Are you an overachiever struggling with burnout, or wondering if you should leave corporate to chase your dream? 🚀💡

In this episode of Rise & Tell with Sheekha, I sit down with Téa Phillips, founder of Metaflex and mechanical engineer turned entrepreneur, who shares her inspiring journey from corporate security to building a groundbreaking medical device for arthritis patients.

Téa's story isn't just about innovation; it's about resilience, breaking barriers as a woman in STEM, and learning to manage burnout while scaling a startup. She opens up about the harsh realities of fundraising as a female founder, the gender gap in venture capital, and how creativity became her secret weapon against entrepreneurial exhaustion.

👉 What you'll learn in this episode:

✅ How Téa transitioned from mechanical engineer to successful founder

✅ The personal motivation behind creating Metaflex for arthritis relief

✅ Why fundraising as a female founder is harder (and how she overcame it)

✅ Practical strategies to prevent and recover from burnout for overachievers

✅ The power of creativity and art therapy in managing entrepreneurial stress

✅ How women entrepreneurs can navigate the venture capital landscape

✅ Building company culture that prioritizes people over profits

✅ The importance of continuous learning and self-investment in entrepreneurship

If you're a high achiever feeling stuck in corporate, a woman in STEM considering entrepreneurship, or a founder battling burnout while trying to scale your business, this conversation will give you the courage and practical tools to move forward.

🎯 Key Topics Covered:

- Mechanical engineering to entrepreneurship journey

- Overcoming burnout as an overachiever

- Fundraising challenges for female founders (less than 2% of VC funding goes to women)

- The role of creativity in preventing entrepreneurial burnout

- Building a medical device company from scratch

- Women in STEM and breaking barriers in male-dominated industries

- Creating a positive company culture as a founder

- The Artist's Way and creative practices for busy entrepreneurs

💼 ABOUT TÉA PHILLIPS:

Téa Phillips is the founder of Metaflex (ATS Innovations Inc), a company revolutionizing arthritis care through innovative medical devices. With a degree in mechanical engineering from Tennessee Tech University, she left her secure government contractor position to pursue her mission of helping people like her grandmother regain independence. Despite the challenges of being a female founder in a landscape where women receive less than 2% of venture capital funding, Téa has successfully brought Metaflex to market across the United States.

Connect with Téa:

🌐 Website: metaflexglove.com

💼 LinkedIn: Téa Phillips

📸 Instagram: @tea.s.phillips

🔔 Don't forget to subscribe for more powerful conversations with entrepreneurs, founders, and changemakers who are redefining success without burning out.

📚 ABOUT SHEEKHA'S UPCOMING BOOK:

Sheekha Singh is the author of the upcoming book "Unburnable Ambition: How Overachievers Win Without Burning Out" - a must-read for high achievers who refuse to let burnout be the price of success.

Sign up at: shikasing.com/unburnable-ambition

🎙️ ABOUT THE PODCAST

Rise & Tell is where real stories meet personal growth. I talk to entrepreneurs, founders, and changemakers about the moments that changed everything; from burnout to breakthrough, from corporate to creator, from dream to reality.

#riseandtellwithsheekha #teaphillips #femalefounder #mechanicalengineer