Elli Sharef at Female Founders Conference 2014

Sharef wanted to start a company in college but waited until she was 27. She says there is rarely a perfect time, idea, or financial situation to begin. After reconnecting with her college friend Nick Sedlet and talking for five hours about startup ideas, she quit her job the day after he did.

Sharef says HireArt made many small pivots while keeping its core idea. Early on, the site attracted two users, then five after another change. She compares the process to following clues: keep listening to customers and work out what to try next.

Sharef describes confidence as both believing in the company internally and explaining its purpose clearly to investors, hires, friends, and family. She says founders may start out unsure, but need to develop a real belief in what they are building. That belief helps carry them through difficult days.

Sharef compares startup setbacks to reaching an airport shortly before a flight: make an effort to get through security even when success seems unlikely. After HireArt left Y Combinator without funding while batchmates were raising, she cried over a rejection from Sequoia. Her co-founders urged her to keep pitching, and the team eventually found investors.

Sharef urges founders to appreciate both the difficult and exciting parts of building a company. Driving on Sand Hill Road felt like a scene from a movie, despite how much she disliked the road. She was also struck when HireArt's customer Cisco asked to add Colombia, her home country, to its recruiting platform, which was already used in about 150 countries.