{"id":40298,"date":"2025-06-17T12:20:42","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T12:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microloannexus.com\/?p=40298"},"modified":"2025-06-17T12:20:54","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T12:20:54","slug":"support-systems-every-startup-founder-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microloannexus.com\/?p=40298","title":{"rendered":"Support Systems Every Startup Founder Needs"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Stephanie Bastow, CEO of Active Beauty, prides herself on her drive and determination to build something from the ground up. But as her wellness brand gains traction, the weight of doing it all herself is getting harder to bear. &#8220;Sometimes I&#8217;m holding my breath, and sometimes I&#8217;m breathing,&#8221; she says.<\/p>\n<p>Her company&#8217;s hero product, B. Skin Tight, is a multifunctional formula designed to support skin, hydration, recovery, and brain function. She&#8217;s on shelves and seeing sell-through, but she&#8217;s reached a critical point in her journey: preparing for a potential Series A raise without the marketing resources to show off what the product can really do.<\/p>\n<p><b>Related: 7 Marketing Strategies to Help Your Startup Grow and Scale<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Stephanie came to <i>Entrepreneur Therapy<\/i>, presented by Amazon Business, for advice from both investor Kim Perell and health expert Dr. Drew Pinsky. What she got was a lesson in the power of community.<\/p>\n<p>It didn&#8217;t take long for her advisors to spot the problem. Stephanie is over-extending herself. She&#8217;s the entire marketing team: hosting podcasts, training stores, attending events, and trying to engage with investors. She admits her only real support system is her husband.<\/p>\n<p>Both Dr. Drew and Perell cautioned against mixing her personal and professional lives.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Drew said that relying solely on her husband for emotional support can backfire badly. &#8220;As soon as you tell us you&#8217;re in distress, we want to fix it,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And that is not what you really need right now.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><b>Related: You Won&#8217;t Achieve a Work-Life Balance Without Doing These 10 Things<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Instead, he encouraged her to mind a mentor or two. &#8220;You need support. You need a peer group,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Kim Perell backs that up with her own story. &#8220;I tried to do everything alone,&#8221; she says. &#8220;And it was a big mistake.&#8221; She explains how she created four &#8220;people pillars&#8221;\u2014her husband, a peer group, a mentor, and a trusted team. &#8220;I feel that you have one of these four pillars with your husband, but you&#8217;re falling over on the other three.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Stephanie leaves the session feeling seen. &#8220;I felt like they really spent the time, went the deep dive and tried to understand,&#8221; she says.<\/p>\n<p>Watch the episode to hear how Stephanie&#8217;s session helped her rethink what real support looks like\u2014and how building the right foundation could be the most important part of building her brand.<\/p>\n<p><em>Entrepreneur Therapy is presented by Amazon Business. Smart business buying starts with Amazon Business. Learn more.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><b>Related: Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Support Network \u2014 and How to Know When You&#8217;ve Truly Found Yours<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"first-letter:float-left first-letter:text-8xl first-letter:pr-1 first-letter:-mt-1 first-letter:font-black first-letter:text-gray-500 prose prose-blue max-w-3xl text-lg leading-relaxed mb-12\">\n<p>Stephanie Bastow, CEO of Active Beauty, prides herself on her drive and determination to build something from the ground up. But as her wellness brand gains traction, the weight of doing it all herself is getting harder to bear. &#8220;Sometimes I&#8217;m holding my breath, and sometimes I&#8217;m breathing,&#8221; she says.<\/p>\n<p>Her company&#8217;s hero product, B. Skin Tight, is a multifunctional formula designed to support skin, hydration, recovery, and brain function. She&#8217;s on shelves and seeing sell-through, but she&#8217;s reached a critical point in her journey: preparing for a potential Series A raise without the marketing resources to show off what the product can really do.<\/p>\n<p><b>Related: 7 Marketing Strategies to Help Your Startup Grow and Scale<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"justify-center bg-gray-100 flex flex-col sm:flex-row rounded-lg p-6 align-middle sm:text-left text-center\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col justify-center align-middle mr-0 sm:mr-16\">\n<p class=\"text-sm leading-5 my-0\">\n      The rest of this article is locked.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xl text-black font-bold leading-5 my-1\">\n      Join Entrepreneur<span class=\"text-yellow-500\">+<\/span> today for access.\n    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Read the full article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/growing-a-business\/support-systems-every-startup-founder-needs\/492630\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" rel=\"nofollow\">here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stephanie Bastow, CEO of Active Beauty, prides herself on her drive and determination to build something from the ground up. But as her wellness brand gains traction, the weight of doing it all herself is getting harder to bear. &#8220;Sometimes I&#8217;m holding my breath, and sometimes I&#8217;m breathing,&#8221; she says. Her company&#8217;s hero product, B.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40299,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[32],"class_list":{"0":"post-40298","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-make-money","8":"tag-featured"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.12 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Support Systems Every Startup Founder Needs | Micro Loan Nexus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Stephanie Bastow, CEO of Active Beauty, prides herself on her drive and determination to build something from the ground up. 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