Christie Horvath

Co-founder and CEO, Wagmo

Christie is a dog-obsessed insurance nerd originally from Colorado.

After spending over 6 years working with insurance companies at BlackRock, Christie went to Harvard to earn her MBA. While in business school she learned the importance of having pet insurance after her dog at the time, Denver, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After months of costly diagnostic testing and vet visits, Christie realized that pet parents needed more help than the existing options offered.

She founded Wagmo with the mission of making it easier and more affordable to be a great pet parent. Christie has a BA in Economics from Northwestern University, a master’s in business from Harvard, and a rescue pup named Aspen.

How to Use Community to Grow a Startup

Companies are not built in a vacuum. At Responsive Conference 2024, Christie will be joined in conversation by Robby Peters, co-founder of SemperVirens VC, to talk about building networks in order to build companies.

Robby has brought together chief people officers and industry professionals to cultivate a supportive ecosystem, while Christie has done a similar thing in harnessing the passion of pet owners to create a thriving business that helps employers support their employees' furry friends.

In this session, you will discover why startups thrive in community environments. Robby and Christie will explain how anybody can leverage community to build a thriving business by providing more value than they take.