Jennifer Brandel

Co-Founder and CEO, Hearken · 1 appearance on the record.

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founderexecutivejournalistother@JenniferBrandel ↗jenniferbrandel.com ↗

Jennifer Brandel is the co-founder and CEO of Hearken, an audience-engagement platform developed from her work with WBEZ Chicago's Curious City. She also co-founded Zebras Unite, an international movement advocating for sustainable and ethical business models.

8statements → 4claims → 0claims resolved → 3.88/5average certainty → 2.25/5average debate potential →

4 not checkable as stated how the 4 claims stand · each chip opens the sources

4 assertions · 2 insights · 2 disclosures · every statement was checked. The predictions and assertions are the 4 claims: statements the public record can support or contradict. 0 are resolved, and 4 name no date, number or outcome precise enough to check. Everything else (opinions, insights, what ifs, disclosures) can never be settled by the record, so it carries no assessment.

The record, in short

What the tape says about how Jennifer argues and how the claims held up. Everything they said, and everything said about them, is in the tabs below.

How they sound: not measured why? →

We measure speaking style by listening to the audio itself, and a fair number needs at least 2,000 words from one person on tape we have measured. There is too little of Jennifer Brandel on measured tape to publish a rate. This says nothing about how they speak.

What they said8 Episodes1

Everything Jennifer Brandel said on the Pitch that made the record, most notable first. Filter by type, assessment or year in the ledger →

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Brandel: Hearken has a 70% customer retention rate

“So right now it's about 70% we retain. And what we've learned from the 30% that have been churning is actually the reason they stop working with us is because someone moves on from their job.”

Jennifer Brandel Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 6:53 #61 Can a Zebra Survive in a Unicorn World?

Insight

Brandel: Capital Markets Force Founders into a False Profit-or-Mission Binary

“Our problem, I think, is that the capital structures are set up to be either or. Either you're for maximized shareholder profit, Or maximize mission. And I think most founders actually are somewhere in between on the spectrum, but they're pushed to one side or…”

Jennifer Brandel Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 16:13 #61 Can a Zebra Survive in a Unicorn World?

Insight

Brandel: Zebra startups must prioritize revenue over user growth from day one

“Well, it means you have to focus on revenue first and foremost, which means you can't just say, oh, we have this grand vision, and once we reach 10,000 users or whatever, then we can turn on the money machine, or we're gonna be ad supported, or, you know, it's…”

Jennifer Brandel Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 28:33 #61 Can a Zebra Survive in a Unicorn World?

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Brandel: Public-sourced stories perform 11 to 15 times better than traditional stories

“And we found that these stories that are coming from the public, that are coming from ideas outside of the newsroom, perform 11 to 15 times better than traditional stories.”

Jennifer Brandel Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 3:21 #61 Can a Zebra Survive in a Unicorn World?

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Brandel: Hearken stories convert paying subscribers at two to five times normal rates

“They generate email addresses which convert to paying members or subscribers at two to five X, and they end up producing just original content that you would never find anywhere else.”

Jennifer Brandel Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 3:30 #61 Can a Zebra Survive in a Unicorn World?

Disclosure

Brandel: Hearken approaches $1M ARR across 150 newsrooms and seeks $3.5M

“So my company Harkin is about three years old now. We're in about a 150 newsrooms, and we're just about approaching a million ARR, and are here to raise 3.5 million for our next stage of growth.”

Jennifer Brandel Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 3:39 #61 Can a Zebra Survive in a Unicorn World?

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Brandel: Hearken's sales cycle averages six months

“Yeah, the average is six months from the first conversation to signing and having it in the bank.”

Jennifer Brandel Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 8:14 #61 Can a Zebra Survive in a Unicorn World?

Disclosure

Brandel: About $200K of Hearken's $1M ARR Is Foundation Subsidies

“About 200,000. Subsidized, yeah.”

Jennifer Brandel Mar 3, 2025 ▶ 12:32 #61 Can a Zebra Survive in a Unicorn World?

Appearances (1)

Episode	Date	Speaking time
#61 Can a Zebra Survive in a Unicorn World?	Mar 3, 2025	14m

Jennifer Brandel

The record, in short

How they sound: not measured why? →

Appearances (1)

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