Jenya Edelberg is a Co-Founder of Simplisport.
Tell us about your company. What inspired you to start it?
In the summer of 2018, my family and I were in Toronto on vacation. Our 7yr old son plays hockey, and we were searching for a shinny (pick-up hockey). We found a few, but when we came back to Chicago, I realized that there’s no platform that would allow anyone to find a shinny, or other sports activities in one place. So I put together a prototype, and in the fall we formed our startup, SimpliSport.
Who are your cofounders and what makes you a great team?
We are a team of 5 co-founders, close friends and diverse team reflective of what the U.S. is like. I’m ethnically Korean, but immigrated from Central Asia and speak Russian, my husband is Jewish. Another co-founder is African American, and his wife is half Mexican, half African American. Our last but not least partner immigrated from Ukraine. What makes us great is that we are all of growth mindset, and we have a broad range of experience and skills needed for the success of our company.
How is your company making a difference?
Active kids- brighter future, is what we think. We love to see our kids involved in sports and learn life skills of team support, friendships, trust and overcoming losses.
What are some of the challenges you have faced?
In life? Poverty, discrimination, gender inequality. In our startup? Not knowing when and where to start looking for investments.
What is your biggest win?
In life? Becoming a mother. It gives me so much courage! In our startup? Having people we talk to give us thumbs up on the idea and anticipate the release of our application.
Who is your role model?
Good people. Many of them, everyone has something to be proud of, something to give, something to learn from.
What do you wish you had known before starting your company?
Design thinking. Definition of innovation. And a lot more 🙂
What is your CEO superpower?
Humility
