School of Business graduate awarded $20K for social media startup
Max Schanker, a 2019 School of Business graduate, and the team behind the new app SWOT recently received a $20,000 grant from Digital Sandbox KC to get the platform off the ground.
The idea for SWOT, See What Others Think, came from heated discussions between Schanker and his two roommates about who is the best musician, best NBA player, what’s the best sandwich and other contested topics. The app allows users to rank anything and everything to share their interests, compare with people around the world, and ultimately become aware of the world’s best of the best.
Through connections made in the Business Leadership Program and mentorship he received throughout his early career, Schanker and his team built the product from the ground up.
Schanker was first exposed to startup culture at Super Dispatch.
Schanker majored in business administration at KU. From the start, he knew he wanted to start his own business and hoped the major would allow him to learn about all aspects of business. He graduated two years early from KU, giving him ample time to take risks and potentially fail before starting something himself.
Schanker got his start at Super Dispatch, a large startup firm very involved in the KC entrepreneurship scene.
Super Dispatch provides software solutions for the car-hauling industry in order to reduce the amount of time and money spent in the vehicle shipping process. The company’s platform helps carriers, brokers, and shippers move cars faster by digitizing the end-to-end shipping operations through a driver mobile app, shipper and carrier web management systems, and a marketplace for vehicles that need to be moved.
At Super Dispatch, he was looking to do anything and everything.
“I wanted an inside look at what a growth stage startup looks like from day to day. Everyone wears a lot of hats.”
Mentorship has defined Schanker’s time at Super Dispatch.
“The culture is very open and innovative,” he explained. “My voice was heard from day one. The leadership team keeps pulling me in whenever they’re working on something that requires tough decision making so I can attempt to make a decision and then see the ‘why’ and ‘how’ behind their decision… I made it clear when I interviewed that I was looking to learn and wanted mentorship regarding startup activities, and Super Dispatch has really delivered on that.”
After learning about product development and product management at Super Dispatch, Schanker decided to move forward with his idea for a new social media platform: SWOT.
“My brother, Nate Schanker, and I have had experience in social media management — my brother much more than me — so after we really fleshed out what SWOT would look like, it made sense to go for it.”
Experiences in the BLP paved the path to success for Schanker.
The KU Business Leadership Program was crucial in setting Schanker up for success.
“BLP really pushed the importance of networking, and there is no way SWOT would be where it is today if I wasn’t comfortable with cold emailing someone to meet for coffee,” he said.
The program also encouraged him to get involved in case competitions on campus. These competitions have had practical benefits for Schanker, who now uses his presentation skills frequently.
“I did as many of those as I could. The case competitions helped me hone my pitching skills and that has been extremely helpful with everyday casual pitches and formal funding pitches,” he said.
Through the BLP’s relationship with SELF, the Self Engineering Leadership Fellowship at the KU School of Engineering, Schanker was able to build relationships with motivated, innovative technical students. Some of these students are now a part of SWOT including CTO Nolan Blankenau.
Schanker has learned from his mentors to “stop deciding how to decide and make a decision.” Guided by this philosophy, Schanker has built a product and a team he is truly proud of.
“If you’re thinking about starting a business, just go for it,” he said. “This is the time to take the risk. Reach out to the right people, bounce ideas off of others, adapt, and go for it. The worst that can happen is you fail and learn, which is more of a success than not trying at all.”
SWOT will be released by June. If you’re interested, sign up for early access to beta test the app at swotapp.io.
By Meaghan Boyd
