Meet Jen Henderson

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jen Henderson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jen, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Like many first-time founders before me, the drive to start my own business came out of a frustrating personal experience where I thought to myself, “How many people is this happening to? How many people has this happened to already and no one has done anything about it? What can I do so that my children don’t have the same experience I do?”

In my case, that frustrating personal experience was a leave of absence experience gone wrong. I had been climbing the corporate ladder at Fortune 500 companies while trying to get pregnant for years, and when it finally happened I wasn’t faced with joy and support from my employer, I was frozen out of meetings and cast aside as an employee now viewed as someone who wasn’t serious about their career. All because I was about to become a mom.

And this wasn’t the only time it happened. I left that organization for another Fortune 500 company when I got unexpectedly pregnant and I had a promotion rescinded.

Enough was enough.

I didn’t want my daughter to face the stigmas and setbacks for having a child and realized this was something that if I wanted it done right, I had to do it myself and so I started Tilt.

What should our readers know about your business?
Nothing about starting and growing a business is easy, and that’s certainly been my experience…to put it lightly. As a first-time female founder of a tech start-up you begin this journey looking up that mountain of success with countless obstacles and non-believers in your way.

Female founders get a fraction of the investor money that male founders do, and that’s not as much of a complaint as much as it is a very real constraint. I knew what I was getting into, but belief in a mission can help you overcome more than I could have imagined when starting out.

From the jump I knew it was important for me to find backers and investors who not only believed in Tilt, but also female-founded organizations in general. From TechStars to Firework Ventures and the many other entities that believed in me and what we’re building at Tilt, it would be disingenuous not to recognize their contributions and beliefs both financially and as shepherds helping me navigate this complex state.

What sets Tilt apart from others is that yes we’re a tech company, but we’re a tech company solving for one of the most human experiences any one of us can go through. Tilt’s emphasis on providing a blend of technology and human support to employees in their time of need.

We see a lot of solutions that are either “all tech” with no empathy or “all human” with no help from technology. Tilt is the one solution to a human problem that needs technology to perfect.

The lessons I’ve learned about starting a business are too long to list, and I kid that had I known all the lessons I would be learning along the way it might have scared me from ever starting. But I’m glad I did, and so are the HR teams no longer burdened with this complex task, and thousands upon thousands of employees who have had a positive leave experience thanks to Tilt.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My Northern Colorado itinerary for the best time ever would include hiking Horsetooth Rock, breakfast at Urban Egg, dinner at the Regional or Little, drinks at Social, and a night out at Washington’s or Comedy Fort. I’d also take them on a drive through Rocky Mountain National Park and have lunch in Estes Park at Penelope’s. If it’s a summer visit then I’d say catching a show at the Mishawaka is a must. Festivals in Fort Collins are always fun as well. The taste of FTC, tour de fat, etc. Even just walking around old town and visiting the great local shops like The Gearage and The Cupboard would make for a great time!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people I could point to both personally and professionally that without their guidance, tough love, support, wisdom, encouragement, and blind faith I wouldn’t be where I am today, and Tilt wouldn’t be what it is today.

While it may be cliche to say, the person I most attribute to my success is my husband. It’s not easy to turn to your life partner and tell them that everything we’ve worked for, all the corporate success and dreams and security, is going to be put at risk to start a crazy endeavor where there is no guarantee of success.

So while there are countless individuals I am forever indebted to, I wouldn’t be indebted to them if I didn’t have the unwavering support of my husband, family, and friends closest to me.

Website: https://hellotilt.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferhendersonjctcjcdc/