Robyn is the founder and CEO of The Uncomplicated Family Corporate Group – a group of companies that includes Kids Uncomplicated Inc. (Clinical and Family Support Services) and Communities Uncomplicated Inc. (Software Development: Teleroo™ Technology). She was the 2016 AWE Upsurge Award recipient.
It’s been an incredible year for Robyn and her team at The Uncomplicated Family Corporate Group. As one of the recipients of the prestigious Straight A Fund, the company will now be able to take Teleroo™ technology across borders to support select school districts in Ohio, providing parents and teachers with customized intervention strategies to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities in an efficient and effective manner.
“I would consider winning this funding for our technology our biggest success of the year,” said Robyn. “It’s so important for service-based companies to embrace technology. Otherwise, scaling globally is a human resources nightmare. If you can use technology, you can allow for concentration – it gets rid of geographic boundaries.” Teleroo™ started as a hardware, was developed into a software, and is now living in the cloud so that it can be scaled to help vulnerable populations internationally.
This expansion opportunity has not come without its challenges. Robyn ran into problems with getting support from traditional and commercial lenders, as they don’t typically place a monetary value on intellectual property. When she applied to AWE for a loan, she had been bootstrapping just to make it happen. “AWE was amazing. You guys are the only ones who provided us with timely debt-financing and a streamlined RFP and administrative process.”
Robyn shared with us that the loans program was just the foot in the door to the help she would find at AWE. “I first got involved through the funding AWE offered. I learned about that program and then realized there’s this whole network of women entrepreneurs. What inspired me was to have other women that were going through some of the same challenges as I was. AWE created a venue for us to be able to learn together, to share our stories, and our obstacles. I think that’s really critical for entrepreneurs.”
Robyn is an alumnus of the PeerSpark™ program (called the Excelerator program when she was a part of it) and spoke to some of the ways that it helped her as she passionately pursued growth for her company. “There are days when I think, “What made me think I could lead a technology company to a global market?” You have moments like that, and just to receive positive feedback that you are doing a good job and to have the support of fellow entrepreneurs makes a big difference.”
After losing her mother to breast cancer, Robyn founded this group of companies on her mother’s legacy of service and love of helping children. This has lit a fire in her soul to fiercely lead The Uncomplicated Family towards an amazing growth strategy that is proving it is well on its way to changing lives internationally. “In five years I see The Uncomplicated Family and Teleroo™ serving millions of children in multiple countries around the world. There are also other social causes I feel I have a contribution to make towards, but I want to complete my work with this population first. I want to see the world and have a positive global impact.”
Our team at AWE is excited to see this expansion plan unfold, and to continue to support Robyn in any way we can. “You guys have been outstanding. AWE is the one continuity across my business. Other funders or advisors have come and gone, but your team has consistently provided support and flexibility.”
