In November 2023, 20Fathoms, our regional ecosystem partner supporting entrepreneurs and technology start-ups, received a Small Business Support Hubs grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. The funding is helping support 20Fathoms’ expansion to offer its services to small businesses in all ten counties of Northwest Michigan, including Manistee, Charlevoix, Cadillac, and Petoskey. The support also means that Northwest Michigan entrepreneurs can access new funding and resources through its new partnerships with Michigan SBDC, Northern Lakes Economic Alliance, Venture North, and Traverse Connect. New services include grants, business consultations, educational programming, and professional service provider support. All entrepreneurs in Northwest Michigan are eligible.
One startup in the Grand Traverse region has utilized 20Fathoms’ services after its founder, Sabrina Jordan, attended 20Fathoms’ Women in Tech meetup.
CLIENT SPOTLIGHT: 8BIT INSIGHTS
Data consultant Sabrina Jordan has done it all; from data architecture to data engineering, data analysis and reporting, her career has taken her across a wide range of industries. That experience serves her well in her new role: entrepreneur. She founded her own consulting company, 8bit Insights, in 2024. Rewind four years. In 2020, Sabrina took a job at Blue Granite Consulting. “That’s where I fell in love with consulting,” she reflects. “I felt like I’d found my niche. It was the best company I’d ever worked for, and I was very excited about it. I felt fulfilled every day when I went to work.” Two years later, the company was acquired. Sabrina didn’t feel aligned anymore, and decided to launch her own business, rooted in her values. Instead of a privately-owned company, she planned to operate as employee-owned. As she journeyed down this path, Sabrina wanted to network and connect with other women, especially women who understood how challenging it is to start your own business. That led her to Women in Tech, a monthly networking happy hour hosted by 20Fathoms at Earthen Ales. “Getting clients, finding funding, just being in this male-dominated space, I knew there would be fantastic insights at this type of a gathering, and a community and camaraderie that would hopefully bring success to all of us,” she says.\
20FATHOMS’ INTERVIEW WITH SABRINA JORDAN
20Fathoms: What is 8bit Insights? What does it look like for someone to work with you?
Sabrina Jordan: Almost every business has data problems that they don’t know how to approach. Maybe they have multiple systems and the data doesn’t talk to each other; they might have really burning business questions they don’t know how to answer because inventory data and sales data are in different places. Having a data consultant come in that can build them a system that can answer those questions is the greatest value I can think of. When someone gets in touch, we do a discovery call; I introduce myself briefly but we spend most of the time getting into the challenges they face, the questions they want to answer, digging into their needs. If it looks like they are going to be a good fit, and I have possible solutions, we talk about a proposal and there might be more discovery calls to ensure what I am proposing will work, we check in throughout the process, and there’s a wrap up call at the end. A lot of consulting companies want you to keep coming back but I ensure you have the skills to continue independently. If you want to come back for another project it’s because you trust us, not because you didn’t have another choice.
20Fathoms: What’s your vision for your company?
Sabrina: Ultimately I’d love to have 64 employees. That’s the point at which I feel you can have a completely flat hierarchy. It’s also a data joke! I feel like it’s the best number of people to stay connected, where you can fall back on each other and have questions, get expertise, ensure that everyone in the company is able to be the best that they can be. They’re not forgotten, they’re not overlooked or lacking support. To me that’s the right size before you start to get too big. I’m looking for sustainable growth, looking for an equilibrium instead of constant growth and striving. For some companies if you just keep striving for growth you end up never hitting the mark on a great culture or satisfied clients. I would love to have a sustainable company that pays employees really well and has the best benefits you can get by staying small and agile and targeted.
20Fathoms: How did you get involved with Women in Tech? What made you decide to come out for the first time?
Sabrina: I was hoping to network with other women – especially those who understand how difficult it is to get started with your own business, to get clients, find funding, and be in a traditionally male-dominated space. I knew there would be fantastic insights, and community/camaraderie that would hopefully bring success to all of us.
20Fathoms: What has come out of your involvement with Women in Tech?
Sabrina: First and foremost, my amazing branding and website! I had tried to do my own website and logo, and it was fine, but when I met Jaime [Edmondson] at Women in Tech and she started talking about how she was looking for clients to get started and was offering a special, I looked at her website Spellbound Creative Studio. I was so blown away by the quality, comparing it to my own. I didn’t feel legitimate with the website I’d built myself… it looked like all the others. Jaime’s process helped me define my business more than I ever thought I would need to define it. We got so involved in the details and really honed in on what makes 8bit so unique from the competition. It was more than just a brand and a website; it helped me understand who I am and who my company is. That never would have happened if it weren’t for Women in Tech. I wouldn’t have sought it out; I would have assumed it would be too expensive. At Women in Tech, the people who have showed up have come from all sorts of different walks of life, different places in their life, from college students who have questions about what it’s like to work in tech to retired people who are looking to start another business in tech or continue a side project. That variety is what makes the community so strong and gives you so much insight that can help you out. Despite that huge variety, there’s such a strong bond in the women who show up. That’s what makes it so valuable and rewarding.