In 2025 March through July broke me in ways I didn’t see coming. Health issues. Financial pressure. Housing instability. Everything in my life revolved around putting the pieces around my life back together.

I had this plan for SAHA. Build everything from scratch. Find the perfect companies to work with. Create the perfect infrastructure before launching. Do all of this while working full time in corporate. It made sense on paper.

Reality disagreed.

I spent the next 6 months everything back together.

The Single Point of Failure Problem

Here’s what they don’t tell you about being a solo founder: you are the single point of failure. When you go down, everything goes down. Research shows that over 54% of startup founders experienced burnout within the last twelve months, while 75% reported anxiety episodes during the same period.

This isn’t about being weak. It’s about being the founder being the entire infrastructure.

When your health crashes, your business crashes. When your mental capacity depletes, your decision-making depletes. Physical health issues are directly linked to venture distress, and entrepreneurs dealing with physical health problems are much more likely to exit their ventures—often involuntarily.

Since 2024 I tried everything. Researching funding options. Exploring different cost structures. Redesigning the business model. I was working the problem from every angle I could think of.

But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t make the original plan work with the resources I had.

What Listening Actually Looks Like

In mid-November, something shifted. Not because I suddenly got stronger or smarter. Because I finally took a breath.

I stepped back. Not by choice, really. My body made the choice for me.

That’s when I saw it clearly: the health, financial, and housing crises weren’t random disruptions. They were accumulated evidence that the original SAHA plan required resources I didn’t have. And somewhere deep down, I already knew it.

Intuition isn’t mystical. Scientists have found that it’s “affectively charged judgments that arise through rapid, nonconscious, and holistic associations.” Your gut can actually store memories. When faced with a choice, your body gives subtle signals—tension in the gut, a sense of ease—based on past outcomes from similar situations.

That’s what was happening to me. My body was signaling that this path wasn’t sustainable long before my mind could articulate why.

The Solution Was Looking Right at Me

I wanted to build everything from scratch because I knew I could create a seamless and incredible experience. I didn’t trust that existing tools could serve my specific vision.

But when you’re forced to stop, you see things differently.

What changes when you stop forcing what you think you’re supposed to do? You start seeing what’s actually possible with what already exists.

I’m pivoted to using a mix of existing systems and tools that were already proven and stable. Not because I gave up on the vision. Because I finally let strategy match capacity instead of fighting it.

When Alignment Creates Momentum

The pivot wasn’t about settling for less. It was about finally allowing my business strategy to align with what was executable.

Over 54% of startup founders experienced burnout within the last twelve months, while 75% reported anxiety episodes during the same period. People who work over 55 hours per week are more likely to develop depression or suffer from anxiety.

When I stopped trying to force the complex plan and started building with existing systems, something unexpected happened. Things started falling into place. Not because the work got easier, but because the friction decreased.

The alignment between what my body could sustain and what my business actually needed created momentum that forcing never could.

The Foundation Worth Building On

Fear and intuition can feel remarkably similar at first. But they affect your energy differently. Fear constricts while intuition expands.

When I pivoted to existing systems, it felt like expansion. Like possibility opening up, even though it was still challenging. Intuition says “not this way.”

That’s the distinction I missed for over a year. I thought resistance meant I needed to push harder. But resistance was actually guiding me toward a better path.

Your health is your most valuable asset as an entrepreneur. Without a strong and resilient body and mind, you struggle to maintain the energy, focus, and creativity needed to overcome challenges and seize opportunities in your business.

When you’re a solo founder, you can’t afford to treat personal and professional systems as independent variables. You are the primary infrastructure for both. What depletes you depletes your business. What sustains you sustains your vision.

I learned to listen, yet again.

And I can’t wait to share what listening turned into.

With Love,

Alenka 

SAHA’s Founder