Conscious Entrepreneurship: May I introduce April LaMon of Alosant
April LaMon had an innate curiosity and sense of attraction toward marketing and consumer behavior from very early on. Throughout her career, she worked with global companies such as PepsiCo., Kraft Foods Group and Armstrong World Industries — all of which were highly data driven. This experience ultimately led her to co-founding Lead In-Site, a provider of senior living industry online research behavior, with her business partner Michael Swanson. The company quickly grew in prominence and popularity, to the point the two were tapped by a master-planned community developer in Southern California to address a growing need: a native mobile app to support community lifestyle services. From there, Alosant and the Alosant ResX solution was born.
In 2017, the team developed a solution: a comprehensive, community-branded lifestyle app to house ‘everything in one place,’ from event calendars and amenity passes to outdoor recreation maps, business listings, and more. The app was an instant hit among community residents, achieving an 90% adoption rate in the first three months.
Since then, Alosant has grown exponentially, and through its Alosant ResX solution, the company now powers native apps for more than 50 of the fastest growing and most progressive master-planned communities across the country.
CONSCIOUS ENTREPRENEURSHIP — What meaning do you give this term?
My job, my role, my desire as a conscious entrepreneur is to be in a constant state of learning and to avoid feeling like I am in a place of knowing. The world is changing so quickly and if I feel so set in my ideas, I might miss something that could be really vital and important to the company, to the people who work here, and to myself.
To me, the idea of being really conscious and purposeful about what I’m doing is to be in an eager state of learning, a state of curiosity, and a state of “what else?” vs. “I already know.”
CAREER — What led you to your particular career path?
I’ve always been intrigued by trying to understand why people do the things they do, as well as frustrated when they articulate what they say they will do and then I observe them doing something else. That discernment led me to marketing and consumer behavioral marketing, in particular. I’ve had great opportunities in my career to play with that idea. Whether it was in a transactional environment at Pepsi where we wanted to be at arms-length every time someone got thirsty to integrating futuristic augmented reality components into our Alosant software before it’s even requested.
When I look at that trajectory, particularly in the rear-view mirror, I see that I have leaned into that paradox throughout my career.
MENTORS — We all need a little help along the journey. Who has been an invaluable mentor for you? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
Between my first and second year of graduate school, I went to work for General Mills and was introduced to Ann Fudge. She just struck me as such an authentic person and it was incredibly compelling to me to meet this woman, working in 1986 in a senior position at a Fortune 100 company.
Seeing an African American woman in a leadership role was something I identified with considering my Mexican heritage. Ann didn’t look like everyone else and that really helped me believe that I could fit into this world, too. It was possible to be me…I could be a woman, I could succeed, and I could create my own path. Later that year, I took the opportunity to follow Ann from General Mills to General Foods and continued to work in her organization for several years.
The most powerful memory I have of Ann was her standing at the coffee station with tears in her eyes. I said, “oh my gosh, what’s the matter?” and she said, “Oh no I’m fine, my baby started high school today.” She had such a unique way of exemplifying humanity while at the same time being a powerful force in business. I just thought in that moment, this is the person I want to be like. I was fortunate to work with her in the late 80’s during those formative years of my career.
TO THRIVE — When you see yourself thriving: Do you see yourself opening up opportunities for others along the way to participate in your success, and how?
Hiring young professionals and taking my cumulative experience from a place of mentorship and development is probably the greatest source of satisfaction in what I do today. It is really important for me to be present in the lives of people in their early 20’s. I often speak at college classes and judge entrepreneurship competitions and perhaps, it is because I woud like to be the Ann Fudge for someone else.
CAUSE — What are the causes close to your heart, and you are supporting right now? Can you share a story how you got involved? How did it make you feel?
I come from a blue collar, working class family and I had no idea of the possibilities that were available to me. My cause today is more internal. I want people to see that there are so many possibilities. As a conscious entrepreneur and part of a fast-growing company, it is important to me to build a team at Alosant that I can grow and develop as future leaders.
THE FUTURE — How do you see the face of entrepreneurship in 5 years? How do companies /brands need to adapt to secure their place in the future?
When we look at the past, which is always a good place to start when thinking about the future, there has typically been an ethos of ‘grow at any cost,’ and part of that comes at the expense of people. While this is not universally the case, there’s often an attitude of revering exhaustion, burnout, or grinding people… and when they can’t take it anymore, they become easily replaceable.
Part of conscious entrepreneurship is knowing this is not okay. Growth at any cost is not aspirational. We are hiring whole people and when people can bring their whole self to work and be part of a team, they are naturally going to accomplish more, and produce better, healthier outcomes.
What I see in this generation is a value system that says, I am more than my career and I am more than my job. I think we need to embrace an ideology in the next five years that allows whole people to effectively contribute to their job while respecting that many parts of their wholeness don’t happen in the office.
ADVICE — What kind of advice would you like to give to an aspiring entrepreneur who feels limited due to their background or lack of resources?
My advice for those who feel limited is to find a way to get out of the “not enough” mindset. Rather than focusing on not having enough money, experience, or whatever it may be, go back to refining the problem you’re trying to solve. Validate that problem with the people you believe have it — your target market, and then truly craft a solution someone is willing to invest in.
CHALLENGES — Entrepreneurship is very challenging. We each have our own coping mechanism. Mine is humor. What is yours? Can you share a story?
In my experience, one of the most challenging elements of being an entrepreneur is trying to project the future. In business, we create plans and visions and focus on staying adaptable. One of the things I find most centering is having an outlet that compels me to be 100% present. Whether I am flyfishing or playing classical piano, I have to be 100% focused and in the moment to really enjoy it and have a satisfying experience.
As entrepreneurs we spend so much time thinking about what might be, what will be, what we want to be. Part of being a conscious entrepreneur is saying yes, we must project and strategize, but it’s really important to find something else in our lives that we can’t enjoy or be successful at unless we are 100% present.
INSPIRATION — Is there an entrepreneurial book or podcast that inspires you that you would like to share with our readers?
I love Brené Brown’s podcasts Dare to Lead and Unlocking Us. They lean into the notion of developing a daring leadership style and I find that incredibly powerful and affirming. Her content is rooted in behavioral research and creates a level of awareness which naturally dovetails into conscious entrepreneurship.
YOU — Is there anything you would like to share that we have not asked you here?
My business partner Mike Swanson and I started our first company when I was 50 and he was 25. It has been that multi-generational thinking and approach to problem solving that has created such a successful dynamic. Our previous career differences and experiences have created a unique combination of complementary skills. We attribute the success of Alosant to our shared core values and in the integrity and ownership of our individual contributions. Most importantly, we acknowledge that our ultimate currency with clients is delivering on our promises.
THANK YOU!
Connect with April LaMon on LinkedIn.
Demee Koch about the MEDIUM interview series on CONSCIOUS ENTREPRENEURSHIP:
Conscious entrepreneurship for me is about building a sustainable business that values and respects the resources used and makes an effort of giving back to society.
I believe we need entrepreneurs to really get involved in the causes close to their heart.
This is why I reach out to entrepreneurs that aim for more than generating profit. With this interview, I aim to share entrepreneurial purpose-led passion to inspire others.
Looking forward to learn from you. Reach out to me via LinkedIn.
Demee ❤︎
