Solopreneurship brings with it lots of perks around flexibility and autonomy. But even with those perks, it can be a lonely road for any person building without a co-founder or other team members. It can be easy for these entrepreneurs to sit behind a laptop all day and get bogged down in the administrative tasks without getting the outside help they need to scale a business.
Just ask Lex Roman, an Atlanta-based growth marketer and solopreneur.
After building her career in tech, she decided in 2019 to strike out on her own and build her own consulting business. Over the last several years, the Emory graduate has built up her growth marketing business with a focus on creatives. She wanted to network and build community with other business owners in a similar position, but that turned out to be harder than she was expecting.
Yes, there are industry-specific Meetups and networking events. But those aren’t geared towards online-first of online-focused solopreneurs who are scaling their businesses all on their own.
“When you embark on self employment, especially in the United States, you think ‘I’m going to do this on my own.’ But what you learn quickly is that you really need the support of others. You just don’t have the full range of skills you need to run a business on your own,” Roman told Hypepotamus.
Since 2022, Roman has been organizing the Atlanta Solopreneurs group to connect with like-minded business owners every week. But she’s recently been able to expand her network through Groove, a new mobile platform and online community.
How Solopreneurs Groove
The productivity startup describes itself as a coworking app for business owners. Solopreneurs from across the country join small virtual rooms of just a few people for intentional working hours.
After “meeting” others in the room and setting individual goals for the session, the app switches to heads-down, off-camera working mode. Users convene back together at the end, unless they wish to have side conversations during the session.
The goal is for the app to be an accountability tool, motivational hack, and network opportunity for solo entrepreneurs.
Roman said she has dedicated her time inside of a Groove room to edit her podcast episodes or finish up other business-related tasks. She also uses the Groove rooms as a way to exchange ideas with other solopreneurs.
“You’re able to hang out with people and get to know them in a very casual, low pressure, low interaction way…there’s just enough touch points where you can figure out whether or not you want to know someone better,” Roman told Hypepotamus. “People are serious about their life and they’re serious about their work. And so I’ve met some incredible collaborators through the group.”
Josh Greene, Groove’s CEO and co-founder, is based in Charlottesville, Virginia, but the early-stage startup has already attracted “Groovers” from across the country. Roman said there is already a strong community of Atlanta-based users that have connected both online and in-person after meeting through Groove.
There is currently a Waitlist open for those looking for some accountability options to help their remote-first solopreneur journey.
