IPI Student Feature No. 1

“My experiences over the past couple of months have not met my expectations for starting a business — they’re better.”

- Stephanie Kunkel, Co-Founder

of KREIDETM

Katie (left) and Stephanie (right) at the Thrill Mill Open House

STUDENT FEATURE Summer 2014, No. 1

Did you ever consider being an entre-preneur before winning the Thrill Mill Business Bout competition?

SK: I never seriously considered being an entrepreneur before winning Thrill Mill’s Business Bout competition. And at the time I entered the competition, I had not earnestly contemplated what I wanted to do after law school. But once Business Bout started, I had no doubts that a law firm wasn’t for me.

KI: Yes! I’ve often thought about be-ing an entrepreneur before the Busi-ness Bout competition. To be honest, being a lawyer is being an entrepre-neur. When you go into a solo practice or a small firm, you are the bread and butter. You are the person going out and finding the work, defining your role, and determining your path.

All of my ideas have been lifestyle companies or small companies that can easily be done on the side. Originally, I wanted to start a legal consulting firm for start-up companies. Up until half-way through my last semester of law school, I thought that I would be prac-ticing business and bankruptcy law.

How do you feel about being an entre-preneur and does this match what you expected when you entered the compe-tition?

SK: It depends on how you define “entrepreneur.” I don’t think anyone feels great about the dictionary defini-tion, including myself. But I do love what being an entrepreneur is about. There are risks and challenges that push you out of your comfort zone. You start realizing what you really val-ue and what you’re capable of the mo-ment it’s necessary to put some skin in the game and get past the brick walls. It constantly requires learning and adapting; the moment you stop doing either you let the competition win. I guess my favorite part is that there is nothing mundane about it. Sure, taking on several roles for your company can be stressful (I now have two grey hairs), however it is well worth the sat-isfaction.

My experiences over the past couple of months have not met my expectations for starting a business--they’re better. I entered Thrill Mill’s Business Bout competition with nothing but an idea and will leave with so much more per-sonally and professionally.

F or our first Summer 2014 Student Feature, the IPI is highlighting the ambitions and achievements of recent Pitt Law grads Stephanie Kunkel and Katie Imler. Earlier this year, Stephanie and Katie entered into the

Thrill Mill Business Bout competition with their business idea for a company that would offer rules and compliance education to NCAA member institutions. Their idea was selected by Thrill Mill, and they were awarded a $5,000 prize, plus a year of office space and training to launch their company, KREIDE™. The IPI asked them to share their experiences and thoughts on being entrepreneurs, as they begin the challenging first year of owning and oper-ating a business.

KI: To be honest, I feel like I’m living two lives. Be-cause I am in the unique position of working full-time while starting the company, I have my “professional” work life and my other “fun” work life. Balancing the two is stressful yet exciting. Sometimes it is challenging to focus on my professional job when all I want to be doing is KREIDE™. Other times when I get to the Thrill Mill office, I’m too tired from work and need time to decompress.

Overall, it has been an amazing experience. There is a lot be done, which can be overwhelming at times. But is it fun, exciting, and energizing. When you have a great team to work with, it makes the work not seem like work.

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What are your main focuses for getting KREIDE™ up and running?

Content Creation. Right now, KREIDE™’s number one focus is content creation. Completing the education-al materials is essential to accomplish the milestones we have set for the company.

Engagement. We are also working on building relation-ships with customers, end-users, and partners to advance the development of and increase interest in our product. None of this is possible, however, without funding.

Financing. Therefore KREIDE™’s third focus is on developing funding strategies to keep the company run-ning until it has enough paying customers to support itself.

Do you have any beginner's advice for current students who may want to start a business?

SK: Choose something you’re truly interested in. Starting a business isn’t easy--it’s a time-consuming and emotion-al venture. If the passion isn’t there, you’ll run out of

steam. You have to like what you are doing and who you are doing it with so that it doesn’t feel like work.

KI: Ditto. And to that I’ll add three items - Team, Advi-sors, and Dancing. First, pick a team that you wouldn’t mind inviting over for Thanksgiving. Really. You need a team that you can not only work with well - because you’ll be spending a ton of time together - but also that you can share life with. This team will become your sec-ond family. So you need to make sure you can spend time with them outside of work, understand where they are coming from, and also get work done. Second, pick advisors and mentors that are going to push you further (tough love), that are inside and outside of your direct industry, and that are passionate. These are your cheer-leaders and coaches that will encourage and direct you.

Pick a baker’s dozen of advisors and mentors, because everyone has various insights, different perspectives, and skillsets. At the same time, you should select a handful of those mentors with whom you meet REGULARLY. They will get to know the company, and therefore you, intimately, and will provide the best guidance and con-nections for you.

Lastly, get ready to dance. Legit. We have dance parties every day. But the biggest dance move you’re going to learn is how to pivot. Don’t be afraid to pivot your com-pany and run with it. You’re going to have to do it at some point, whether it is after getting back market re-search results, competition enters the market, or custom-er feedback you didn’t expect. There is nothing wrong with pivoting. In fact, every successful company has had to pivot multiple times. So get ready to twist and shout.

The KREIDETM logo

“Don’t be afraid to pivot your compa-ny and run with it…every successful company has had to pivot. So get ready to twist and shout.” - Katie Imler, Co-Founder of KREIDETM