TECHNOLOGY hen Elizabeth Dodson moved from Maryland to El Dorado Hills , she and her husband bought a new home . Three years later , the hot-water heater broke . The warranty had just expired ( of course ), costing Dodson more than $ 2,000 . She made a typical rookie mistake : Because she wasn ’ t familiar with hard water , which is common in the Capital Region , she didn ’ t know that she needed to regularly flush the heater to remove mineral sediment buildup .
For Dodson , this was a setback , not a catastrophe . But she asked her contractor , “ What happens to the people who make this mistake and can ’ t afford a new hot-water heater ?” She was told they take cold showers and wash dishes with cold water , and the cold water doesn ’ t kill bacteria . Best case , they ’ re uncomfortable . Worst case , they get sick .
Dodson felt awful for homeowners in this position . And she kept thinking about it . Her empathy would lead to more questions , more brainstorming and eventually spawn the idea for HomeZada , an online resource that helps homeowners keep track of their home ’ s upkeep and finances .
Technology tends to be associated with things like computers , algorithms and machines , but the world of technology and innovation has long embraced a concern for other humans . “ The concept of empathy is central to any type of entrepreneurship ,” says Eric Ullrich , cofounder and chief operating officer of Hacker Lab , a makerspace and coworking facility in Sacramento . “ It ’ s one of the driving values of innovative thinking .” Empathy is one of the first things Hacker Lab teaches entrepreneurs . And it ’ s not just a matter of altruism or having a heart : Empathy is innovation ’ s secret sauce .
“ The concept of empathy is central to any type of entrepreneurship . It ’ s one of the driving values of innovative thinking .”
ERIC ULLRICH Cofounder and chief operating officer , Hacker Lab
Putting customers ’ needs first
When aspiring CEOs work with StartupSac , a nonprofit aimed at helping startups , they ’ re often introduced to design thinking , a model for how to think about customers and products . “ And that ’ s all about empathy and putting yourself in your target customer ’ s shoes ,” says Laura Good , StartupSac ’ s cofounder . The basics of design thinking : Start not with a widget or a solution but with the end user . What are their actual problems ? What do they really want ? A crucial part of design thinking , says Good , is a process called customer discovery , which is a method of “ designing your product through customer input ” and ensuring a solution solves a problem people actually have , instead of wasting time developing something no one really wants .
Take the case of Trifecta Nutrition , a Sacramento-based organic-meal delivery company . On an obvious level , the company ’ s mission — providing healthy food — flows from empathy . “ Losing weight is hard . Almost everyone on Earth can attest to that , so it ’ s easy for us to put ourselves in our customers ’ shoes every day ,” says Elizabeth Connolly , Trifecta ’ s cofounder and president . Yet , on a more strategic level , Connolly and her team work to better understand customers ’ needs and then tweak products accordingly .
Connolly originally assumed , for example , that most of Trifecta ’ s customers wanted a specific diet plan , like ketogenic or vegan , but she was surprised to find that wasn ’ t the case . “ After talking to many customers , we realized they were just following trends , and they actually just wanted a way to lose weight ,” she says . So Trifecta quickly pivoted , creating online content about weight loss or muscle gain , as well as interactive quizzes to help customers find a meal plan that works for them . “ You name any business decision , and I can probably tie it back to feedback we got from customers ,” says Connolly .
This sense of empathy , of course , is a more expansive use of the word than simply being sensitive to how someone feels . Ullrich says it ’ s largely about looking at the world through an end user ’ s point of view . “ It ’ s almost like the scientific process ,” says Ullrich . “ You have to talk to the customer , observe the customer , and look at data and look at the reports .”
That ’ s the approach Sedale Turbovsky took in 2018 , when he set out to tackle a problem faced by researchers and nonprofits : the nightmare of grant applications . Applying for grants can be a slog — the public funding system is confusing and Byzantine . So he launched Sacramento-based OpenGrants , an online system that tries to bring ease and transparency to the world of grants . “ Empathy is huge in developing a good product ,” says Turbovsky , the company ’ s CEO and cofounder . “ The ability to understand your customers ’ needs and motivations is key as you craft everything from product features to marketing language .”
OpenGrants didn ’ t start with the product , it started with questions .
56 comstocksmag . com | May 2021