In celebration of Women’s History Month, Girls in Tech will be offering exclusive interviews with leaders in the technology field. To start of this weekly blog post series for the month of March, we’d like to highlight Leah Busque, Founder and CEO of RunMyErrand – a web and mobile marketplace that provides people and businesses with an easy and trusted way to get everyday tasks done in their own community.
Stay tuned for upcoming posts from the likes of Danielle D. Duplin, Fidelity Center for Applied Technology; Sophie Farrell, Google; Leena Rao, TechCrunch; and Christina Wong, QinetiQ.
Cheers,
The Boston GIT Team
What’s the biggest mistake you’ve ever made and what did you learn from it that’s worth passing along to others?
My biggest mistakes are always when I don’t trust my instincts. I’ve learned most of my decisions, especially at the early stage of business, come down to the gut level. I trusted myself enough to start RunMyErrand, now I need to continue trusting myself and my team to build it. There have been a couple times when I veered away from trusting my gut, and I’ve paid each time. I now have even greater faith in my instincts, and feel confident that I’ll make the right call.
What’s your biggest success in the workplace?
My greatest success is building a product people love and who immediately understand the value. Another homerun is my bringing together an exceptional team of mentors, advisors, investors, and team members who both get and believe in RunMyErrand and the amazing potential we are unlocking. For example, my advisory includes Zipcar CEO, Scott Griffith; leading communications expert, Robbie Vorhaus; wildly successful serial entrepreneur, Tom Erickson; and best-selling author, Tim Ferris. All of whom have contributed to catapulting us to where we are today.
I was also honored winning the Facebook Fund Incubator program (fbFund REV) during the summer of 2009, where I was connected with Silicon Valley’s best and brightest. RunMyErrand was the only east-coast company that won the competition, and it was an amazing experience for me and RunMyErrand.
What’s your life or work motto?
Work motto = Move. Faster.
What woman in history inspires you most and why?
The woman who inspires me the most is Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. I’ve always been passionate about our universe and outer space and as a kid I dreamed of going to space camp and becoming an astronaut. I was just four when Sally Ride made her first trip into space, and I remember it on the news. Sally Ride was a true modern day pioneer for women, inspiring an entire nation of young girls to be exceptional and literally reach for the stars.
What piece of technology can you not live without?
My iPhone.
What tech trend are you following for 2010?
Location and mobile based apps like Gowalla and Foursquare. They have huge potential beyond their current feature functionality, and I can’t wait to see what they do next. Just like RunMyErrand, they are going to be big.
What one piece of advice would you give the Girls in Tech of tomorrow?
Be passionate, confident, tenacious, and trust your instincts!
What three items do you always carry on you?
My iPhone, my MacBook Pro with its spiffy green cover and chapstick.
