Lean In: Patti Rogers

Patti Rogers shares career updates since her 2013 cover story and how Rallyhood is transforming community.

Photo courtesy of Patti Rogers

This month, like countless other small businesses and local companies, Austin Woman was faced with the financial ripples of COVID-19. A May issue was no longer a guarantee—without some help. Our founder, Melinda Garvey, turned to the women who have always been our loudest and best cheerleaders: our former cover women. She asked if they would lean in and support us, so in turn we can continue to support all Austin women. The responses were immediate and humbling.

Patti Rogers, the founder of Rallyhood and a 2013 cover woman, was one of the many women who leaned in. We’re so grateful for her support and we hope as she supported us, you will support her. We asked Rogers what she’s been doing since her cover story and how Rallyhood is transforming community.

Austin Woman: In your Austin Woman cover story, you shared your cancer journey that led to founding Rallyhood. What have been some career highlights since your 2013 cover?

Patti Rogers: Wow, it’s hard to believe it’s been seven years! Since then, Rallyhood has made enterprise-quality collaboration and community building more accessible for all, and we now serve hundreds of thousands of users and groups across the U.S. Rallyhood’s all-in-one platform helps purpose-driven communities that need more than email to communicate, collaborate, share documents, coordinate tasks, take surveys, manage events and collect money. Historically, these groups have been forced to use fragmented tools scattered all over the internet to try to get things done. The result is usually very frustrating, and people burn out quickly.

Our philosophy has been that when a group is well organized and information is easy to find, people are more likely to stay engaged around the mission, which creates a better, shared experience—everyone wins. We see it as a ripple effect of helping people help. In the past 12 months, we have expanded our offerings to include event management, payment collection and premium solutions for enterprise clients.

It’s really exciting to see the diversity of group size and mission on the platform, as we have groups with a handful of members scaling up to organizations with tens of thousands of members. Equally exciting is the diversity of causes that bring folks together, including youth sports, cheer and robotics; Girl Scouts councils; associations; faith-based communities; nonprofits; schools and classes; fitness groups; and small to medium-sized businesses. Not to mention, families, friends and neighborhoods.

AW: You created a company centered on community and helping others. How have you fostered community and seen your concept of connectivity evolve during this unique time of isolation?

PR: The inspiration for Rallyhood came as a result of my journey through breast cancer. But it wasn’t cancer that changed my life; it was kindness and community that changed my life. The reality is the power of community is a game-changer in our health, hope and happiness. Community is how we rise up and overcome. And in this unprecedented moment in human history, it is how we are going to survive this crisis.

In light of our new reality, the Rallyhood team is working to bring even more tools to help keep our communities connected. We are adding chat features, video conferencing and new functionality that will give our users the flexibility to further personalize their group’s site based on their needs.

AW: How can Austinites support you and your business right now?

PR: Rallyhood is here to help our ATX community! If you or anyone you know is looking to build an online community with social, collaboration and productivity tools all in one place, please visit us at rallyhood.com. You can start a free Rally site or request a demo of our premium tools for your organization. Together, we can do great things!

WHAT’S BEEN ON YOUR READING LIST OR NETFLIX QUEUE DURING QUARANTINE?

I’m currently jumping between a book about business culture, What You Do Is Who You Are, by Ben Horowitz, and a motivational book, You Are A Badass, by Jen Sincero that all Austin women should have on their bedside table. The quarantine watchlist is varied but I’ve started watching Cheers to keep things light and stress-free. I suppose there’s some irony in that it’s a show about people coming together as part of a tribe “where everyone knows your name.” I know we are all missing that in our lives right now.

Read more stories of our former cover women who joined our Lean In campaign.

READ MORE FROM THE MAY ISSUE