Dr. Marie Onakomaiya

What's the one thing you wish someone told you before you became a founder?

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As a first-time founder, I've sometimes trusted outside advice more than my own vision and judgement in the name of having a growth mindset. This has turned out to be the wrong choice each time. Discerning good advice, especially the source and motives of the giver, is critical for every founder to master.

Building in a regulated market is hard. What's been your toughest challenge, and how are you overcoming it?

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Especially when health tech has often faced more skepticism than enthusiasm from many healthcare stakeholders. Sitting with that discomfort and experiencing uncertainty as a gift for growth has become part of my evolution. I'm getting better at shaking off and reframing setbacks as feedback, finding there's often another opportunity around the corner. Once I started talking to my true audience, that enthusiasm from stakeholders began to come easily.

What's a significant mistake you made early on, and what did you learn from it?

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I took for granted the reality that people who thrive in corporate or even later stage startups may not be right for an early stage startup. This led to misaligned expectations that delayed progress.

It seems obvious now, but when I was starting out, it wasn't something I fully understood.