Maran Nelson | Founder of Clara Labs

About this video

This episode features Erin, founder of Clara Labs (an AI assistant for administrative tasks), speaking at a women-focused event about her journey from aspiring venture capitalist to founder. She recounts how rejection from a VC led her to build Interact, a community connecting young technologists, which ultimately shifted her ambition toward founding companies instead.

Key takeaways

• Erin reframed a rejection from VC Charlie O’Donnell as a challenge to build her network rather than a dead end, demonstrating how to convert ’no’ into actionable direction
• Building Interact required persistence through multiple rejections (including from her best friend) and financial risk, but the community became a turning point that changed her career trajectory
• Finding work you care deeply about is a gift—Erin emphasizes the importance of taking your dreams seriously enough to accept repeated rejection as part of the journey

Episode details: published March 30, 2017 · 2.6K views · 8:28 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. The business ideas, figures and results discussed are the hosts’ and guests’ own claims, shared as brainstorming and entertainment — not verified facts and not investment advice.

← Previous: Shruti Gandhi | Array Ventures · Next: Rachel Katz | Director of Social Innovation at Angel Hack →

All My First Million videos · My First Million profile · My First Million (official site)