We hear plenty about the funding rounds, flashy product launches and multimillion-dollar exits. But what about the businesses that don’t make it? And what happens to the founders who put everything on the line?
We have a visibility bias in entrepreneurship. We see the unicorns. We don’t as often see the graveyard. Or maybe, don’t want to.
After nearly six years building Loba Wellness, raising capital, launching a physical product and technology platform, and investing more than $250,000 of my own money, in mid-2025 I made the difficult decision to close my startup.
In this candid and retrospective solo episode of Branded Assets, I’m sharing the lessons learned from building a consumer product business in Canada, including some harsh realities about entrepreneurship, venture capital and the startup ecosystem that honestly, I wish I understood before getting started.
From the challenges of raising investment for consumer brands and Canada’s obsession with B2B SaaS, to the ridiculous cycles of VC trends (remember NFTs?) and the realities of being a solo founder, I pull back the curtain on an entrepreneurial ecosystem that celebrates risk-taking but isn’t always willing to finance it.
Beyond the more practical business lessons, I’m also sharing personal takeaways and lessons learned during this time of navigating entrepreneurship including discovering a capacity for risk and resilience I never knew I had, developing a significantly lower tolerance for BS, and learning how to separate my identity from being an entreprenuer.
This episode is all about about failure, ambition, and knowing when to walk away. I hope you enjoy it.
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KEYWORDS:
Branded Assets podcast, failed startup, startup failure, entrepreneurship lessons, Canadian entrepreneurship, venture capital Canada, raising capital in Canada, angel investing, startup funding, CPG startup, B2B SaaS, venture capital trends, VC funding, bootstrapping, solo founder, female founders, women entrepreneurs, business failure, entrepreneurial resilience, closing a business, business lessons startup investment