Lauren Perna spent nearly two decades in the corporate and nonprofit world before launching her own communications agency. Along the way, she navigated high-functioning anxiety, depression, and burnout, and learned how entrepreneurship could be a tool for healing. Today, she leads Lauren Perna Communications, a content studio serving clients in life sciences and beyond.

In this episode, Lauren shares how mental health shaped her path, what finally pushed her to leave her “dream job,” and how building a business around her strengths gave her the freedom to work on her own terms.

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TIMESTAMPS:

01:15 Living with anxiety and depression

04:20 Leaving her “dream job”

05:50 Taking a year off to reset

07:05 Starting her business during the pandemic

10:45 Experience doubts

13:00 Choosing the right niche and clients

16:05 Building the right team

21:10 If she weren’t a writer, she would be…

ABOUT THE HOST, BETHANY FIOCCHI ROOT AND OCEANVIEW MARKETING:

Oceanview Marketing is a boutique consultancy that helps funded SaaS, tech and service-based startups unlock millions in new revenue through strategic digital marketing, fast execution and experience-backed testing.

Led by Bethany Fiocchi Root, the firm specializes in validating product-market fit and building scalable systems for long-term growth. Learn more at oceanview-marketing.com.

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This episode was produced by AOLI.fm.