Owner/CEO's Name & Business's Name
Jaclyn Foutz, Human Tribe Project
Year Established
2009
Why is your business unique and what's your pitch?
Human Tribe Project is a free website that allows friends and family to unite, show support and raise money for a loved one facing a health-crisis. With each Tribe Page, your loved one can create a blog to keep everyone informed of treatment and progress, friends and family can build a wall of support in the guestbook and purchase personalized Tribe Tags. With each $20 Tribe Tag, $15 is given directly to your loved one to help with medical expenses.
Almost half of all personal bankruptcies are filed due to medical bills. Human Tribe Project helps patients pay these costs and provides emotional support along the way.
What led you to start the business?
In early 2008, one of my best friends was diagnosed with cancer. Realizing that I couldn't be there to hold Kindra’s hand through the chemotherapy and radiation, my friends and I decided to raise money for Kindra and her husband to relieve the financial burden associated with her cancer treatment. At the time, my husband owned a wholesale jewelry company. He donated turquoise beads, and we sold turquoise necklaces in support of Kindra. We sold the necklaces in-person to friends, relatives and coworkers, and by e-mail to people in Kindra's support network all across the country.
The project was a huge success; we sold 350 necklaces and raised over $10,000. We were inspired by the breadth of Kindra’s network of friends and the willingness of complete strangers to buy the necklaces.
Initially, Kindra refused to take handouts from her friends and family; however, when she knew her friends and family were receiving a necklace in return for their monetary donation, her concerns were alleviated. And, when she saw everyone from her best friend to her chemotherapy nurse wearing the necklaces, she felt an emotional support as great as the financial support she received from their purchase.
I was astonished to learn about the financial burden that individuals suffering from an illness often face. For breast cancer alone, it is estimated that out-of-pocket expenditures and lost-income costs for women with insurance coverage average $1,455.00 per month. And, approximately fifty percent of all personal bankruptcies filed in the United States are filed due to medical expenses. I knew there was a better way to aid individuals and enhance the benefits of strong support networks.
After extensive research, I learned that there were no resources available to do what they did on a larger, commercial scale. I found companies selling products in an effort to raise money for non-profits, foundations or research institutions, but none raised money directly for individuals during their time of need. Nothing was available that would help with financial as well as emotional support.
It was from this experience that Human Tribe Project was born. At Human Tribe Project, friends and family can go to one place to provide both financial and emotional support to a loved one.
Lessons Learned
- It's not always easy to be in business with your husband and brother-in-law.
- As a female entrepreneur, don’t doubt yourself and don’t judge yourself by anyone else's standards.
- When you have your own business, you must be the jack of all trades - the manager and the general counsel but also the account manager, the sales manager, the IT coordinator, the bookkeeper, the secretary and the gopher.
- Some people just don't "get it" but if there are enough of them that do and that love your business, don't give up.
- There isn't a customer service problem that can't be solved when you are kind and genuine.