Balancing life as an entrepreneur, family man and MBA student

Learn why Elan Mosbacher ’16 MBA chose Evanston to study, live and run his companies and how simple choices have created big impact.
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Kellogg
5 minute read

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Elan Mosbacher with some of his team at Pinch, a start-up based in Evanston, Illinois.
Elan Mosbacher (back left) and some of the team members at Pinch, a healthcare tech startup.

Elan Mosbacher ’16 MBA is the co-founder and CEO of Pinch, a start-up based in Evanston, Illinois. Mosbacher earned his MBA through the part-time MBA program at Kellogg while also leading SpotHero and raising young children. He recently sat down with us to chat about his decision to choose the Midwest as his home base, how taking the road less traveled can be the most rewarding one and the truth behind work-life balance.

 

Tell us about the origin of your new company and why you launched it in Evanston?

On January 24, 2020, I got an urgent WeChat message. 

My cousin, who is based in China, was advising me to defer my February visit to China. Two months later, in late March 2020, the pandemic hit. Our company revenue dropped more than 90%. And like many other families navigating school during COVID-19, we had three kids who were old enough for “Zoom school,” but too young to do school by themselves at home with us all day.

While that moment in time was quite challenging, over time my quality of life improved. We felt blessed thanks to the ability of folks in tech to work remotely, side-gig and access self-care at home. Meanwhile, a smart childhood schoolmate of mine who became a trauma surgeon had a different outcome. His colleagues in healthcare continued to feel burned out after the pandemic. Without the flexibility of remote work afforded to tech workers and other professionals, those in healthcare felt ready to quit.

One day he called me about it, and, we started Pinch to empower healthcare entrepreneurs. Pinch enables nurse practitioners (NPs) to launch their own businesses in the aesthetics industry because that's what so many NPs want to get into. Pinch Providers work when and where they want and earn more per hour than in their day job. Pinch clients get medical spa services in the comfort and privacy of their own home.

We’ve also been seeing a growing demand from companies for “Pinch Parties” to entertain their clients. We have a big vision for the future, but today Pinch is a tech-enabled mobile medical spa in Chicago that comes to you.

So, why Evanston? I was born here, went to school here and now live near here. In Evanston, we’re close to Northwestern University for talent, easy transportation and more. I love being back in Evanston and hope we can stay here for a long time. There’s no shortage of talent and I’d tell anyone considering Kellogg that Chicago and Evanston are great places to launch a career — especially if you have a family.

Elan Mosbacher appeared on Nasdaq's Spotlight to share how SpotHero was disrupting the future of mobility during his time with the company.
Mosbacher appeared on Nasdaq's Spotlight to share how SpotHero was disrupting the future of mobility during his time with the company.

How did your Kellogg experience impact your prior role at SpotHero?

Shortly after I started Kellogg, SpotHero began to take off. We also learned we were expecting another child. I had every reason to drop out — an insane startup job, intense family life and more — but I stuck it out and I’m so glad I did.

Believe it or not, there is a Kellogg case study about the project and my peers decided to tackle it during our market research class with professor Kevin McTigue.

I had convinced some new classmates to study SpotHero for our business case. Through our findings, we were able to identify the most profitable customer segment. While obvious now, at the time we didn’t know. Most competitors targeted the cheapest client to acquire, but based on this research we chose to focus on the most valuable client. Ultimately, that insight helped SpotHero become the market leader it is today.

How did you find the right balance when running a startup, raising young kids and being a student? 

As professor Harry Kraemer teaches: there is no work-life balance, there is only life balance. Looking back, I am not sure how we did it, but I can tell you it is possible. You set clear priorities. You manage time well. You have a supportive family and talented team. You make it work.

What advice would you give Kellogg students trying to start a business?

Ideas are easy. Starting is hard. Executing well is even harder. So, stop thinking and just get started.

Anything else you’d like to share?

I was the first SpotHero team member to get an MBA. Now, I can count at least five team members who later applied to Kellogg. Another 15+ team members with MBAs went onto become founders, chief marketing officers or vice presidents of marketing at other startups in Chicago and around the globe.

I speak with folks seeking advice, transitioning jobs or experiencing major life events nearly every week. And I get great pleasure from giving back to my team, classmates and community in that way. I'm able to do a much better job of that because of my time at Kellogg.

Learn more about him at ElanMosbacher.com and read his writing at ScaleYourStartup.com.