Entrepreneurial Journey of a First-Generation Immigrant: Building Hangtight
Welcome to the fascinating journey of Armando Vera Carvajal, a tech entrepreneur of Mexican descent, and co-founder and CEO of Hangtight. Discover the breadth of his experiences, from immigrating to the United States as a toddler, to navigating the dynamic world of startups and evolving as an agile and resilient entrepreneur.
My Background
Every tale has a beginning and mine started in Mexico.
Born in Mexico, I moved to the US with my younger sister Gloria and our parents when I was just four. My parents decided to give up their careers to move to America as missionaries. My father, who harbored dreams of becoming the president of Mexico and my mother, a physician, both chose the path of sacrifice for a chance at the fabled "American Dream". Although too young to fully comprehend the magnanimity of their decision then, today I stand as a testament to their vision. I realized that this was the most defining moment of our lives.
The Immigrant Experience: Cultural Adaptation & Language Barrier
Adapting to a new culture is far from smooth sailing and was one of the biggest challenges I faced. Understanding this is difficult unless you've experienced it first hand. My parents insisted on speaking Spanish at home, rendering me unable to fully fit into my English-speaking surroundings. This linguistic difference often led to misunderstandings and made me feel alien in school.
"Adapting and assimilating into a new culture is not easy... I didn't speak English fluently until I was in the third grade, mainly because at home, Spanish was the language that was spoken... My parents wanted to make sure that I could still observe that culture."
In the face of having no option but to move forward, I nurtured my curiosity and desire to learn, which ultimately boosted my ability to foster better relationships. This lead me to pursue new endeavors. I was always inclined towards entrepreneurship and was constantly looking for ways to create and generate revenue, even in high school. My venture started with selling homemade cheesecakes door-to-door, not just providing me with an income but fostering my entrepreneurial spirit.
Catalyst for Change: From Undecided to Double Major
During my tenure at the University of Texas, I pursued two degrees - international relations and corporate communication. Initially, I was unsure of my academic path, which led me to explore various fields of study. I was rejected by the McCombs School of Business at UT twice and failing to figure out my aspirations. This led to inevitable comparisons, indecisiveness, moments of self-doubt, and a constant struggle to fit in. However, this indecisiveness ultimately proved beneficial when I was introduced to international relations, an emerging major at the time. Looking back now, I realize that being part of a new program opened up a world of opportunities for me, including meeting people who later became my investors and staunch supporters in life. Embarking on my journey as a guinea pig, I soon immersed myself in the international world, which opened up opportunities to further my education abroad in Paris and Singapore.
"Your experiences, decisions, and relationships impact you in ways you can't immediately see but shape your path for years."
My journey also led me back to my Mexican roots. Despite perceived challenges, I see Mexico as a potential powerhouse ripe with opportunities and prospects waiting to be unlocked. These formative global experiences largely shaped my open worldview and lofty ambitions as an entrepreneur.
Venturing to the Amazon: Plant Medicine
The biggest challenge that continues to push me forward is to honor what my parents have given up and their dreams they left behind. Fueled by my desire to help humanity heal and bridge gaps, I started my expedition into the depths of the Amazon jungle in Peru, a journey that opened the doors to a new life for me. I experienced South American plant medicine ayahuasca. My battle with deep-seated insecurities and self-doubt faded away as the realization dawned upon me that to succeed, I had to believe in myself and my vision.
"Having a clear understanding of who you are and why you are doing it is crucial in succeeding as an entrepreneur.”
Experiencing the profound nature of ayahuasca gave me the courage and mindset to become an entrepreneur.
Transitioning from Dreamer to Doer
After overcoming my self-doubt, I fearlessly pursued my bold vision, and Hangtight was born. Hangtight is an AI-powered social planning app built to revolutionize coordinating group hangouts. The idea really took shape when my co-founder, Rich Fortune, and I started exploring it. Seeing the positive response from friends and mentors, we decided to make it into a reality. Securing funds was a major hurdle but we were presented with an unexpected opportunity – acquiring our competition, GoPlanIt(formerly called Gathr). Overcoming negotiations and financial hurdles, we managed to complete the acquisition and advance Hangtight to its current state. The acquisition was a significant milestone, adding superior tech stack, machine learning models, and userbases to our helm.
"Quitting was unacceptable given my parents sacrificed everything for me to be here."
We have also been able to build a world-class team of rockstar advisors, including the Former COO of OpenTable, Former Director of Data Science & Analytics at Bird Scooter (who's also a genius computational neuroscientist with 20+ years of experience with ML/AI), Former VP of Consumer Marketing for OpenTable, Lyft, SurveyMonkey, Former VP of Engineering at Indeed, the former Head of Product Design at LinkedIn, and also one of the earliest team members from TikTok who built their influencer and celebrity platform from zero to one.
With advanced natural language processing, Hangtight removes tedious planning back-and-forths, indecision, and ghosting to make social coordination seamless and stress-free. It has immense potential to transform real-life social experiences. Our vision for Hangtight is an intelligent and intuitive social assistant that understands and caters to your social needs. Embracing the future of AI, we strive to make Hangtight as much of a personal concierge, knowing and understanding your preferences better than even yourself.
Don’t Give Up: Overcoming Obstacles with Resilience
The significance and impact of every decision I made pay off every day. I am proud of my journey - of overcoming struggles and insecurities, finding my path, and building a platform with potential to impact numerous lives. From leaving a successful corporate career to risking it all to pursue my startup vision, my path shows the power of unwavering determination, clear vision, and self-belief.
"Don't give up and quit…If you succeed, you succeed big. If you fail, guess what? Try again, do something else, but don't give up."
Given the unpredictability of entrepreneurial paths, my journey emphasizes resilience, agility and openness to change. Through the unpredictable ups and downs, I persevered by believing in myself, contributing to something bigger, and carrying forward my parents' legacy. Understand your "why" and work towards making your dreams a reality. You are not alone on this journey; embrace the failures, learnings, and personal growth it brings. Remember, the world needs more doers than dreamers, so keep pushing boundaries and keep moving forward!
Listen to the full episode here.
Download the Hangtight app here.
