Even if you don’t have the exact path to a lofty goal all mapped out, Sarah Haggard says take what action you can to move in the direction of your dream.
“As cheesy as it sounds, you have to believe in it yourself and make meaningful steps forward with that solid belief,” she said, “even if the whole world is telling you it’s crazy.”
Haggard has been following that advice for years and she has some wins to show for it. She’s running a startup that recently landed the top prize at the Seattle Angel Conference XVII — making her one of very few female founders to achieve the honor — and she lives in a custom-built, Seattle houseboat that she’d wished for.
Haggard launched Tribute, a new model for mentorships, in January 2018. The platform is creating a “real-time, digital watercooler” with a focus on helping companies connect their remote workforce.
“There is no dedicated place to go to, or tool where I can raise my hand and say, ‘I need help right now. I’m going into this big pitch, does anyone have some tips for me?’” Haggard said.
Before Tribute, Haggard worked at Microsoft for a decade in various product marketing roles. In her own experience with mentors, Haggard said the advice was often mismatched with her needs and encouraged actions that didn’t fit her personality and strengths. She hopes to change that with Tribute and to create a more scalable network of support.
This year marked Haggard’s third pitch to the Seattle Angel Conference. Tribute tied with PDM Automotive Management for the grand prize and each will receive $140,000. The mentoring startup was also won the Audience Choice award and was among six businesses selected as “most investable.”
“Winning that was so personal and validating,” she said. It was an affirmation of Tribute, a vote that “there is a real market for this and a real need.”
Tribute is currently conducting pilot projects with Microsoft and Zillow.
And now Haggard is preparing for her next leap of faith: this fall she’s expecting her first child and is making plans to move into a more kid-friendly home. It means leaving the houseboat, but she’s OK with that.
“On to the next chapter,” Haggard said.
We caught up with Haggard for this Working Geek. Continue reading for her answers to our questionnaire, and here’s an earlier GeekWire profile of Tribute.
Current location: Seattle’s Lake Union aboard my houseboat, Epiphany
Computer types: Surface Laptop. Windows PC fan. I grew up using Windows PCs and then worked at Microsoft on the Windows Product Marketing team.
Mobile devices: iPhone 10XS
Favorite apps, cloud services and software tools: Tribute, of course! I love that I can check in with mentees and mentors from anywhere, on my phone.
I spend a lot of time reading the news on my phone so all sorts of news outlets. For productivity, I use it all: Teams, Slack and Zoom for communication and video, Jira to check on product sprints, Outlook for email, Trello for project management and Nimble for customer relationship management (CRM).
Describe your workspace. Why does it work for you? Even before COVID hit, my primary workspace has been my custom-built houseboat, with a library, underwater wine cellar and farmhouse kitchen community table. The houseboat was featured on HGTV and profiled in the Seattle Times earlier this year. I love waking up on the water and commuting to my onboard office. The lake is peaceful and inspiring.
Your best advice for managing everyday work and life? Make time for the things that matter most. Your time is your most precious resource. For me, that means setting boundaries for work vs. personal time. I think COVID and working from home has blurred the line for many of us, and we’re working more than we ever have before.
I put my phone down in the evening. I’m better and stronger with some offline time. I don’t always practice what I preach, but I am more productive since founding Tribute. With a child on the way, this will only become more important. Startups require a lot, but I believe in “deep work” which favors shorter, more focused periods of time vs. long hours.
Your preferred social network? How do you use it for business/work? Facebook for personal use, LinkedIn for work. I joined Facebook from my dorm room in college back in January of 2005 — 15 years ago! That makes me feel old, ha! But I love staying in touch with family and friends through that platform and find myself spending most of my time in my groups.
Tribute also has a groups feature, which allows mentees and mentors to rally around a “digital watercooler” to seek group mentorship support. It’s important we have our digital communities to turn toward.
For work, I use LinkedIn. It’s a great way to meet other professionals in your industry and to establish your professional brand. I encourage my mentees, especially those about to graduate from college, to write a LinkedIn article outlining how they want to use their career to make a difference. Writing is a great tool for self-reflection. It helps you develop your voice and unique point of view on the world. Publishing articles on LinkedIn is a great function to “put yourself out there” and hone in on who you are, who you want to be, and what you stand for.
Current number of unanswered emails in your inbox? Zero! I’m one of those people who has to clear my inbox every day to feel productive.
Number of appointments/meetings on your calendar this week? Tribute won the Seattle Angel Pitch competition in May, so my calendar has been filling up quickly with follow-on investor meetings as we’re about to close our first round.
How do you run meetings? I run meetings with an agenda that’s sent in advance. I give a grace period of five minutes to allow others to join. After that time, I make the call to proceed or cancel the meeting. This shows respect for everyone’s time. Confirming meeting attendance for all in advance is a way to ensure you’ll only have to schedule (and host) that meeting once.
Once the meeting begins, I facilitate a short round of introductions before reviewing the meeting’s goals and agenda. I manage the meeting as I’m a fierce protector of my time, so I rarely allow a meeting to go over. At the conclusion, I recap actions and next steps discussed and then follow up with an email outlining actions and timelines.
I view meetings as a way to create consensus and drive action. If I schedule a meeting to use as a working session, I title the meeting as such, to indicate that it’s OK to not have that time as action-oriented. Regardless of my title, I’ve always taken meeting notes and followed up on email. I think it’s important for executives to stay close to meeting agendas and outcomes.
Everyday work uniform? I learned quickly after leaving Microsoft that it was important to have a routine, whether I leave the house or not. It helps me start my day and feel productive. My typical uniform these days are maternity leggings and a business casual top.
Funny story, I’m from the Midwest, a place where you dress up to go to work. When I moved to Seattle at age 24 and began my new job at Microsoft, I was excited to have a “real job” to wear my suits to work. After receiving more than a few funny looks, I realized I was overdressed! It took me years to build a comfortable business casual wardrobe. I still love a beautiful fitted suit jacket, but today I’ll pair it with a t-shirt, jeans and pumps.
How do you make time for family? I’m a planner so making time for family and friends is something I do naturally. From planning family vacations to outings with friends, I live and die by my calendar. If I schedule it, it happens.
Best stress reliever? How do you unplug? Dinner with friends, complete with good food, wine and conversation. You guessed it, I’m not an introvert. Given COVID and being pregnant I don’t get to do this nearly as often, but we try to schedule a few Zoom happy hours a week to stay in touch with friends, which helps me switch out of work mode and to reconnect with the things that really matter. I can’t wait to have a big glass of red wine at a loud crowded restaurant with my friends, hopefully later this year!
What are you listening to? I’m a huge fan of Spotify. I love discovering new music through their playlists. You’ll rarely find me working in silence. I set my alarm on my Sonos sound system to begin at 7 a.m. with a Zen meditation playlist. It’s an awesome way to wake up and sets a peaceful tone for the day. Throughout the day, I’ll switch playlists to whatever mood I’m in. I’m loving the Music for a Workday playlist during the day and Sunshine Reggae for evenings and weekends.
Daily reads? Favorite sites and newsletters? I begin each morning with a browse through Medium for interesting blogs on startups, the technology industry and human connection. I’ve found a few authors that I follow closely, including Joe Procopio. His articles on entrepreneurship are always relatable and spot-on. I also love Harvard Business Review (HBR) and, not surprisingly, GeekWire! I love keeping a pulse on the local startup scene and watching my friends’ companies thrive.
Book on your nightstand (or e-reader)? I’m usually reading multiple books at once: something for fun and something for personal development. I just finished “The Girl with the Louding Voice” by Abi Daré, a coming of age novel set in Africa. I highly recommend it. I’m now reading “Little Fires Everywhere” by Celeste Ng. I love reading books before I watch the movie or TV series. For personal development, “What to Expect when You’re Expecting” as I’m expecting a little boy this September.
Night owl or early riser? Early riser — but I love sleep! I could sleep 10-plus hours a night if I could. I prefer to be in bed by 10 p.m. and up by 6 a.m. I do my best work in the mornings when the world is still waking up.
Where do you get your best ideas? I’m not sure if it’s a location per se, but I find my best ideas come when I least expect them. I was once stuck when working on a core Tribute feature. I had a theoretical idea of how it should work, but I couldn’t distill it into a usable feature. I forced myself to sit at my computer, staring blankly as I tried to make something, anything, up. I finally got so exhausted, I decided in the middle of a workday to take a nap. I remember thinking, “You can’t do that!” but giving myself permission to do it anyway. During that nap the feature came to me, and it’s one of our most used features today.
Whose work style would you want to learn more about or emulate? This is probably going to be an unexpected answer. Last winter I watched Netflix’s “Rhythm and Flow,” a competition to find the next hip hop superstar. There were two role models on that show who I really admired. The first was Chance the Rapper, one of the judges. I’m a Chicago native, so naturally, I’m a fan. That said, I appreciated his advice to the contestants. He described how easy it is in the hip hop industry to lose sight of your values, but that the best artists stay grounded. I see similarities to being an entrepreneur. I’ve seen a lot of people change with success, money and fame. The best leaders stay hungry and humble, no matter what.
The other person I admired on the show was the winner of season one, D Smoke. What set D Smoke apart was his ruthless work ethic and preparation. He came to every challenge prepared with a clear vision of how he wanted to represent himself and delivered every time. I’m a big believer in planning the work and working the plan. I prepare for every talk, pitch competition and event, envisioning what success looks — and feels — like before I begin. There is wisdom in the repetition of practice, but also in being crystal clear on what success looks like.
More predictably, I’m a huge fan of Michelle Obama and author Brené Brown, and admire them for different reasons. Michelle for her ultimate grace, class and style. Brené for her no-nonsense communication style and focus on vulnerability in the workplace.
