010 April LaMon - Solving Problems That Aren’t Obvious

April LaMon is an experienced bootstrap founder who has pioneered the creation and growth of groundbreaking technology programs and services for residential and mixed-use communities nationwide. April’s innate curiosity with consumer behavior grew with her experience as a C- Level Marketing Executive with companies such as PepsiCo, Kraft Foods and Armstrong World Industries. A four-time founder, her current venture is Alosant, a residential experience platform which connects real-life communities through a customizable app.

Today, Jeff and April engage in a discussion about differentiating a product in a crowded industry, the importance of building community and what the future holds for remote, hybrid and in-person work environments.

Episode Sponsor

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Key Takeaways

01:33 – Jeff introduces today’s guest, April LaMon who joins the show to share the work she does in creating community, the Alosant App, and the key to getting user-adoption

06:47 – Differentiating Alosant in a saturated marketplace

12:51 – The evolution of the Alosant App and fostering a sense of identity and community

18:58 – Biggest challenges and obstacles April has faced in this venture and one thing that surprised her

25:32 – Jeff takes a moment to thank today’s sponsor

26:25 – The biggest challenge April faced in building her app and the most important lesson she’s learned as a founder

34:49 – Building a community inside an organization with teammates and employees

36:51 – April shares her thoughts on hybrid and remote work and speculates on the future of the workplace experience

39:36 – Advice April would give to early-stage founders

41:38 – Jeff thanks April for joining the show and lets listeners know where to follow her and learn more about Alosant

Tweetable Quotes

“We took two primary steps at the very beginning of our journey that I think differentiates us from everything else that’s out there. The first is that we brand to the community. The second thing that we did is we configured the database of all content so that it can be parsed or curated based on different types of user personas.” (07:03) (April)

“We’re very vertically focused on the residential segment of the real estate industry. And so, because of that, we hear a lot of things from our clients in terms of ways that the product can be improved.” (13:04) (April)

“Another thing that we are focused on is creating a mobile identification card - an ID card - within the app. So it’s this idea of really fostering identity. This is my community and my community knows me. And so, strengthening that sense of connection to where I live.” (17:42) (April)

“Now we’re looking at the whole IOT space around what are those smart devices in the home. Many of our communities have a rental component, so can we now take this idea of access control to shared spaces to access control for my space. What other systems in the home can we loop in? That’s where we see this going. We’ve got you at the community level. Now how do we bring that same level of convenience, centralization, and lack of friction potentially into the home.” (24:24) (April)

“I think that it’s really really important to start a business with a client.” (30:44) (April)

“We have our team co-located here. We’re not a hybrid or a remote organization. Because there’s so much cross-learning between clients and between team members, we have just found it really valuable to have everyone here in the office because there’s a lot of idea sharing.” (36:51) (April)