Meet Alejandra de Brunner, CEO and founder of The Ethos Network
I’m Alejandra (Alex!!) and I conceptualised ETHOS in Jan 2020 at the age of 19. I was passionate about the potential of a platform where the content type was narrowed down to a certain subject. I felt that it would give more opportunities to tailor the technology better to ultimately make connecting with that content so much easier and healthier for the user.
ETHOS is a new social media app empowering a generation to create a better future for the next. We are a tech start-up that is ethically driven and designed to be the home of social discussion. It aims to encourage others to learn from, engage, and interact with unique content that inspires and motivates a new generation.
Any moments where you thought you’ve bitten off more than you can chew?
Yes 100% - we launched a product in October 2020 to really “concept test” and try and spur some momentum. We wound up removing that product from the app store because our security infrastructure was not to the standard needed to host the numbers of users that came in. Let alone that, we thought to invite international figures onto the app and upon them creating an account … we had to accept that we simply couldn’t proceed. It was probably the biggest risk and challenge I’ve had … I remember the months that followed were a little grim, felt like we were starting from scratch entirely.
How important is company culture and what is your top tip to get it right?
Company culture is so important! My view has always been that we are asking people to jump into this vision and ETHOS with us when they join. It is very much a two-way pitch, once you’re in, the shared belief in it acts almost like a string that links everyone together. Our office is a small but vibrant hub of people who are dedicated to what we are building and that can be seen and felt in the conversations, the bonds that have formed. We’re fully “in-house” and the “whole team in, building” days are popular.
What’s the single most important decision that you made, that contributed to your business?
Aside from the Oct 2020 one I mentioned above, the biggest personal decision I made was to leave my studies. Upon the first round of funding for ETHOS I made the decision to transfer from Oxford uni to UCL so that I could work on the business from London. At the time, I was leaving a course I was passionate about and had worked hard to get to … After completing a third fundraise for £1.5M I had to also interrupt studies at UCL, near the end of my second year of undergrad studies there. Now 110% of my time can be dedicated to ETHOS ;)
What impact would you like to have on women around the world through your business?
I would love to be able to one day inspire more young women to pursue careers in tech. There are so many opportunities for women in the tech space and there is still a scarcity of female developers despite how fast the industry is growing. I would like to also encourage women to pursue their ideas if they spot a gap or a good opportunity. I can think of a lot of great early stage female founders going for it … if you’re starting the journey and feeling alone, reach out !
What are your top three tips to hire and develop new talent?
Scale organically – don’t try to grow a team too quickly.
Find talent that understands the company’s mission and values. An impressive CV won’t benefit you if they are not truly on board with what you are trying to achieve.
Regular performance meetings allow us to set goals, identify opportunities and make changes where necessary.
Thinking about the future, do you have any strategic partnerships or upgrades in the pipeline?
There are so many people who have committed to coming on board when we launch publicly which we are super excited about. People are the absolute heart of our platform and providing a safe space for their voices to be heard is what we are most excited about. With this in mind, there are a few idols we are yet to reach out to that truly represent what ETHOS stands for and that will be happening over the coming months.
What are your thoughts on ‘no sleep’ culture as an entrepreneur?
I’m a morning person; don’t like working at night. I have a rule in my head which is that the only reason I should stay up late is if (and only if) it is with friends/ socialising, etc. If it’s for anything else (working, self-care, cleaning the house lol etc) then no – not allowed. It’s good because then I associate being up late with doing something fun. Does also mean I am a granny, as my baseline is bed by 1030.
Entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey. How are you combating that feeling whilst pushing forward?
Well, I was lucky enough that my lifelong friend was able to join me on the journey for almost two years. Ana (our COO) and I went through building ETHOS during 3 lockdowns ... Beyond that, the support of our Chairman Henry has been invaluable – comments like ‘it’s not easy/normal to try and fundraise this amount” go a long way when all you’re reading about is 2-week funding round successes on Twitter or something. Our investor base is also super supportive, and this makes a difference too.
How do you believe the evolution of tech will impact your industry over the next 10 years?
It’s going to be great, and I am so excited to be building at this time in tech. Smart ethical tech is appearing everywhere and the opportunities for building productive and healthy communities are going to skyrocket when the de-centralized models get polished. I personally think we will look back on the first 20 years of social media at some point and think “wow how could something so unhinged have ever been used by the majority of the planet?!”. I’m hoping when I’m older I won’t need to worry about kids using social media the way we could at the time/can now.
Are you a non-tech founder? If yes, how did you overcome the obstacles whilst building your business?
Yes. I am and this is something I would have liked to clock earlier; talk to other founders in a similar situation to you – no one will get it as they do, and in one discussion you can save one another mountains of time.
