Five Questions with a Startup CEO: Charlie Warden of Tersa Inc.

Charlie Warden, CEO, Tersa Inc.

Tersa is all about making clothing care more efficient. We wanted to take a chore that nobody likes doing, and find a way to make it more efficient and user focused. We have created an automated clothing care system meant to supplement traditional textile care methods like ironing, laundry, and dry cleaning.

What does your company do best?

Our company has gotten very good at adapting with purpose. For a while, we pivoted too much, often times without significant reason to be doing so. Once we identified our focused value add to users, it became much easier to remain adaptable while still progressing forward with each pivot.

If you could change one thing about your product/service or industry-what would it be and why?

If I must pick one, we are trying to change the perception that a clothing item can only be worn once or twice before needing a full cleaning cycle. If we can change these perceptions we will be saving people time, money, and stress.

Startups sometimes experience growing pains, what helps you get through these startup cycles?

We focus on never getting overly confident when a day goes right, and even more importantly, we have to be dedicated to our mission even when things are going horribly. Progress is always good, but the bumps in the road during that progress are what really propel us forward as a group.

What has surprised you during your time with this startup?

First surprise, I know very little about anything. Second surprise, with a dedication to learning you can become well-versed in any given area quicker than you might think.

What advice would you give to an aspiring entrepreneur?

Two pieces of advice, coming from someone who still considers himself an aspiring entrepreneur; first, don’t get too high, don’t get too low. Entrepreneurship has been a rollercoaster, balancing relationships, personal growth, failure after failure, and incremental successes all at the same time is a very big challenge. But it is totally worth it if you truly love the people you work with and the company you’re building. Second, embrace uncertainty, failure and don’t be afraid to jump off the cliff. The past year has been the most uncertain of my life. Getting my team to embrace this uncertainty and jump off the cliff with me has been the biggest step forward of all. Worst thing that can happen: still broke, learned a lot, ready to do it better the next time.

For more information, visit their website at tersasteam.com.