From Voodoo to Vision

Navigating the Rollercoaster of Entrepreneurship

Ever had one of those days where it feels like someone, somewhere, is poking a voodoo doll in your likeness? Usually, entrepreneurship is a balancing act between wins and setbacks, but occasionally, the universe decides to toss every roadblock it can find your way. Well, I had one of those days this week.

Now, for those of you toying with the idea of becoming a founder or early in your leadership journey, it's important to know that entrepreneurship isn’t all about the glamour of success—it’s about rolling with the punches when things go sideways. Here’s a real-time rundown of what a day can look like when everything goes wrong, but also how we can spin that into opportunity.

The Day That Tested My Patience

Meeting #1: Kicked off the day with a monthly remote group session with fellow CEOs and COOs from our cohort. After hunting down the missing meeting link, I spent most of the call catching bits and pieces, thanks to garbled audio. The AI transcription tool struggled just as much as I did, missing half the conversation. Unlike me, it insisted on filling in the blanks, to ludicrous results. So, I multitasked. Not ideal, but we make do.

Meeting #2: A call on hiring founder associates—except the call never really started for those of us joining remotely. My colleagues and I spent a few minutes chatting and catching up whilst trying to get word out to those in the room, only to accept we were never going to be patched in. I may never know the joys of hiring a founder associate, and I gained 50 minutes for other productive pursuits, so this was annoying but not life-altering.

Meeting #3: An interview with a potential intern was next. After wrestling with broken links and a missing third-party organizer, we finally got the conversation going. Despite the shaky start and her being stuck in an airport with patchy Wi-Fi, she kept her cool—bonus points for handling pressure! Maybe I’ll even recognize her in person when she’s not pixelated.

Meeting #4: The final meeting of the day gave me hope—until the other participant’s Wi-Fi bailed on us. Cue the mobile tethering scramble. A glitch in isolation? Sure, but on the tail end of a frustrating day, I was ready to burn some sage and reboot the week.

Challenges, Changes, and Churchill

And then there were broader challenges. The new NHS contract for GP practices hit the table, prompting a flurry of activity to reassess what this means for us at Zonder . We’re bracing ourselves for the impact of the new terms and the upcoming industrial action. But here’s the thing: I always remind myself of Churchill’s words,

"Never let a good crisis go to waste."

It’s during these tough moments that opportunities to innovate and strengthen partnerships arise. We’re already planning how we’ll support our pilot GP practices in navigating these changes.

The Silver Linings and Big Ideas

Amidst the chaos, I still carved out time for big-picture thinking. This week, I dove into research on our North Star metrics—those key measurements that will steer our ship at Zonder. Specifically, I dug into studies on the cost-effectiveness of asthma care. The goal? Find the most impactful ways to improve lung health, whether it’s encouraging positive behavior or reducing harmful ones (I see you, shisha pipes!). Fun fact: an hour of shisha is equivalent to smoking 100 cigarettes! Definitely not as harmless as its ‘water pipe’ label nor images of Alice in Wonderland's blue caterpillar suggests.

Another highlight was a productive session with our product coach, Lorna Flynn . Together, we brainstormed ways to enhance communication with GP practices and pinpointed areas ripe for improvement. I’m consistently grateful for the support we receive through the Zinc Accelerator program. Having a dedicated product coach, a team coach, and venture partners keeping us focused is invaluable. Without this network, navigating the startup journey would be infinitely harder.

Takeaways for Founders and Leaders

For those just getting started in the world of entrepreneurship, it's best to have your eyes wide open: you’ll have days like this. Days where the tech fails, the meetings flop, and you feel like the universe is testing your resolve. But here’s the trick—take each challenge, learn from it, and keep moving. That’s how we build resilience and keep the vision alive.

This week’s recap:

• Lowlight: An avalanche of tech issues (thanks for letting me vent). Also I lost my bluetooth-connected fitness ring, and technology was unable to find it.
• Highlight: Discovering new insights that will shape our future metrics.

Every crisis comes with the seed of an opportunity. Let’s make sure we don’t miss it.

Stay Current with Progress by My Cohort of Co-Founders

A Founder’s Story – Marjo Palanee, is now focusing the spotlight of her blog on under-represented founders and their startups whilst offering her services in building communities on social media. I highly recommend her workshops!

Air Aware Labs - providing personalized health insights from air pollution data

Kuma Health - transforming immune mediated disorders care through personalized medicine

Deep Roots - Securing additional revenue streams for farms and building resilient supply chains through agroforestry

Ultra BiOmics - improving your metabolic health

Smart Shift Energy - empowering consumers to reduce their home energy costs