Carlisa Amoomensah is a member of the Learning Sciences & Human Performance Cluster. As executive director and founder of 4 Your Love, a licensed, non-medical, elite companion care service in Brevard County, Carlisa’s priority is providing exceptional employee and client experiences. She realized there was a need for employee training to fully understand the fine details of a client’s journey and the caregiver’s role in supporting them. It was in this daily dance of balancing the needs of both caregivers and clients that the idea for ANAVI was born.
Read on for highlights from her interview with us about ANAVI VR and Carlisa’s accomplishments as a small-business owner.
What inspired the idea for your business?
My love for helping others paired with my love for innovation is what inspired ANAVI. Through my home health care business, I am committed to the daily work of effectively educating and supporting certified nursing assistants and home health aides in the world of health care. With my background/interest in technology and the metaverse, I knew there had to be a better, more effective and fun way of training (and learning) where these parallel worlds could benefit each other.
How has Central Florida’s innovation ecosystem supported your business growth? What resources have played a role in your success?
I was in search of an atmosphere to surround myself with a variety of business owners and was referred to Groundswell Startups, an ecosystem of businesses, creatives, technologists and innovators in Brevard County. It’s a community where you can build your business and make local connections. It’s been great working with AI expert, Derek Tishler owner of BoxMica (who I met at Groundswell) who is also a former VR app developer. I also worked with the weVENTURE, Women’s Business Center at Florida Institute of Technology, where advisers Jeanette Kraar and Kathy Register were a tremendous source of help and inspiration on my startup journey. I was able to go through the Ignite 360 mentorship program with weVENTURE, and the learnings I took away from the program were huge for my growth and development.
Can you share more about your involvement with Cenfluence and how it has impacted your business?
The variety of advisers I’ve met through the Cenfluence network have all been very knowledgeable and helpful during ANAVI’s early stages. I am so very excited to kick off a partnership with fellow Cluster Member, A Square. This strategic partnership will help me hit a big milestone for ANAVI and I look forward to sharing an update soon!
What personal or professional achievement are you most proud of? Why?
Following my passion, and starting and successfully running a small business for the past six years is an achievement of which I am very proud. This year, I was extremely humbled and honored to have been named “Female Small Business Owner of the Year” through weVENTURE’s 2022 Women Who Rock Awards.
Have you faced any challenges unique to women business owners? What advice would you give another woman looking to start her own tech company?
Female entrepreneurs often have a harder time obtaining funding, growing a support network, balancing family life, and reckoning with feelings of inadequacy and the fear of failure. I think I’ve dealt with every one of these challenges at some point along my journey. However, I never let that stop me from pushing forward and staying focused on my vision. I show up EVERY SINGLE DAY and will continue to do so until ANAVI hits the market.
