Big Lessons from “Shutting Down a Startup” with Sally Metelerkamp
“Let your team take ownership of the ‘how’ in their areas of expertise, but make sure the ‘why’ and the ‘what’ are crystal clear from the outset.” - Sally Metelerkamp
When a company shuts down, it’s not often that you hear much from them - maybe a press release on the shutdown... But this dedicated founder shares a reflection on all the unforgettable lessons.
Sheree Rubinstein from One Roof - and now Sally from Lived - are two founders who’ve been public about pivoting within their business and returning money to investors. One Roof continues to thrive after returning around $1M in capital to investors - but Sally made the hard decision to shut Lived down after raising $4M.
As a non-drinker for over 10 years (after drinking plenty when I was much younger), I really loved how Sally was on such a massive mission to support people experiencing addiction.
In this article within Smart Company, Sally included some great advice about building a business and leading a team, including tips for team empowerment.
“We successfully raised over $4 million, built a brand that addressed highly stigmatised issues, and assembled a world-class team with all the right experiences. Lived became a symbol of resilience and a hub for a community with shared experiences. We proudly assisted tens of thousands of people, cementing our belief that Lived experience will be a game-changer in healthcare.
In reflecting on my own journey and the insights gleaned from other founders’ post-mortems, I’ve realised the importance of time in gaining clarity. It’s been six months of contemplation to even craft a post of this length and depth, and yet, this barely scratches the surface of the true complexity of a founder’s journey.”
Read Sally’s full article in Smart Company - “Shutting down my startup: Lived founder Sally Metelerkamp shares the unforgettable lessons.”
In this article within Smart Company, Sheree outlined the process of raising capital and then making the difficult decision to return that capital to investors.
“I made one of the most difficult decisions in my entrepreneurial journey to date. I made the call to return all capital to my investors. It felt painfully hard. It takes so damn long for women to raise capital and many never actually get there. I was one of the very few.
Globally, less than 3% of venture capital goes to women.
While it took me seven months to raise the capital, once I had decided to return it, it didn’t feel like I had thrown it all in. I have learnt so much and have maintained a very strong relationship with my investors.”
“At the same time as returning the capital, I also made the very swift call to pivot One Roof. The obvious next move for me was to take everything online and offer a virtual membership for women. Everything we provided at One Roof is now all offered through Oneline.
In five months, we have hosted over 80 virtual workshops, onboarded 200 members, and hosted, in partnership with Startup Vic, one of the largest virtual pitch nights this year with 500 registrations and 100 applications from female founders.”
Read Sheree Rubinstien’s full article in Smart Company - Why Sheree Rubinstein decided to return all capital to her investors and ‘revisit her vision’.
