By Eliza Weaver, MBA ’26
When I arrived at MIT Sloan last August, “start a running-tech company” wasn’t on my roadmap. I’d spent my career building B2B software at Workday—first as a software engineer, then as a product manager—after earning a computer-science degree. But running, while always a personal passion, has had a surprisingly consistent way of influencing my path—even when I wasn’t looking for it.
Community through running has been a constant in every chapter of my life. At Cornell, I led the university’s run club—organizing races, social events, and even traveling to Binghamton’s Banana Relays, where we won the meet dressed in full banana suits. At Workday, I launched a run club from a Slack message that turned into a 500+ person cross-office community, with regular runs and podium finishes at the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge. In San Francisco, I co-led Trail Thursday, a weekly trail running group with Halloween-costume runs and a Friendsgiving potluck. And at MIT Sloan, I led Sloan and Steady, organizing biweekly runs, pre-race pasta dinners, and rallying 50+ classmates for the Cambridge Half Marathon and 5K.
All of these experiences reminded me: running isn’t just a sport—it’s a way to build belonging. So when the opportunity to help build Tribe came along, it felt like the perfect intersection of everything I’ve cared about for years.
The Unexpected Path to Co-Founding Tribe
During my first semester at MIT Sloan, I dove head-first into entrepreneurship electives, prototyping a “better Facebook Marketplace” with classmates. I loved the process, but the problem didn’t light me up. Then in February, a Sloanie I’d never met approached me in class: “I’m helping build a running startup. Interested?” I joined and worked on the team for several months, until we ultimately realized we had different visions for the company’s future.
In March, Tribe’s CEO, Angelica, asked her former coworker (now a fellow Sloanie I hadn’t met) to introduce her to “a runner in the U.S.” That’s how we connected. One Zoom turned into another, then daily calls, and eventually, the realization that we wanted to build this company together. By April, I flew to London to run the London Marathon and finally met Angelica in person. We spent the weekend running, attending brand events, and celebrating post-race with my family. That sealed it.
This summer, I’m working full-time on Tribe as we grow our community and expand into new markets. My focus areas include:
- Go-to-Market for Boston: Collaborating with local run clubs, planning events, and connecting with running leaders and creators.
- Pitch Deck & Fundraising: Telling Tribe’s story and translating our traction—4,000+ users in Italy since our January launch—into a compelling vision for investors.
- Two-Week Sprint in Italy. I’ll work side-by-side with my co-founders Angelica and Luigi in Milan: white-board sessions by day, training runs along the Naviglio by night. I can’t imagine a better alignment of personal passion and professional ambition.
Lessons From Year One
As I conclude my first year at MIT Sloan, I’d like to share a few lessons I’ve learned:
- Start with intention, stay open to surprise.
I came to Sloan with a clear goal: explore entrepreneurship. That intention helped me choose classes, projects, and people to learn from. But what I didn’t expect was how often that path would shift—first toward a marketplace idea, then into the running space, and finally to co-founding Tribe. The clarity of purpose helped guide me, but staying open to unexpected turns made all the difference. - You don’t need to “find” your brand. You’re already living it.
I didn’t set out to build a career around running—but looking back, I had been doing it all along. From launching run clubs to organizing races and pasta dinners, it was clear that I led by building community through movement. Sloan helped me recognize that identity and gave me the confidence to lean into it as a core part of my story, not just a side interest. - When the risk feels exciting, it’s probably the right one.
I nearly took a traditional PM internship—safe, smart, and aligned with my background. But co-founding Tribe felt energizing in a way that made the risk feel not just worth it, but necessary. The startup journey has stretched me more than any class could have, and I already know I’ll be a stronger product leader because of it.
My advice to future Sloanies: use your first year to explore widely and act quickly. Take the course that scares you. Follow the idea that won’t leave you alone. Say yes to coffee chats with strangers—they just might introduce you to your co-founder.
For me, those experiments led to Tribe: a chance to blend my technical background, product experience, and passion for running into something real. It’s fast, imperfect, and full of purpose—the kind of work I came to Sloan hoping to find.
Join our growing global community – download Tribe Running here.
