willingness to risk it all as a startup founder. And for that reason alone, I admire every single founder I meet or read about.
What’s next for you?
Good question. Like other startups and founders, it’s tough for us to really think about what’s next, because we’re so focused on AboutOurWork. However, you can trust that after AboutOurWork we’ll be on the lookout for another game-changing startup.
Interview by Joe Baur