Founders Everywhere Siblings: Double Trouble
It's National Siblings Day, so we are featuring some of the sibling founders in the Everywhere Ventures community.
It’s National Siblings Day and we’re celebrating 6 sibling pairs we’ve backed across our portfolio. Why do siblings team up? Is it the long standing trust they have with each other, or perhaps the support they can offer during the roller coaster of startup life. Or maybe, it’s just free labor, ha! Whatever the driving force, let's take a moment to appreciate the sisters and brothers who are building their dreams together.
Akash Magoon is the CEO and Aman Magoon is the CPO of Adonis, a Revenue Intelligence and Automation Platform built for Healthcare.
What inspired you to build Adonis together?
We grew up in a household of entrepreneurs and business people. When we were growing up, we would work with our parents on weekends and in summers. Starting a business together was basically an extension of how we grew up.
What's your favorite trait about your sibling at home and/or in the office?
Aman: Akash and I have similar taste in fashion. Luckily for me, his clothes fit me perfectly, while mine run a bit small on him. This means I get to raid his closet at-will, and often do. At work, it's great that Akash is an even-keeled and systematic decision maker. At home, Akash takes point on most administrative items, while I get to plan and organize trips, outings, and celebrations.
Akash: My favorite trait about Aman is his ability to find a balance between work and social, a 'work hard, play hard' mentality that I admire. While I sometimes struggle to check out of work, even when away from the office, Aman does a good job of hustling at work while being well-rounded in other areas.
Who's the oldest?
Aman is older by 5 years.
My sibling is most likely to …….
Aman: Akash is most likely to cancel Friday night plans to hit the gym.
Akash: Aman is most like to take a ten-second story and turn that into a six-minute soliloquy - an uncanny ability that makes him really good at schmoozing prospects in sales pitches.
Share a favorite family vacation.
Last year, we took our family on a trip to Marrakesh -- which ended up being especially memorable because Akash and I were up each night taking calls with potential investors as we were wrapping up the final stages of our Series A.
Fifi Kara is the CEO and Lailah Kara-Newton is the CMO of Aster, a platform preventing maternal health complications by powering clinicians.
What inspired you to build Aster together?
Aster was started as a result of Lailah's difficult pregnancy journey. Four and a half years ago, Lailah was pregnant with her son, Eesa, and was a doctor at the time, working in a local hospital. Despite Lailah questioning her care, quite a few things were missed during her pregnancy. We later discovered Lailah had undiagnosed preeclampsia, and this resulted in an emergency cesarean section with Eesa requiring resuscitation for about seven minutes. In the end everything turned out fine, but Fifi encouraged an investigation to look into what had gone wrong because if it could happen to Lailah as a doctor working in the system, it could happen to anybody. The investigation took four years, and once we had all the results, we could see where the gaps were. At the same time Fifi had been leading Health & Fitness at Meta for two years, developing software and hardware for devices to monitor health at home. Our paths had crossed and we thought about joining forces. Aster was our solution to the ongoing maternal health crisis that is worsening in the U.S and a way to prevent other people from experiencing what Lailah did.
What's your favorite trait about your sibling at home and/or in the office?
Lailah: Fifi's design talent isn't just in the product! You should see our office.
Fifi: Well I’m very lucky, because Lailah is a trained physician. I essentially have a Doctor on speed dial for any silly questions I have. This applies to the whole family as well! When in doubt bother Lailah with your medical questions!
Who's the oldest?
Lailah is older by 1 year.
My sibling is most likely to…..
Lailah: Fifi is most likely to become the first British POTUS.
Fifi: Lailah is most likely to ‘have their own reality TV show’ - think Married to Medicine but the British edition and also, she owns and stars in the show.
Share a favorite family tradition.
Family Karaoke - Our family name is Kara, we do wonder if this is part of why we love spitting some bars or singing a ballad during family holidays!
Jacques Marco is the CEO of Axis, the most convenient payment solution for Egyptian businesses. Karl Marco is the CEO of Octo, a digital banking platform focused on underserved and underbanked Egyptians. Both companies are in the Everywhere Ventures portfolio, but Jacques and Karl were also the co-founders of Raseedy, which was acquired a few years ago
How was it founding a company together? Would you do it again?
It was both a great experience and a challenge. A huge advantage of working with family is starting a business with someone you know very well, which settles many things quickly at the beginning. On the other hand, one expects working with family to always be smooth sailing, because you get along at home so well. When a disagreement on the direction or how to execute on a part of the business occurs, a typical part of any cofounder relationship, it has an added layer of weirdness to it with your sibling. You both ask yourself: “how is it that my brother doesn’t see this pivotal part like I do?” We might do it again - who knows what the future holds!
What's your favorite trait about your sibling at home and/or in the office?
Karl: Jacques is always calm and well thought out. No matter how frustrated he is he will never let that get to him in a business setting and will always keep a poker face. Jacques is a great negotiator. At home, Jacques always loves to tidy up the place which is amazing because you know the house is always going to be tidy when Jacques is around!
Jacques: My favorite trait about Karl at home is his creativity in preparing food and snacks (If left unchecked, we’d both gain 20 kilos). While my favorite trait about Karl in the office is his ability to tell it like it is, regardless of who he’s talking to.
Who's the oldest?
Jacques is older.
My sibling should win an award for ….
Jacques: Karl should win an award for driving, because he can consistently arrive before Google’s predicted ETA.
Karl: Jacques should win an award for his morning routine, because he has been able to have the same morning routine for the past 15 years.
Share a favorite family tradition
Every winter, we take a family trip during the Christmas season. For us, this our time to always connect as a family and enjoy a bit of time off in a winter holiday destination.
Claudia Recchi and Carolina Recchi are the co-founders of EdSights, a platform that combines AI, behavioral science, and texting to allow institutions to hear the voices of their students at scale and ensure a path to success for all learners.
What inspired you to build EdSights together?
The seed was planted early. As kids, we would play "adults,'' pretend-smoke pencils and imagine we were the co-owners of an imaginary hotel conglomerate called the Crystal Hotel. Fast forward through a variety of business ideas— we started EdSights when Claudia was a senior in college - we had observed a significant disconnect between students and colleges and had seen the need for a tool that helped colleges listen to the voices of their students. That got us started on EdSights.
What's your favorite trait about your sibling at home and/or in the office?
Carolina: At home - If there were an Olympic event for taking out the trash, Claudia would bring home the gold. Jokes aside, her obsession with keeping things spotless makes our home a much happier (and cleaner) place. At work - how pragmatic she is.
Claudia: At home - Carolina wields a spatula like a magic wand, turning the simplest ingredients into amazing meals. Unfortunately, her enthusiasm for cleaning doesn't quite match her culinary exploits. At work - her thoroughness and creativity.
Who's the oldest?
Carolina is two years older.
My sibling should win an award for..….
Carolina: Claudia is most likely to make checklists about checklists
Claudia: Carolina should win the award for best listener because she always listens open-mindedly and without judgment.
Share a favorite family tradition.
We have a sibling tradition of watching trashy Italian reality TV on Sunday nights with our dog, Pita.
Maria Azofra is the CEO and Julian Azofra is the CSO of Sharpei, a platform that enables retailers to effortlessly launch subscription or rental services directly from their website, in just minutes.
What inspired you to build Sharpei together?
In 2020, while Julian was completing his degree and I was living as a digital nomad, I faced the challenge of needing items for flexible durations. Encouraging Julian to tackle this issue for his end-of-degree project, we worked with Lucia Clifford to develop a small MVP for a rental marketplace. Surprisingly, it gained unexpected traction, prompting us to fully commit. Together, the three of us founded Yakk, our first venture. Sharpei followed as our second project together.
What's your favorite trait about your sibling at home and/or in the office?
Maria: At home, Julian is the most affectionate and attentive among us, he always brings back gifts for the whole family from his travels. In the office, I admire Julian's remarkable capacity to learn. He possesses a keen ability to absorb new information and skills.
Julian: At home, Maria is a whirlwind of creativity and action; she's always buzzing with new ideas or plans, making our family and friends’ lives an exciting adventure. In the office, it's her relentless drive to innovate that stands out. She's like a machine of ideas, always pushing us to think outside the box and keep moving forward. It's inspiring and, honestly, a bit exhausting just trying to keep up!
Who's the oldest?
Maria is the eldest, and Julian is the third of four siblings.
My sibling should win an award for….
Maria: Julian deserves the award for being the most enthusiastic cheerleader. He possesses a unique talent for motivating and uplifting others, often sharing Nike's ads and inspiring messages with the team.
Julian: Maria should definitely get the award for "Most Likely to make the Team Laugh with an Unintentional Double Entendre." Her talent for dropping comments that can be hilariously misinterpreted has given us some of the most memorable moments in the office.
Share a favorite family tradition.
Our family has a tradition of spending vacations in Cadiz, the southernmost part of Spain, where our father is from. There, we bond over delicious seafood and sailing. It's our little paradise.
Jessa Lux and McKinsey Lux are the co-founders of Ride iQ, providing on-demand, audio lessons taught by the world’s top equestrian coaches, guiding users while they ride.
What inspired you to build Ride iQ together?
We were living under one roof during COVID and started brainstorming company ideas as a dinner table activity. We got really excited about an idea we had to create an improved online marketplace for horse sales, which prompted us to start calling old friends from when we were horseback riders a decade earlier. After a lot of shameless requests for intros and 50+ phone calls with people in the equestrian industry, we pivoted from buying and selling horses to reimagining the way riders train with their horses. We launched Ride iQ to the market three years later and we’re so grateful for having pulled on that thread!
What's your favorite trait about your sibling at home and/or in the office?
Kinsey: Jessa has a superpower when it comes to making friends. She will meet someone once and not only remember their name but will likely know their whole life story. This is how Jessa has built a loyal and immensely supportive community of Ride iQ members.
Jessa: Kinsey has the most amazing, unbridled (pun intended), contagious laugh. All our lives I've watched her turn situations that would be mundane into truly joyful experiences because she started laughing. When she laughs, everyone laughs with her. It's the best.
Who's the oldest?
Jessa is older by 3 years.
My sibling should win an award for…
Kinsey: Jessa should win the award for best hype woman. Whether we have an important meeting or are running a half marathon together, no one is better at hyping us up than Jessa.
Jessa: Kinsey should win a lot of awards! She definitely deserves Most Likely to Rise to the Occasion. Big pitch? She nails it. A seemingly impossible deadline? She gets it done. Kinsey has yet to ever let me down.
Share a favorite family vacation.
When we were kids, our family went to Vieques, an island off Puerto Rico's eastern coast. One night, we took a starlit kayaking excursion to Mosquito Bay. The bay had the highest concentration of bioluminescent dinoflagellates in the world - dinoflagellates are single cell organisms that glow when agitated (e.g., when a paddle, hand, fish, or STINGRAY moves through the water). The bay was pitch black aside from all the glowing creatures in the water. It was truly incredible to witness and felt like an otherworldly experience.