Can you tell us about your background and what led you to launch Lens of Sport?

Hany: During my time in Dubai, I wound up doing a lot in education, so my networks are pretty strong in the industry. Before my son started school, we came back to the US, where my next goal was to start an education fund and platform. I was already advising a few EdTech companies at the time, and Lens of Sport was one that I wanted to incubate out of this platform that I was going to set up; however, early successes led to me kind of falling into this founder's role which is the first time in, like, 20 years, I've been part of the founding team. Even at the last company I advised, I really didn't really feel like part of the founding team.

And was there any key pivotal moment that led to you believing that you needed to be a part of the founding team?

Hany: Absolutely, it was when I met my co-founder Andy Shogun. At the time, he had been the Associate Dean of the Haas School of Business at UC-Berkeley for 18 years, and had 40 years of experience as a professor, so he was a very prominent academic. He actually negotiated the Haas-Columbia relationship which I was part of the first cohort. So I got to know him then and after business school, we became friends. And so when I talked about this idea, it was with the intent to incubate, hire a CEO and team to build the company while I would stay back as an advisor. However, Andy wanted me in the founding team alongside him, and it really just mushroomed from there; he helped to secure our first academic partnership with UCLA Anderson and the rest is history. So I would say the pivotal moment was meeting Andy.

You mentioned being a part of the first Haas-Columbia cohort. Could you explain a bit more about the impact Columbia has had on your founder journey?

Hany: I’m a west coast guy; I did my undergrad in California and spent a lot of time in the valley, but when the opportunity to develop relationships in New York was available, I immediately jumped on it. The Columbia community, and more specifically the Founder’s community, was frankly, one of the great motivating factors to join the joint program. I really enjoy being around other founders as they inspire me, and I’m always looking for ways to create more avenues for interaction between founders. I look at my time and interactions with other startup communities and try to think about what could be improved and brought over to the New York ecosystem; for example, Stanford’s Startx program, while highly respected, doesn’t put founders at the core of everything they do in my opinion. And when you are already dealing with enough challenges as a founder, it’s important to find a supportive, kind environment.

When we first started the Columbia Founders Community, our regularly scheduled calls literally felt like group therapy. It was a safe space for people to just come and complain about things and seek informal help or mentorship from others experiencing similar struggles. We would ask each other for advice on topics like accelerators, law firms, fundraising, etc. and it was extremely helpful to be surrounded by people who would go out of their way to provide guidance, often for little to no reward other than the feeling of helping another member of the community.

Sounds like we’ve come a long way since the early days. Switching gears a bit, how has Lens of Sport evolved since you joined the CFC? What milestones are you working towards that we can share with the community?

Hany: I was always very passionate about education and sports separately, and so when the opportunity to merge the two passions arose, I thought it to be a unique endeavor that would allow me to use and apply my knowledge in both spaces. We have a very specific milestone to get to a significant enrollment level and revenue target, and until we get those, it is always going to be an assumption that hasn’t been validated and that is likely how cynical investors will view us. I mean, I have a fairly cynical view of venture capital myself; they’re really smart people, but I don’t know a lot of daring VCs. They’ll write checks solely because someone else wrote a check. I know some folks at a few education-focused venture capital funds and I’ve been on panels with them, so I often would have blunt conversations about their confidence (or lack thereof) in Lens of Sport. The way I see it, someone is eventually going to be proven right, and I am confident in the direction we are heading as we focus more on operational milestones and less on the fundraising aspect.

What is some advice you would give to the community?

Hany: The most important element is staying power. Can you survive long enough to figure out how to tackle the next obstacle? Or can you pivot to adjust for macroeconomic factors quickly enough? I’m an advisor to a prop tech company that, prior to covid, was not doing so well, but during and after the pandemic, the company accomplished a lot by taking advantage of a newfound niche, resulting in rapid success. I think that happens a lot but at the end of the day, if you go back to the fundamentals of business, it’s all about finding ways to stay afloat, with finding paying customers as a great starting point.

Also, I want to reiterate the reason why I started this community: I love meeting founders and learning their stories and journeys. If you need help, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’m always trying to be accessible, especially on the topic of international expansion and markets. Otherwise, I highly encourage people to spend time with other people in the community, because it’s a really powerful group of people. I’ve personally benefited separately from Lens of Sports solely because of my involvement with other startups in the community, often as an advisor. I would love to see and hear about more interactions between founders in our community because I think everyone has a lot of value to share.

Where can we learn more?

Lens of Sports Website

Connect with Hany