Hana Mohan: A Company That Embraces Diversity

Hi! It’s me, Spiffy the interplanetary journalist reporting from Planet Earth with the latest scoop on entrepreneurs making a difference in gender equality and the workplace! I’m in Barcelona, Spain to meet today’s rockstar, Hana Mohan, co-founder and CEO of MagicBell. Are you ready to be inspired?

Spiffy: Welcome, Hana, it’s great to meet you. Let’s jump right in! Can you tell me about the challenge that you’re addressing through your startup, MagicBell? 

Hana: Thanks so much for this opportunity, Spiffy. When building engagement and retention into their products, product teams typically rely on email notifications or building a system entirely from scratch. These scenarios are either time-intensive or removed from the core of the product itself. MagicBell provides teams with a well-designed notification inbox that can be embedded into a product within an hour.

Spiffy: That’s pretty quick, isn’t it? What motivated you to start MagicBell?

Hana: Josue Montano and I founded MagicBell in late 2020, and it’s the result of our work together at SupportBee. The team spent months building notifications into the product and was surprised by the lack of options in this space. All we found were low-level APIs for sending emails or push notifications but nothing like MagicBell, which brings the entire notification experience together in a well-packaged solution. That’s when we decided to start a new company tackling this particular challenge. MagicBell is a post-pandemic company, started during a lockdown, and the team is hiring remote workers for all roles.

Spiffy: I understand you’re a company that is striving to create a more equitable work environment and world. How are you doing that? 

Hana: Well, Spiffy, we are a company that embraces diversity—one of us is a transgender woman, and another is a Latino (hola!). We have been working remotely for a decade and understand how to work asynchronously across time zones. Our environment isn’t perfect, but we strive to create a positive workspace that we want to be part of each day.

Spiffy: Have you ever faced failure and didn't give up. What did you learn?

Hana: In 2016, I transitioned while running my business. It was a difficult process that I have written about extensively, and I have also been interviewed about it. I invite you to read more about it!

Spiffy: Well, Hana, I think others will be inspired by your story. Thanks so much for sharing your experience as an entrepreneur with me and our wonderful readers! It’s been an honor!

Hana Mohan is the co-founder and CEO of MagicBell. She is a proud transgender woman who is passionate about empowering women and other minorities. Hana lives in Barcelona, Spain with her two cats. (First published on the Ladderworks website on June 18, 2021.)