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Moberly, Missouri — anna Haney wants to know what people hate most about their jobs. No, really.
“The more I meet with manufacturers and the more I talk to people, my favorite question is, ‘What’s wrong with your job?'” Haney said. “And I just listen, because they try to tell me all the nasty things about their jobs.”
After figuring out pain points in every department across the organization, Haney and the two co-founders Novik Get to work; build customized safety, training, and compliance software solutions that help manufacturers digitize paper-based processes.
In fact, according to Haney, the inspiration for Noviqu was NMotion Growth Promoter The first cohort — born out of hearing managers complain to each other.
“The idea for Noviqu came out of a conversation where we were just bluntly complaining about work,” she said. “Literally 5 different managers making a ruckus together in front of 2 totally random software developers she doesn’t know, to let them know how shitty their lives are.”
Haney is energized by the prospect of solving these problems and improving workers’ day-to-day work experience, she said.
“You go on this journey with them,” said Haney. I spend a lot of my time and brain power on unimportant tasks.”
“I don’t like it either,” she continued. “As humans, your brain is used to solving problems. You can do so much more than sitting in front of your seat.”
Austin Gardner, Anna Haney, Chad Haney, Noviqu
founder
Noviqu was officially founded in 2017, but its concept dates back to 2014. That’s when Haney and her co-founder (and now her husband) Chad launched Tin Can Technologies in Columbia.
So they found Noviqu’s third co-founder, Austin Gardner, who also serves as the company’s CTO. Gardner joined Tin Can Technologies in 2015 as an intern. In his words, “I have no real programming experience.”
Gardner was studying Computer Science at Columbia College at the time, and his most recent job was at Bass Pro Shops. He saw an intern job offer in the university’s recruitment newsletter and applied.
According to Haney, it was immediately clear that Gardner would be a valuable asset despite his inexperience.
“Austin has worked with us on every project I’ve ever built professionally. He’s a phenomenal human being,” Haney said. “He came to work with us right out of college, and he stayed with us forever. , too worth it.”
Gardner said the three Noviqu co-founders function as a family. This became especially true once Chad and Anna tied the knot.
“They joke that they’d love to adopt me if they could,” Gardner said.
Founders of the 2022 NMotion Growth Accelerator Cohort mingle at a recent launch event. Photo credit: Scott Henderson, NMotion
From Moberly to NMotion
Although the company’s roots are in Colombia, the family-focused Novik now operates in nearby Moberly, a town of about 15,000 people 35 miles north of the university town of central Missouri.
The Haneys moved to Moberly to be closer to Chad’s two teenage daughters, at least until they graduated from high school. The couple has since purchased her RV and plans to travel with their youngest daughter, now 7, for several years, Anna said.
“We wanted to make sure we were there for them as they grew,” Haney said. Doing just isn’t enough, so we moved to Moberly so we can give our kids a 50/50.
But Haney knows Moberly isn’t the typical environment for a startup. That’s one of the reasons she applied to her Noviqu to participate in her 12-week NMotion accelerator based in Omaha.
“Part of the idea and benefit of using a program like NMotion is putting myself and the company back in an ecosystem where we have good people around us who understand our experience,” Haney said. said.
“We have a few small business owners in our town, and nothing beats the start-up struggles and start-up process that traditional small businesses don’t have,” she added.
Haney said there are other reasons the Noviqu team joined the accelerator program. First, they wanted to solidify and grow their sales process. Second, it provided a great opportunity to be paired with a mentor who could provide ongoing guidance.
Anna Haney of Noviqu at the 2018 Techstars Kansas City Demo Day
‘We must do better’
According to Gardner, during the three-month accelerator period, Moberly’s technology was mostly “holding the fort” while Anna moved to Omaha. Chad Haney is no longer involved in day-to-day operations.
trio participated Techstars Kansas City Accelerator It was announced in 2018, but wasn’t ready to scale at that point, according to Anna.
After what Haney described as years of “neglect” after the pandemic, Noviqu has refocused its mission and now works regularly with 10 clients and plans to scale. .
Meanwhile, Haneys found a gym in Moberly, where he now coaches. Anna Haney said her fitness was the spark that got them and Novik on track, noting that “pain is where your growth is” in her work, fitness and life. did.
Noviqu’s ultimate goal, she said, is to help other like-minded companies grow by keeping managers from being overwhelmed with monotony.
“It takes the right person with the right mentality to say, ‘OK, we’re not going to do this status quo of BS any longer.’ We need to do better,” she said. . “These companies are Noviqu’s biggest customers and where I add value to any business, so that’s what I try to find.”
“If only you could find someone who cared enough to make your life better and easier,” Haney continued.
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