There are a lot of iconic sibling duos — Liam and Noel Gallagher, the Coen brothers, Mary-Kate and Ashley — but what if the sibling duo doesn’t just work together, they started a business together?
At LaunchLKN’s pristine new space at the Hurt Hub at Davidson College, a panel gathered on June 26 to chat about working with a partner – a partner that happens to be your sibling.
Can It Work?
Siblings Chris and Jon Boggiano co-founded Everblue together. Everblue is a nationally accredited school focused on training individuals for energy sustainability. And siblings Chelsie and Connyre Corbett founded innovation consulting studio Corvos Labs together.
So, does it make work harder or easier when you’re in it with a sibling? Both pairs said they work relatively well together.
“It’s always good to work with someone you know always has your back,” said Chelsie about her sister Connyre. “She’s really good at a lot of things I’m bad at, so we know each other well, and that helps.”
Before they founded Corvos Labs, Connyre and Chelsie tested out their business chemistry together. They traveled across the country to do social science research for a book they’re publishing about the way we have conversations in America.
“She said, ‘Let’s do one really intense project together to see how we can navigate the ups and downs,’” Connyre said. “So we spent 40 days together on the road in a Kia Sorento.”
Working in Charlotte
The panel also discussed a lot about the entrepreneurial atmosphere in the Charlotte area.
“We’re the largest city in the country without a research university,” said Jon about the unique challenges of starting a company in Charlotte. “We simply don’t have research.”
He said this can cause a lot of companies to move to more research- and tech-heavy areas, like Silicon Valley, in search of resources and talent.
The quartet agreed there are several amazing things about the Charlotte area, however. Like the community itself.
“One of the big huge things I’ve noticed here, having worked between New York, California and here, is there is such an immense energy,” Connyre said. “What I love about Charlotte is there are so many people here who are really excited to put their resources and their energy into making this a strong scene.”
What If ...
One of the unique aspects of the event was that LaunchLKN arranged several questions around the room regarding some controversial topics, like “What if we spent as much on education and research as we do on defense?”
There were notecards set up to let attendees answer as a way to engage in a deeper conversation about entrepreneurship, but the panelists also answered the questions.
“We’d probably be walking on Mars by now,” said Chris.
Jon, going along with his point earlier, said that we’d have a large research university in every city, furthering the entrepreneurial and educational atmosphere in areas outside of Silicon Valley and New York City.
One of the final questions of the evening was for those that can't work with their siblings: How can you transfer sibling chemistry to regular business partnerships?
“I don’t know if you can replicate total trust, but for me, the fact that I absolutely trust her, better than with my life, I trust her with my business,” said Connyre. “If you can find a way to know that you can completely know someone's self, to trust them as much as I trust [Chelsie], it’d be an amazing business partner.”
LaunchLKN has social meetups at the Hurt Hub like this one every month in order to bring together the greater Charlotte entrepreneurial scene and engage the community in discussion. Their next social will be on July 31, discussing how tech has influenced the housing market.
