Hawthorne Strategies
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Hawthorne Strategies, founded in Atlanta in 2013 by Michael Hawthorne Jr., was a consulting agency that worked with NFL players to develop their philanthropic foundations and awareness campaigns around community issues they cared about. The business peaked at around $3,500 per month in revenue before the founder shut it down.
02 / Hawthorne Strategies FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Hawthorne Strategies failed from overwhelm, overwork and lack of experience. In a Failory interview, founder Michael Hawthorne Jr. said he had jumped into the business with almost no resources, left his job prematurely even though the work required full-time attention, and failed to bring on new clients because of his lack of responsiveness and depleting bandwidth. He closed the doors, ended the client contract, canceled payroll and took the website down, later taking a corporate sales role.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Founded
Michael Hawthorne Jr. founded Hawthorne Strategies LLC in Atlanta, a consulting agency for NFL players' philanthropic foundations.
- Shut down
The founder shut down Hawthorne Strategies after failing to bring on new clients due to overwhelm and depleting bandwidth.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
Michael Hawthorne Jr. founded Hawthorne Strategies in Atlanta in 2013 to help NFL players build philanthropic foundations and awareness campaigns.
- 02
The business reached about $3,500 per month in revenue, but overwhelm and lack of responsiveness prevented new client acquisition.
- 03
The founder closed the doors, ended the client contract, canceled payroll and took the website down.