Its been a busy few months kicking off this new business. I have been learning so much as I figure out this whole new world of entrepreneurship. Finance, legal, insurance, business development, hiring, operations…. so many things to understand and move forward at the same time. At moments I feel like I need a chief of staff myself, to help me stay focused on my priorities and take some things off my plate! I will say that I’m grateful to have an incredible executive coach, Jackie Sergi, who helps me recognize all that we’ve accomplished and think about the keys to move forward in a sustainable way.
We’ve started working with our first 5 clients, and have several more leads in the hopper, which feels like more than I could have hoped for, especially starting from ground zero. I’m incredibly grateful to friends and colleagues for spreading the word and referring leaders who could use our support. You. Are. Amazing.
Many of our first set of clients are in the education and nonprofit sectors, which is unsurprising given that’s where most of my network lies. But we do have a couple of private sector entrepreneurs/ small business owners, and I think that is a perfect market to keep growing, since those leaders may not have the need or resources for a full time chief of staff but desperately need thought partnership and help with execution from a Jack-(or Jill)-of-all-trades.
And I’m excited to have built a great team of folks working with us at vChief. Highlights here, but you can read all about them in the “About us” section of our website.
Catie Anderson: Catie leads our talent efforts. She is an HR guru and has been instrumental in setting up systems & taking a lead role in interviewing candidates and hiring.
Sara Elsasser: I was lucky to know Sara as a fellow chief of staff at Teach For America and was thrilled to have her join our team of chiefs of staff. She’s currently supporting Ed Pioneers.
Christian Salvatori: Christian is a fellow Columbia Business School grad and an entrepreneur himself. He is the perfect fit to work as a chief of staff with Maxton & Co.
Vandy Chisholm: Vandy also came to us from Teach For America. She has been working with the Chicago Public Education Fund and is about to start supporting TFA as a vChief client.
We also have a larger pool of chiefs of staff who are vetted and ready to work with new clients as they come our way. We are excited to continue growing but also focused on ensuring our current clients have the highest level of service and satisfaction.