Harmony Crawford is co-founder at data operations platform Ones & Heroes, which she set up in 2019 with Patrick Mazzotta. The company’s services include data strategy, process optimisation, governance and compliance.
Harmony has more than 20 years of experience leading data teams at companies including POSSIBLE, Rational Interaction and The Seattle Times. In addition to her role at Ones & Heroes she is managing director of tech talent firm ITFS US.
March worked with Harmony and Patrick to rebrand Ones & Heroes (formerly Deedy) under its new name. We caught up with her to learn more about the challenges she faced when launching the business, her proudest professional achievement, and what advice she would give to other female entrepreneurs.
What was the biggest challenge you faced when starting your business, and how did you overcome it?
Coming up with a name! haha. (But, also, totally true.) I knew we wanted to share how using data and analytics can be fun, AND impactful for teams. Figuring out how to stand out in a crowded space – where I didn’t see us as just another member of the crowd – sent me in some circular conversations around branding strategy.
Full confession, this angst was probably most driven by me, and my own self-doubts. Having Patrick as my co-founder was the key to pulling me out of a spiral and acknowledging that we weren’t for everybody, and everybody wasn’t for us. That let me focus on the right partnerships that really mattered, and aligned with our ethos. Chemistry checks with clients are paramount.
What key decisions or strategies helped you scale your business successfully?
"I carried an assumption around needing to be the one who could do it all. Every time I challenged that self-assumption and asked for help, I learned something."
What advice would you give to a female entrepreneur starting out in your industry?
Ask for help, even if you don’t need it. I think it can be easy for those with an entrepreneurial streak to believe they have to go it alone, and I know I carried an assumption around needing to be the one who could do it all. Every time I challenged that self-assumption and asked for help, I learned something. (To be fair, sometimes that lesson was that I did actually have to go it alone in the moment, but, more often I found connection and reassurance and guidance that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.) Honestly, I already see so many younger female entrepreneurs doing this so much better than I did – I wish I could go back in time and learn from them!
Also, get a bookkeeper!
"There is incredible power when women turn to each other for support and lifting up."
How would you like to see the world of work change for women in the future?
What professional achievement are you most proud of?
Launching Ones & Heroes, of course! I’d had mentors tell me since my early 20s that I should be a consultant, but I was always so afraid to do my own thing. I just wish I’d followed their advice a few years sooner!
