A chance encounter at an accelerator event brought the co-founders of YellowBird together and it was only a matter of months before their idea for a two-way marketplace between environmental health and safety (EHS) professionals and the companies that need their services started to take off.
“YellowBird was inspired by a culmination of my experience and a very opportunistic Uber ride,” says Michael Zalle, co-founder and CEO. “I spent a large part of my career in satellite communications, which is often in remote, high-risk environments. I was exposed to the environmental health and safety industry at that time and saw the tremendous need there was connecting qualified professionals with organizations that needed their expertise. Following a ride in an Uber with a driver who was way overqualified to be driving me, the idea clicked.”
That ride got Zalle thinking about how many other overqualified people were out there missing out on opportunities to leverage their hard-earned skills. Seeing the potential in the idea, Michelle Tinsely, now COO, joined on as co-founder and the duo officially launched with a minimal viable product in November 2019.
Overcoming Growth Challenges
Once we hit about 50 professionals in January 2020, we figured it was enough critical mass to begin pursuing revenue customers. Though growth has been steady, getting there wasn’t without its challenges.
“Naturally, as a startup, capital is always a challenge,” Zalle says. “When you start a company, it doesn’t matter who you are or how much success you’ve had. When you go from a napkin to creating an MVP and finding product-market fit, it is very hard to find investors willing to join unless you have proven some of these metrics.”
Finding Positivity amid Potential Setbacks
Fortunately, the co-founders were able to find investors who believed in YellowBird and they were able to raise money quickly. Though they were initially sidelined when the pandemic hit, Zalle and Tinsley were able to pivot quickly to turn the setback into an opportunity.
“One thing we used to our advantage was the fact that more people were suddenly caring about workplace safety, even in office environments, which up until the pandemic wasn’t a big priority,” Tinsley says. “Around the same time, we saw a sudden explosion of professionals joining our platform because of all the layoffs in the oil and gas industries. We also had a number of industrial hygienists on our platform and were able to immediately put them to work to help companies and universities get back into their buildings.”
While they’re still battling other challenges that come with scaling a fast-growth company, as well disrupting an old-school industry, one thing they credit to helping overcome those is the support they get from other local founders through the StartupAZ Collective.
Solving Problems through Collaboration
“The Startup Collective has provided us a way to continue to develop new ideas and provide coaching at exactly the right time you need it,” Tinsley says. “You’re with a cohort of founders who are, for the most part, at the same phase in business maturity. You’re in it together, facing similar problems at the same time. We solve a lot together, but also get to hear what other founders have tried and what worked and didn’t work.”
As for what’s ahead for YellowBird, Tinsley says they set some audacious goals for 2021, but the biggest focus is on forming partnerships, continuing to support the evolving demands of businesses as the pandemic continues, and managing growth.
“For a while, we were excited if we saw one job posted per week on our platform,” she says. “Now, we’re getting multiple posts per week, and I’d like to see that expanded to hundreds per week. I love that we’re able to help a broad set of professionals.”
Brandon Clarke is co-founder and CEO of StartupAZ Foundation
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