Angry and Badass Woman, A Founder’s Story with Erin Halligan-Avery, Ph.D.
I’m Erin Halligan-Avery, an angry, badass woman who has a Ph.D. in Mental Health Counseling and Supervision and thought I would spend my whole life working in the field of higher education… until I didn’t. I was content, and happy, and made a good salary, but kept finding that my passion, straightforward communication, and desire to maximize efficiency just didn’t fit well in previously established systems. I didn’t know this at the time, but my inability to conform, unique (often snubbed) approach to solutions, and hella frustration with the way these systems were managed was the push I ultimately needed to be a founder of an equally badass software company called ConcernCenter, Inc.
Tell us about your childhood and where you grew up
I didn’t set out to be a business owner. In fact, I’m pretty sure I was the last person my high school class would have selected as, “Most Likely to be a Successful Entrepreneur” due to my risk-adverse personality, methodical ways, and the fact that I am moved to tears at Disney On Ice. Yet, here we are! I was born in the early 80s in a wonderful town called Baldwinsville, New York. I am a classic “Xennial” (someone born between 1977–1985 who was around the age of 10 when the dawning of technology, computers, the internet, and social media hit). This meant that my early years were spent playing outside until dark, riding my bike all over the neighborhood, and making phone calls from my completely clear (so you could see the phone’s guts!) landline phone, while the second half of my childhood brought me AOL Instant Messenger and chat rooms, (really large) cell phones and beepers, and, of course, Napster. So much of who I am today — not just an angry, badass woman, but also a mom, wife entrepreneur, best friend, healer, justice-seeker, and HSP (highly sensitive person) is a direct result of my upbringing, the way I have always made sense of the world around me, people who have influenced my journey, and genuine, meaningful connections. I’ve been on this path for 40 years and have not one regret. I live every day with integrity, give more than I take, have been hurt more than I care to admit, and care deeply about where I’ve been and where I’m going. I think… no, I know… these are the characteristics that allow me to successfully lead my life and team at ConcernCenter and to make a difference in the lives of those looking for support.
How did you get started as an entrepreneur?
In 2011 I was hired into a newly created position at a private institute of higher education titled Associate Director of Student Support Services. In this role, I was responsible for building a Student of Concern Network that would help identify college students who were headed toward distress, with the goal of connecting them to resources before they dropped out. Although I had never considered myself an entrepreneur, I HAD considered myself an over-achiever, and true to form, we saw a 141% increase in student of concern referrals over the course of one year as a result of a crazy, overzealous marketing campaign that I deployed soon after the network started. Knowing I was unable to manage this increase in referrals on my own, I quickly realized the need to establish some sort of system that would help students, help themselves. “Students always know what they’re struggling with”, “I thought. “They just don’t always know where to go for support.” That one thought — one realization — would mark the beginning of the rest of my life.
What is one business lesson you would tell a startup founder?
Expect to feel discouraged. I can write that statement, and you can understand it mentally, but when you FEEL it repeatedly during the beginning stages of your start-up, it can be really tough. I used to refer to this feeling as the wave crashing down on me. I would be standing, happy and content, in the proverbial ocean and then a massive wave would knock me down. I would get up, wipe myself off, staring again at the horizon, and another wave would take me out. Maybe the “wave” was a missed opportunity, a deal that fell through, a relationship that didn’t evolve the way I hoped it would, a cool option that was outside my budget, or something else, but each of those waves was disappointing, discouraging, and had me second guessing myself and my business. If you can anticipate the waves — and know that they are normal, necessary, and expected, it may help you stay in the ocean a little longer.
