Parker Barnett, GEN’18, Founder of Fellow Hunter
What did you set out to achieve this summer with the Summer Venture Award, and did you do so? If not, what changed?
Fellow Hunter had an ambitious summer planned. At a high level we set out to:
- Secure all of the legal agreements,
- Complete ethnographic research,
- Develop a website and booking platform,
- Sign up twenty landowners, and
- Begin to accept bookings.
Almost all of this was achieved. We were able to sign up two landowners. It turned out to be incredibly difficult to locate willing landowners and we continue to work on increasing the number. We are excited about having two properties signed up and are looking forward to reaching ten properties.
Describe a great startup moment from this summer.
Securing the first landowner. Late in the summer, a landowner received our mailing collateral, signed up online, and took us around his property. Signing up this first landowner provided Fellow Hunter credibility and helped us securing our second property.
How have your Summer Venture Award mentors, Laurent Adamowicz, WG’84 and Amy Radin, WG’83, helped you?
Over the summer I was able to meet with my mentors several times. Each mentor helped focus my efforts and provide assistance in helping plan effective resource allocation. One of my mentors set up a meeting with the angel fund Soundboard Angel Fund, which would not have been possible without my mentors introduction.
How will you work on your startup over the coming school year?
Penn’s Integrated Product Design program, which I am currently enrolled in, only requires me to take 3 classes to complete in my final year. This will allow me to spend a significant amount of my time over the next 9 months working on Fellow Hunter. As we generate increased interest in Fellow Hunter we will begin building a custom, in-house platform that moves away from Squarespace and allows for complete customization of the Fellow Hunter experience. We will continue to grow the number of landowners and users.
Posted: September 29, 2017
