HBCU Founders Accelerator Spring 2023 Cohort Spotlight: Meet Phil Terrill from SoleSafe

In April, we launched the first cohort of the HBCU Founders Accelerator Program. Over the next several weeks, we’re thrilled to spotlight each of the teams, their founders, and their remarkable journeys. Up next, meet Phil Terrill from SoleSafe!

Can you tell us a little about your background and what inspired your entrepreneurial journey?

I was inspired by my childhood and the love found for collecting sneakers. Through their stories, sneakers are similar to art or other collectibles. Each pair has a story or reminds you of why you fell in love in the first place. I constantly get to chase that feeling while being able to protect what people love. 

What problem is your startup solving and what inspired you to tackle this particular issue? 

SoleSafe is on a mission to protect what people love. The company was born from curiosity and a near flood in our home. There was a period in time when I was insuring my wife’s engagement ring (2020) and ended up asking a lot of questions about what was covered, what wasn’t, and how it gets replaced if something happened. That dovetailed into my experience with the flood, which my home insurance policy did not cover. After talking to multiple carriers including couture/collectibles providers, I knew right then there was an opportunity to provide a better experience with better coverage options. Instead of translating to the archaic insurance industry, I created my vision and provided a more precise approach to insure cultural assets such as sneakers (today) or other collectibles.

What have been some of the biggest challenges you have faced while building your startup, and how did you overcome them? 

It’s insurance and one of the most regulated industries around, so challenges come with the territory. From my perspective looking back, it was all about experience and finding the right partners. I spent the majority of my professional career at Microsoft and not insurance. There was a learning curve to really understand both sides of our business – sneakers and insurance. Since that time, I have learned a great deal as a founder (and leader) of an early-stage company including getting licensed as an adjuster and agent. Deepening my intellect about the industry was tremendously helpful when engaging potential insurance partners to support the vision of protecting what we people love especially in niche markets. Huge factors that helped supercharge our product development include compliance, structuring as Managing General Agent (MGA), and long-term planning for continued growth. SoleSafe has the ability to acquire customers, sell and underwrite policies, partner with customers during claims resolution, and built our own Policy and Claims Administration platform as the foundation of our business. We combine these efforts to invest in licensing infrastructure and platform tech to control our destiny!

What are your future plans for your startup and how do you see it impacting your community? 

Big plans are on the roadmap! SoleSafe has evolved tremendously since its initial business formation a few years ago. The future is focused on working with collectors, partners, communities, and other insurance companies. Our 5-year horizon positions SoleSafe as a hub for collectors, communities, and partners to protect what they love – whether inside our app or white-labeling for their own business. We view each as a unique opportunity that has overlapping synergy based on the investments we have made across our tech stack. Each of these channels creates its own challenges but the joint outcomes we can deliver are worth it.

How has your experience influenced your approach to entrepreneurship? 

I’ve been blessed to have experienced both a Fortune 500 company (Microsoft) and entrepreneurship very directly, so my perspective as an early-stage founder is different. The “grind” or “hustle” is a joy. I have a relentless commitment to not be distracted by the dream but constantly achieve some level of execution. As an accomplishment-driven person, seeing the team make incremental progress is the best part of the journey. We have incredibly talented people in-and-around the company that want us to win. My daily commitment is to prove those people right and the others wrong. I tell people all the time that being an entrepreneur isn’t “glamourous” until after the exit. This stuff is very hard, requires crazy commitment, and acceptance of sacrifice (in so many ways). If you believe in the root problem (in our case to protect what people love and pay for) then it’s time to get in the mud.

What are you most excited about with the Nex Cubed HBCU Founders Accelerator? 

us just from that perspective, so the learnings should be unmatched. Also, digging in with our advisors and resources connected to the program. We have already experienced positive signals from the foundational work which is exciting. 

Being a founder in general is hard - being a diverse or HBCU (likely meaning the founders are black, brown, or from the African Diaspora) is even more difficult when it comes to raising capital. When you see a firm "walk the walk" by investing dollars and resources into this community of founders is a clear example of impact while investing done right. This level of focus further enables diverse founders to show our brilliance and ability to exceed expectations. Oh, the returns will come too!

In a lot of ways, it shows how far the investor community is from balancing out investments. The fact there is a gap based on diverse founders historically being underfunded speaks volumes to the commitment made by Nex Cubed.  

What is the most valuable lesson you have learned as a startup founder so far?

For brevity, there are three things: (1) if you have an idea, share it with people to get a feel for it. Some of the best ideas go to the grave; (2) solve a problem you care about so it fuels you every day; (3) Find a community to support you (financially, emotionally, spiritually, mentally, etc.) – as I said before this “job” isn’t for everyone. The last thing is to not get caught up in judging yourself against others or taking TOO MUCH feedback on your business – It’s your business, so listen but do you.

What advice would you give to other HBCU entrepreneurs who are fundraising? 

I’m not an expert here but have been in enough pitches to understand that it’s great to your “shots up” in the investor game. I’m a pretty competitive person, but getting that first “no” was earth-shattering. It was almost like I misheard them. The reality is not everyone is going to like (support, invest, promote) your business for whatever reason. On the investor side, there is inherent bias and comfort in how investments are made which is slowly starting to change but there is a LOT more work to be done to balance the capital playing field. In the interim, find investors that you have a gut feeling may say no and pitch them to get your reps before pitching those you really would want to invest. Another point of feedback I got the first time pitching Techstars was to know my business “cold” or to the point of it’s not a pitch but a conversation tethered to your core. You become the business in a positive way! That feeling of knowing your business could change how you move and the results that come especially pitching. Every day there is an opportunity to learn and re-learn your business. Lastly, while the market has changed, you should still protect your equity (cap table) to ensure you have the right investor partners – not just investors. That matters early but later even more!  

Where can readers/listeners/viewers learn more about your business?

The best place to connect with us is the SoleSafe app (available on Apple or Google devices), @solesfeco on Instagram, and our website (www.solesafe.co).