Deborah Hanus, Sparrow | Care enough about your friends to spot their problems and you might be able to build a fantastic business to solve them

When Deborah Hanus’s friends started having kids, they complained about the labyrinthine company leave process. A patchwork of federal and state regulations, as well as insurance complications, make leave extremely challenging for employers and employees. For employees this causes emotional and financial stress at a time when they need to focus on family. HR often owns this process, but because it’s so complex, they dislike doing the work. So Deborah solved a problem for her friends - and HR - by creating Sparrow. Her expertise in AI and Machine Learning and deep interest in human capital challenges have come in handy. 

Her journey took her around the world and taught her how to break down problems very systematically. After MIT Engineering and Computer Science, she went to Cambodia for a year to learn about its education system and its relationship to job creation. She started a PhD in Machine Learning and AI at Harvard and realized that she had a golden opportunity to combine her deep desire to improve people’s lives with technology. It’s a winning combination. 

“Maternity, paternity, and medical leaves are taxes-level complicated. We’re turbo-tax for leave paperwork.”