May 11, 2026

investors ready, product built, yet she closed it ~ Sam Garven

49 minutes

Hey Crew!

Sam Garven spent 10 years watching HR get left behind while every other team got the shiny new tools.

So she built Hello Canopy to fix it.

Got into Techstars pre-MVP. Pivoted live on stage at SXSW. Had hundreds of users and angel investors ready to back her next raise.

Two weeks ago she chose to close it all down.

Not because she ran out of money. Not because she lost her team.

Because she spent six weeks rigorously testing every signal she needed to feel confident moving forward. And not all of them stacked up.

This is the full story of that decision, what it felt like, and why she has zero regrets.

We get into 👇:
★ 10 years watching HR get left behind while everyone else got better tools
★ The workplace harassment that made building Hello Canopy feel personal
★ Getting into Techstars pre-MVP on a pitch deck and a janky prototype
★ The six week validation framework that led to closing it down
★ What it feels like to wind your identity around a startup and then let it go
★ Why closing is sometimes the bravest move a founder can make

Let's keep the crew together 🤝
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fayltales/
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fayltales
💼 LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/loveth-ochayi-a67491152