Mimi Chan - Littlefund (Episode #011)
Mimi Chan on Building Three Companies, Overcoming Self-Doubt, Fundraising while Pregnant, Fighting Over the Home Office, Creating Productivity, Exciting News, and More (#011)
“Thinking back to those early days, those long nights, those moments where I had to pick myself up from the disappointment and push through it, surviving through this pandemic. And somehow with the combination of luck and preparation and just the belief and conviction in what we’ve been doing with Littlefund, we were able to have this amazing outcome.” —Mimi Chan
Mimi Chan (@mimitoday) is the Founder and CEO of Littlefund (@littlefund), a financial gifting app for modern families to save with family and friends for their child’s journey. In continuing her passion for early childhood education and quality of life improvement, Mimi started Littlefund as a second time tech entrepreneur.
She realized after becoming a new mother that parents were overwhelmed with the rising costs of raising children but lacked a simple way to save for those milestones, especially when family and friends were part of a generation that was okay with giving cash gifts instead of material gifts. Ultimately, Mimi saw this as a start to tackling a fundamental problem with tremendous future implications.
Littlefund’s mission is to help everyone invest in a child’s future, one gift at a time, to prepare and build sustainable futures using technology to reimagine savings and gifting on the path to financial wellness.
Prior to Littlefund, Mimi led Pencils of Promise as the Founding COO, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit providing global primary education. Today, Pencils of Promise has built over 500 schools that serve over 100,000 students. Currently, Mimi resides with her family in Oakland, California.
This conversation was filled with vulnerability and honesty; Mimi graciously opened up about what it’s really like to grow her family while launching a startup. Mimi also received some exciting news during the taping of this episode - tune in to hear this moment unfold and Littlefund’s announcement. Please enjoy!
Listen to Episode #011 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast player.
Littlefund founder, Mimi Chan, and Moms Who Build host, Margie Chuang, get vulnerable and have an honest conversation about Mimi’s journey of building three companies, overcoming self-doubt, fundraising while pregnant, fighting with your partner over the home office, creating predictability, and much more. Also, Mimi received some exciting news during the taping of this episode - tune in to hear the moment
Show Notes
Mimi’s journey building three companies. [2:47]
What inspired Mimi to start Littlefund; her idea to create a financial gifting platform. [7:03]
About Littlefund and how a child’s financial journey can become a family affair. [11:50]
Mimi’s upbringing and early lessons in frugality and spending that taught Mimi about financial wellness. [17:54]
Mimi and Margie share stories about what it was like to grow up as children of immigrant parents. [18:30]
Mimi and Margie share how they talk to their children about financial wellness [24:07].
Feelings of insecurity and self-doubt and the emotional roller coaster of running a start-up. [28:07]
The invisible work of launching a company and what it feels like to raise money as a female founder. [32:05]
How Mimi overcomes self-doubt and paralysis. [33:14]
Mimi’s take on the relationship between Jay-Z’s song lyrics and fundraising [35:40]
How to get people to believe in your product. [39:04]
Finding a co-founder. [39:34]
Getting your first users. [44:42]
Mimi speaks candidly about what it's like to fundraise and build a company while raising a family. [45:54]
Mimi and Margie open up the doors of vulnerability and share what their lives are like at home. [54:49]
Mimi’s self-care routine. [59:56]
Building a parent inclusive and women empowered workplace. [1:03:03]
Planning Mimi’s fertility cycle around the fundraising cycle. [1:06:18]
Mimi’s reflections on creating more predictability in her life as a mother and entrepreneur. [1:10:23]
What’s next for Littlefund? [1:14:04]
Mimi gets the official word to share some exciting news about Littlefund! [1:15:22]
Rapid Fire Questions. [1:19:12]
Parting thoughts and encouraging words. [1:22:40]
What was your favorite takeaway or quote from this episode? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below!
Selected Links from the Episode
Connect with Littlefund:
Female Disruptors: Mimi Chan is shaking up what social impact companies can do
Grace and Frankie | Netflix
Kim’s Convenience | Netflix
Listen to Episode #011 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast player.
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Connect with Moms Who Build host, Margie Chuang
Twitter: twitter.com/momswhobuild
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YouTube: bit.ly/youtube-channel-momswhobuild
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Past Interviews
For past interviews with inspirational moms building inspirational things, visit momswhobuild.com.
Quotes from Episode #011
““Fundraising is a full time job. It’s not only emotional, but it’s physical. You are going from one meeting to the next and you’re pitching, pitching, pitching, and you’re doing this for six weeks straight. That requires a lot of focus. And I’m not saying that you can’t do it while you are pregnant. But because I wasn’t pregnant, I had continued to delay my second pregnancy or my trying to conceive until I felt more comfortable with my fundraising cycle, like what it would look like. And I would sit there and note to myself, “Okay, if I start here . . .” or “If we conceive here, where would we be in the fundraising cycle between our two companies?” I know that that’s not very romantic of me to say, but it’s the truth.””
““My upbringing had a lot to do with how I think about money. My parents stressed the importance of savings and mindful spending. We didn’t have very much when we came to America. There was the time when, after coming to America, we were living with my aunt. We eventually moved out into our own little apartment. That was a huge step. But prior to that, my parents did need assistance. So, we had food stamps, but through saving, my parents were able to then get enough money to move out into that apartment and eventually become financially independent.””
““The disappointment, even if it’s not what seems to be a big deal or it’s not anything that’s going to end the company . . . every disappointment hurts. And it hurts because you are working so hard and you want it so bad . . . you’re tired, you are running on fumes. I find that I need time to let it out and then time to process it a bit, and then motivate myself by saying that, ‘You are granted a new day tomorrow: a new day to do something. You’re granted this choice and you have to do something or choose to quit’.””
“Fundraising is daunting, and it’s a full time job on its own. It’s hard, it’s draining, it’s emotional, it’s physical, it’s back-to-back meetings and pitching till your throat is dry. And each time you’ve got to have the same conviction, energy and enthusiasm as if it’s your first pitch of the day. You’ve got to go and knock on those doors. And some you’ll get into: you get in, to pitch your ass off, complete vulnerability, to convince these investors, you’re going to make them rich. And that’s the pay, bring it back. Most of the time, you’ll leave with a ‘no,’ but you’ve got to keep going, one at a time. Keep knocking because it’s a numbers game and you can’t let that affect you. You’ve got to shake it off. So, ‘I’m on to the next’.””
