Ms. Brittney Richardson, founder and instructor of local creative writing nonprofit Muse Squad, has had her share of both wins and challenges since the organization’s founding in 2022. A Ridgefield resident, mom, and MFA graduate, Ms. Richardson was inspired to launch Muse Squad upon moving to the area with her family, hoping to provide an accessible and welcoming community for young writers to explore, learn new skills, and tell stories. She recently sat down to speak about Muse Squad’s journey over the past three years, and the crucial role that pivots have played in the nonprofit’s growth.
Can you briefly introduce your startup and your role in it?
Muse Squad was born during the tail end of the pandemic. The publishing world was pretty much shut down – book fairs, tours, etc. Everything was canceled. When that happened, I ultimately realized that my dream of being an author wouldn’t be possible at the moment. But turning my back on the writing world completely was just too much for me to bear. The same night that I came to this most difficult realization, I said to my husband, Brian, “What about a writing program?” and we just hit the ground running. Within days, we had a title and logo, and I began working on our first instructional handbook: “Wonderland”. Back in 2021, we knew nothing about nonprofits. We actually started as an LLC, which was a costly lesson learned. Through research, we soon recognized that what we were doing aligned with the structure of a nonprofit organization. But we didn’t really know what that was or what it would entail. So I started attending Ridgefield Arts Council meetings for about a year, learning the ropes and how a board meeting is run, and generally asking lots of questions. In 2023, we officially became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Can you name any times that an outside factor (such as a market trend, customer feedback, competition, or regulatory changes) influenced a pivot in your business model?
Tearing down the LLC was the first pivot we made, which was followed by learning everything we could about nonprofits. Since then, every week we’re gaining knowledge that causes us to make changes to what we do. Our most recent pivot is that we’re in the process of separating our Muse Squad Senior classes into two distinct categories, one of which will offer classes designed specifically for memory care senior living communities. We always want to nuance our programs to make them the best fit for the demographic they are serving, and we are always taking into account all the thoughts and feedback we receive from our students and the wonderful communities we are a part of.
What external factors have had the most impact on your decisions on pivoting? In your opinion, what factors can you foresee that might convince you to make a pivot in the future?
Everything impacts our decisions about pivoting to some extent. Enrollment levels and our efforts to break walls and reach more community members to raise awareness of our offerings are especially important. The biggest issue is finding creative ways to advertise our classes to local residents so that more people find out about us.
When you made pivots in the past, did everyone at Muse Squad initially agree that they were the right choice?
Everyone involved in Muse Squad is great about building trust together and supporting each other, and I’ve always been able to speak with the board about anything! Sometimes, we have tough conversations. For instance, I approached the board about how I wanted to implement scholarships for students who couldn’t afford our classes, but they told me that unfortunately, with our nonprofit at such an early stage of expansion, we wouldn’t be able to do that quite yet. Even when we have these discussions, though, I know that everyone is thinking of Muse Squad and its mission first and foremost, and we all respect each other and really listen to one another, which I am extremely proud of.
We respond to changes in the external environment by finding ways of going against the norm, such as by having our classes led by creative individuals who aren’t authors, and running classes that aren’t at writing institutes or colleges. Our workshops meet at recreation centers, art studios, galleries, libraries, even after-hours at restaurants! In Muse Squad classes, we are constantly up out of our seats. Our instructors lead artistic lessons, draw inspiration on the blackboard with liquid chalk, discuss excerpts from novels and song lyrics, and programs conclude with a Final Reading and reception, and that’s still something that impresses me all the time because it’s so different from a typical writing course.
In hindsight, do you feel that each pivot has contributed to a stronger or clearer vision for your startup, or do you feel that some have diluted your original mission?
Every pivot has helped. I don’t even believe in mistakes because you grow from mistakes. I try not to dwell on whether things were the right choice or a faux pas, because they had to happen to get us to where we are now.
When faced with multiple pivot opportunities/options, how did you choose what direction to go in?
We always make decisions with the intent to be as inclusive as possible. I flip-flop very much. When we first started, I originally envisioned Muse Squad as offering programs primarily for middle schoolers. I didn’t see us teaching teens initially, but then we expanded with teen programs. At the beginning, I also didn’t expect to work with adults, but now we’ve had classes filled to capacity with seniors. It’s beautiful to see how universal the love for creative writing can be, and how our programs can be adapted to bring MFA-inspired experiences to people of all ages.
How open were you to the idea of pivoting when you first started your business? Did that openness evolve over time?
I’ve always been open to change as far as anything that it takes to make our non-profit organization grow. If something feels daunting or outside of my comfort zone, whether it be building connections with local businesses or attending a PTA meeting, I’ll still go. I’m up for any opportunity that presents itself.
At what point do you think a startup should seriously consider pivoting? Is there a certain threshold or signal that suggests it’s time for a change?
If there’s certain things that are working and other things that aren’t, you can still forge ahead, you just have to tinker with individual aspects. If you’re having great success at events, but you don’t have much enrollment yet, that doesn’t mean you should give up. Especially with startups, it often takes 5 years to really establish yourself, and we’re about 3.5 years in. If you can make it to that 5-year mark, that’s wonderful! We’re blessed to have as much support as we do to continue making dreams come true for writers.
Ms. Richardson was interviewed by Adelaine Fincham, Assistant Director VP of Muse Squad and a Junior at Cornell University majoring in Chemistry. Adelaine is doing a final project for her Dilemmas in Entrepreneurship class on startup founders and the business model pivots they choose to make, with particular emphasis on when the best time to pivot is, and how startup founders and employees regard past pivots looking back on them. Ms. Richardson’s interview is part of a larger aggregate of interviews conducted with a wide range of diverse startups, including a law firm, Cornell student startup, and medical device company.