Rising ICON #2: Isaac Kamsin
What name do you prefer to be called?
Isaac.
What are your pronouns?
Him / His
Where did you grow up?
I was born in South Sudan, East Africa but grew up in the Audubon Park and Waite Park neighborhoods of Northeast Minneapolis. After college I lived in Uptown.
What city are you currently based in?
Now I’m back in Northeast Minneapolis.
How do you typically introduce yourself to new people?
I’m always curious about people so a variation of, “Hey! I’m Isaac! What’s your story?”
What’s one thing you wish more people knew about you?
I don’t know if this is something I wish more people knew but I think it’s something that surprises some people but for a very short time I tried stand up.
Who do you help?
We help homeowners tackle home maintenance confidently and enable service pros to extend their reach beyond geographical limits.
What are you building now?
Currently, we're building Abe, a real-time web and mobile platform that connects homeowners with experts for immediate home maintenance advice.
What were you building ten years ago today?
Wow – great question! Let’s see, 10 years ago, I was building a startup called fotoClient. It was a CRM for professional photographers! I can’t believe that was 10 years ago! Time flies.
What do you predict of yourself 10 years from now?
In 10 years, I aim to achieve a few more successful exits and expand my service-oriented leadership. Maybe expanding and scaling the clinic in Northern Uganda I’ve been building with my cousin. We’ll see.
What’s a fact or statistic you wish everyone knew about your industry?
More people choose to tackle a home project themselves than hire out. About 70% home project are taken on and completed by the homeowner! If we could increase this DIY rate by just 1%, it could have a significant impact on the U.S. economy.
Why do you believe the work you do matters?
The short answer is that we have an opportunity to build a product that help service pros in rural areas connect with homeowners in cities. So much knowledge is trapped in different communities. Excited to build something that bridges the gap!
Who is your mentor and what is the best advice they’ve given you?
I’ve been fortunate to have a strong network of folks who I can approach and get great advice on most things. Tim Gollie would be up there. I’ve known him since I was in 10th grade and is always a phone call away. “How you show up for your family matters more than any professional accomplishment.”
What piece of content about you or your company are you most proud of?
I'm particularly proud of the launch video for Abe. Initially, I hadn't planned on creating a video until I saw a post by Merci Grace about her startup Panobi’s launch. Inspired, I decided to quickly put together a launch video for our announcement on Instagram and used it again a week later when we announced it on Linkedin. The decision proved to be highly effective - the video received great engagement and shares, and most importantly, it achieved a high level of recall. I'm really glad we took this step; I can confidently say so far, it's one of the content pieces I'm most proud of.
Who would you love to be interviewed by?
It would have to be Lenny Rachitsky. It would mean I’ve made it as a product leader and something I shipped has had a measurable impact on millions of people. BTW, I will always gotta give credit to my friend, Alec Dewitz, co-founder at Cadrie for putting me on the Lenny Podcast.
If you had to give a TEDTalk tomorrow, what would the title be?
Star Trek is a better constructed world than Star Wars.
What award would mean the most to win?
I think the only way to build something meaningful is to work with amazing people so I would love to see Abe win a ‘Best place to work’ award.
What makes zero sense to you?
How people give others permission to limit them. Most people can do and achieve whatever they want but for one reason or another, feel like they have to operate within the limits of what others place on them. We can do whatever we want.
What’s a word in your industry you hope gets re-evaluated?
Not a word but a funding announcement as the most important business milestone.
What game are you changing?
Geographical limitations.
What’s the next thing you’re a part of that you want to invite more people to participate in?
I think I want to have a 1 year party for Abe. If we do, I hope you can come.
Where can we follow you online? (include link your most active social media profile)
I’m most on Instagram but fairly active on LinkedIn and Twitter. Search ‘Isaac Kamsin’ on any platform. I’ve never come across another Isaac Kamsin so you’ll likely find me.
What’s one thing that makes every leader better?
Strong opinions loosely held.
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We’re grateful to each Rising ICON for their transformative work. Thank you, Isaac, for sharing your story!
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“... we have an opportunity to build a product that help service pros in rural areas connect with homeowners in cities. So much knowledge is trapped in different communities.”
Notice: It’s important for our readers to understand the origin of the interview content. The featured ICON contributed responses that were not edited from the original submission. All claims are made solely by the contributor and do not reflect the views of LAUREL or its partners. Thank you for supporting rising leaders. The future is bold.
