Breaking new ground in the nonprofit sector, this week's Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur Spotlight features Sophia Shaw, co-founder of PlanPerfect. Driven by a mission to empower nonprofits of all sizes, Sophia has transformed from an established organizational leader to a tech entrepreneur creating solutions that allow mission-driven organizations to focus on what matters most - making an impact. Her partnership with co-founder Adam Wolford has created a platform that simplifies strategic planning, saving nonprofits valuable time, effort, and money. Sophia's journey showcases how entrepreneurship can emerge unexpectedly when passion for social impact meets innovative problem-solving.
Hi, Sophia! Thanks for joining us today. Tell us about your business. Who do you serve, how do you serve them, and what's the impact that your business and work makes?
We serve nonprofits, with a special focus on those that are small (none are too small!) to midsize. We created PlanPerfect to simplify the strategic planning process, saving nonprofits time, effort, and money to develop a strategic plan. We believe nonprofits should be able to focus on making an impact!
Tell us about the moment you finally felt like you went from wantrepreneur to entrepreneur.
Having been happily part of large organizations my entire career, I never thought I'd want to be an entrepreneur. I like working with big teams of people. BUT, once I saw that I could make a positive impact in the world by scaling my knowledge about nonprofit governance and strategy by making a software company, I was hooked. PlanPerfect makes me feel like I'm doing something good in the face of a lot of uncertainty (that apart from voting I can't do anything about).
Describe the moment or period in your life/career that motivated you to make the entrepreneurial leap.
I never would have started this journey without the partnership of my cofounder, Adam Wolford. Although we are different in our skills, generation, and backgrounds, we share a passion for social impact and a set of values that makes me feel safe in this crazy entrepreneurial journey.
Describe a tool, service, or software that has been a game-changer for your business. How does it contribute to your success?
Can you believe that Covid was only 5 years ago? It seems obvious to answer "Zoom" to this question, but starting an international software company with a founder who lives in another city, a software engineer in another, and associates around the country, would have been nearly impossible before we all became accustomed to online meetings.
We know that success is very often a non-linear path. Tell us about a failure, pivot point, or lesson that changed your course or direction and helped to get you where you are today.
We really had a hard time finding a software engineer who had the combination of good design, strong coding, and an understanding of the nonprofit sector in the United States. We were not opposed to using an offshore developer, but having an American company whose founders volunteer their time for nonprofits is important to us. We hit a wall finding the perfect combination, but after some hard work and a lot of networking, we found the perfect match.
What unconventional strategy did you employ that significantly impacted your business?
We are growing with the help of remarkable MBA associates from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. Given that my cofounder and I are both graduates, and I ran the Golub Capital Kellogg Board Fellows program for five years, we've been able to attract and engage multiple associates. We wouldn't be revenue-producing in our first year without them.
What’s something you wish you knew sooner that you’d give as advice for aspiring or newer entrepreneurs?
Oh, I think that this is like becoming a parent for the first time – it's better not to know the hard stuff in advance.
Want to dive deeper into Sophia's work? Follow the links below!
- Visit PlanPerfect's website planperfect.co
- Connect with Sophia on LinkedIn: Sophia Shaw
- Find PlanPerfect on LinkedIn
- Connect with Sophia on Facebook: Sophia Shaw
- Follow PlanPerfect on Facebook
