FailTales

This is the anti highlight reel. The raw, unfiltered conversations nobody else is having - about failures, pivots, and the lessons that only come from getting it wrong. Because the mess is where the good stuff lives 🤍

I sat down with Daisy Harvey, the founder of LOOM to unpack how she closed her first business, rebuilt her confidence, and raised £300K to launch an upcycling app that matches your wardrobe with designers.We overview:

• How she knew it was time to close her first business
• The most valuable lessons from her first venture
• What makes a marketplace work and how to prevent leakage
• Building a simple no-code MVP before an app
• Her path to fundraising £300K

RESOURCE MENTIONED

→ Free GTM Essentials Course: https://selinaho.com/gtm-essentials

LET’S CONNECT

→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/selinaho

→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/selinajho

→ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@selinajho_

CONNECT WITH DAISY

Loom App: https://www.theloomapp.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theloomapp

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daisyharvey

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Introduction

02:02 Daisy's Entrepreneurship Journey

03:18 First Business Challenges

05:18 Lessons Learned from First Business

07:31 Transition to Loom

10:27 Launching Loom

13:46 Building the MVP

17:39 Marketplace Dynamics

19:23 Balancing Designers and Customers

21:38 Fundraising Journey

22:31 Pitching Your Business to Investors

23:11 Learning About Fundraising

24:13 Building Confidence in Fundraising

25:42 Evaluating Potential Investors

26:29 Advice for Pitch Competitions

29:10 Full-Time Fundraising Challenges

32:43 Balancing Fundraising and Business Operations

33:40 Press and Marketing Strategies

35:40 Current Challenges and Future Plans

39:29 Quick Fire Round

Here’s the truth: you don’t need a massive budget or a big team to launch. In this episode, I break down how to validate, market, and sell in a way that protects both your cash and your capacity. I share the lessons I learned from my first business, why perfectionism and control led me to burnout, and the practical systems I now use to go to market sustainably.

I share:

• What I would do differently to avoid burning cash and burnout
• Why you must validate before you build and how to do it fast
• The exact survey and interview approach to co-create with your ideal customer
• When to avoid paid ads and the signals that you are ready to use them
• A simple, sustainable sales funnel from traffic to nurture to conversion
• How to automate parts of your funnel so sales are not dependent on you
• My daily burnout thermometer and how I intervene before I hit the wall
• The self-care menu I use with low, medium, and high effort options

RESOURCE MENTIONED 

→ Free GTM Essentials Course: https://selinaho.com/gtm-essentials

START YOUR BUSINESS

→ Start a business with the free Build a Sustaining Business program: https://selinaho.com/basb

→ Define your version of success and build a blueprint to achieve it inside the free Your Success Roadmap: https://selinaho.com/roadmap

SCALE YOUR BUSINESS

→ Free GTM Essentials Course: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoxqvwU4q36bTLn_CVAaeyHPd2bjxIEz_ 

→ Secure Your Winning GTM Strategy: https://selinaho.com/consulting 

LET’S CONNECT

→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/selinaho  

→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/selinajho   

→ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@selinajho_ 

TIMESTAMPS

00:18 My First Business

00:36 The Perfectionist Trap

01:11 Wasting Money on Ads and PR

01:41 Validate Before You Build

02:46 How to Validate Your Idea

03:48 The Costly Mistake of Not Validating

04:46 Focus on One Social Media Platform

06:39 The Importance of Email Marketing

06:59 Avoiding Premature Paid Ads

08:25 Building a Sustainable Sales Funnel

11:22 How to Prevent Burnout

13:09 Daily Check-ins and Self-Care Menu

I’m joined by Natalie Barbu, CEO and co-founder of Rella, to unpack how her team went from 200 no’s to raising $1M and reaching $1M ARR. We get into the unfiltered truths of starting a tech company without a coding background, nearly running out of money, and the viral video that turned it around!We discuss:

• How Natalie spotted the gap in creator/social workflow tools
• The step-by-step path from creator to tech founder (without writing code)
• How she found, tested, and committed to the right co-founders
• Surviving 200 investor rejections and landing the first yes
• The storytelling pitch that resonated with early-stage VCs
• Why Rella pivoted to businesses, and how they executed the rebuild
• The viral video that spiked trials (and what they did next)
• How to balance fundraising with running the company
• Tactical resources for first-time fundraisers and operators

RESOURCES MENTIONED

→ GTM Essentials Course: https://selinaho.com/gtm-essentials

→ Try Rella: https://getrella.com/ Use our code "CONFESSIONS" for 15% off

→ The Startup Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/startup-podcast/id913805339

→ The Pitch Podcast: https://www.thepitch.show/

LET’S CONNECT

→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/selinaho

→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/selinajho

→ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@selinajho_

CONNECT WITH NATALIE

→ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NatalieBarbu

→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nataliebarbu

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Highlights

02:33 Welcome and Introduction

02:52 Starting Rella

04:55 The Journey to Becoming a Tech Founder

05:53 Finding the Right Development Team

06:47 Co-Founder Dynamics

09:38 Balancing Content Creation and Startup Life

10:36 Consistency in Content Creation

13:35 Fundraising Journey

14:30 Learning the Fundraising Process

15:54 Resources for Aspiring Founders

17:52 Friends and Family Round

19:18 Navigating the VC Round

22:00 The Power of Networking and Persistence

27:30 Handling Closed Rounds Respectfully

28:22 The Importance of Storytelling in Fundraising

29:11 Crafting a Compelling Pitch

31:42 The Decision to Pivot

32:52 Rebuilding and Relaunching Rella

33:55 The Viral Video That Changed Everything

37:10 Managing Growth After Going Viral

39:11 The Power of Content Creation for Founders

40:20 Balancing Personal and Business Content

42:12 Navigating Transparency and Privacy

43:30 Revamping the Podcast45:08 Daily Routines and Personal Insights

46:47 Best and Worst Advice for Founders

Most founders think a go-to-market strategy is just a launch plan or a marketing campaign — but it’s so much more than that. In this episode, I break down what a true GTM strategy is, why it’s the difference between a product that flops and one that takes off, and how you can create a winning plan that drives real traction.

I share:

• What a go-to-market strategy actually includes (beyond marketing)
• The key lessons I learned from launching a multimillion-dollar product in corporate
• How to identify your ideal customer and their biggest pain points
• Why you shouldn’t overbuild your product before launch
• How to nail your positioning, distribution, and sales funnel for success

RESOURCE MENTIONED 

→ GTM Essentials Course: https://selinaho.com/gtm-essentials

START YOUR BUSINESS

→ Start a business with the free Build a Sustaining Business program: https://selinaho.com/basb

→ Define your version of success and build a blueprint to achieve it inside the free Your Success Roadmap: https://selinaho.com/roadmap

SCALE YOUR BUSINESS

→ Free GTM Essentials Course: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoxqvwU4q36bTLn_CVAaeyHPd2bjxIEz_ 

→ Secure Your Winning GTM Strategy: https://selinaho.com/consulting 

LET’S CONNECT

→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/selinaho  

→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/selinajho   

→ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@selinajho_ 

TIMESTAMPS

00:28 Common Misconceptions

01:26 Importance of Pre-Launch Work

01:47 Corporate GTM Story

02:05 Understanding Your Target Customer

03:07 Strategic Distribution Plan

05:06 Defining GTM

05:46 Identifying Your Ideal Customer

07:24 Market Research Essentials

10:03 Prototyping and Testing

10:49 The 80/20 Rule in Product Development

13:29 Importance of Positioning

14:27 Effective Distribution Strategies

15:14 Sales Funnel 

I interview Daniel Samosir Botcherby, the Co-Founder & CEO of Kalda, a digital mental health platform created to support the LGBTQIA+ community in this episode. We dive into the personal story that inspired Kalda, the challenges of building a mission-driven startup, and the realities of raising capital while staying true to social impact values.We discuss:

• His personal experiences that led to the creation of Kalda
• The tension between social impact and the traditional VC fundraising model
• How to decide how much to raise and avoid over-dilution in early rounds
• Key lessons on finding product-market fit and balancing growth with care

RESOURCES

→ GTM Essentials Course: https://selinaho.com/gtm-essentials

→ GTM Consulting: https://selinaho.com/consulting

→ Client Session With Dan: https://youtu.be/kiRVGvtLE8I

LET’S CONNECT

→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/selinaho

→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/selinajho

→ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@selinajho_

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Introduction

01:32 Free GTM Essentials Course

03:35 Dan's Journey

07:33 The Importance of Safe Spaces

07:43 Building a Business Builds You

08:21 Fundraising for Kalda

09:19 Balancing VC Ambitions with Social Impact

09:58 Navigating the VC Model

10:32 Finding the Right Investors

11:26 Laying the Foundation for Growth

11:54 The Importance of Product Market Fit

11:58 Deciding How Much to Raise

14:12 Avoiding Overvaluation and Dilution

16:37 UK vs. US Fundraising Markets

17:50 The Challenge of Fundraising and Building

18:24 Getting Your First Investors

20:08 The Role of Accelerators and Community

21:06 Choosing the Right Investors

24:56 Guiding Principles for Fundraising

26:10 The Importance of Speed in Fundraising

26:51 Setting Your Terms and Valuation

27:36 Creating Urgency to Close the Round

27:51 The Power of Walking Away

28:22 Maintaining Confidence as a Founder

28:59 The Journey of a First-Time Founder

29:27 The Role of a CEO in a Venture-Backed Startup

30:12 Balancing Personal Challenges and Fundraising

30:35 Support from Investors and Friends

31:36 Navigating Grief and Fundraising

32:08 The Importance of Clear Goals

33:11 Managing Stress and Avoiding Burnout

33:34 Creating Systems for Fundraising

33:55 The Challenge of Fundraising Alone

35:40 Prioritizing Business Goals

37:52 The Problem Kalda is Solving

39:31 The Cost of Private Therapy

41:48 The Importance of a Scalable Solution

42:21 Simplifying the Product

43:02 Lessons in Marketing and Branding

43:45 Reevaluating the Business Model

47:32 Final Reflections and Advice

In this episode, I take you inside a real GTM strategy session I ran for my client Dan, the Founder of Kalda. We unpacked his monetization options, refined his sales funnel, and aligned his brand so everything works together to drive sustainable growth. You’ll hear how we balanced big-picture strategy with tactical execution, and how I built him a roadmap to follow for the next year.I share:

• How to identify and validate different monetization models
• A simple but powerful sales funnel framework you can use
• Why branding and positioning are just as important as revenue strategies

RESOURCES MENTIONED

→ GTM Essentials Course: https://selinaho.com/gtm-essentials

→ Secure Your Winning GTM Strategy: https://selinaho.com/consulting

START YOUR BUSINESS

→ Start a business with the free Build a Sustaining Business program: https://selinaho.com/basb

→ Define your version of success and build a blueprint to achieve it inside the free Your Success Roadmap: https://selinaho.com/roadmap

SCALE YOUR BUSINESS

→ Free GTM Essentials Course: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoxqvwU4q36bTLn_CVAaeyHPd2bjxIEz_

→ Secure Your Winning GTM Strategy: https://selinaho.com/consulting

LET’S CONNECT

→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/selinaho

→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/selinajho

→ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@selinajho_

TIMESTAMPS

00:26 Sales and Marketing Strategy

00:42 Understanding the Customer and End User

01:07 Monetization Strategies

01:45 Privacy and Safety Concerns

02:11 Balancing Accessibility and Sustainability

02:26 Charging the End User

02:41 Exploring Gifting and Sponsorship

03:02 Community Support

05:26 The Importance of Community

05:41 Building a Strong Community

06:05 Offline Touchpoints and Meetups

07:40 Sales Funnel Overview

09:39 Traffic and Lead Gen

10:12 Optimizing SEO and Website Visits

11:07 Social Media and Referrals

11:41 Trusted Authority Referrals

13:29 Nurturing and Building Trust

14:13 Digital and In-Person Engagement

15:02 Conversion Strategies

18:09 Brand Building

This podcast pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to build a purpose-driven business that aligns with your values, sustains your lifestyle, and actually makes money.

Join business advisor Selina Ho for unfiltered insights, behind-the-scenes lessons, and honest conversations with visionary founders who are redefining success.

From profitable product development to intentional scaling and funding — it’s the real talk every conscious entrepreneur needs.

Tune in weekly to get inspired, sustainably grow, and achieve your version of success!

Ever wonder what it really takes to become an “overnight success”? In this candid conversation with Stephanie Melodia, we unpack the truth behind the myth — from the years of work no one sees, to the role of money, luck, and confidence in building a thriving business. Steph shares her personal journey, powerful money mindset shifts, and the resilience it takes to keep showing up, even when the results aren’t instant.

We share:

• Why “overnight success” is a misleading myth (and what’s actually behind it)
• The role money plays in creating freedom and opportunities
• How luck really works — and how to stack the odds in your favour
• Building lasting confidence through action and evidence
• The hidden long game behind public speaking and big opportunities
• Practical tips for women to shift from scarcity to abundance with money

RESOURCES MENTIONED 

→ GTM Essentials Course: https://selinaho.com/gtm-essentials

→ Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

→ The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

→ The Curve https://thecurveplatform.com/ 

→ Female Invest https://www.femaleinvest.com/ 

→ Vestpod https://www.vestpod.com/ 

LET’S CONNECT

→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/selinaho  

→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/selinajho   

→ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@selinajho_ 

CONNECT WITH STEPH

→ Podcast: Strategy & Tragedy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltJMUZ7C5_A&list=PLlV8JoK2z-iiFOW5Gw-FISA6rvBdR853z 

→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia 

→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmelodia-keynotespeaker 

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Podcast Intro

02:11 Free Course GTM Essentials

03:34 Welcome Stephanie

04:16 Defining Success

05:52 Early Money Memories

08:58 First Job Struggles 

13:28 Money Mindset

28:47 The Power of Compound Interest

30:48 Creativity Meets Market Need

32:23 Building Her First Business

33:10 The Unexpected Career Shift

33:56 The Role of Luck in Success

34:34 Effort vs. Talent

35:03 Hacking Luck and Taking Risks

37:14 The Reality Behind Success Stories

37:41 The Behind-The-Scenes of Public Speaking

39:22 First Public Speaking Experience

41:17 The Business of Public Speaking

42:28 Taking Risks for Opportunities

46:22 The Long Road to a Keynote

48:59 Managing Expectations

49:39 Building Resilience

52:19 The Importance of Consistency

01:03:26 LinkedIn Strategies

01:07:57 Final Thoughts and Advice

In this impactful interview, I sit down with Dr. Stasa Stankovic, the co-founder & CEO of OvartiX. She's a powerhouse that's leveraging her PhD from Cambridge to pioneer therapeutic solutions to transform women’s reproductive health

We dive into the real statistics and science behind fertility, IVF, and early menopause — including why ovaries are the fastest-aging organ, how 90% of your eggs may be gone by age 30, and why IVF has only a 25% success rate per cycle.

We also discuss the challenges of fundraising as a female founder in women’s health, and how Stasa is building a supportive ecosystem for women through her community, Wealth. Whether you're navigating your own fertility journey or want to better understand the science behind reproductive health, this is a must-listen.

We cover:

• Why ovaries age faster than any other organ
• What egg quantity & quality really means
• The limitations of IVF and egg freezing
• How stress, sleep, and lifestyle affect your fertility
• Hormone testing (FSH, LH, AMH) and what to ask for
• What most investors get wrong about women’s health
• How to build community and raise capital as a female founder

RESOURCES MENTIONED 

→ GTM Essentials Course: https://selinaho.com/gtm-essentials 

LET’S CONNECT

→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/selinaho  

→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/selinajho   

→ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@selinajho_ 

CONNECT WITH STASA

→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stasa-stankovic-93723a137

→ WEALTH: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wealth-women-in-health

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Intro to Women's Health Issues

02:02 Stasa's Journey into Healthcare

03:34 From Serbia to Cambridge

06:01 Understanding Genomic Medicine

07:06 The Impact of Genetic Mutations

08:41 Reproductive Aging and Women's Health

09:42 The Reality of Menopause and Infertility

12:56 Preventative Measures for Women's Health

14:33 The Role of Hormone Testing

18:12 Myths and Realities of IVF & Egg Freezing

20:37 The Reality of IVF

20:52 The Emotional and Physical Toll of Fertility Treatments

21:08 Improving Fertility Solutions

21:35 The Importance of Awareness in Fertility

21:43 Empowering Women Through Information

22:59 The Role of Male Partners in the Fertility Journey

24:44 The Power of Advocacy and Support

25:19 Perimenopause and Menopause

27:46 The Impact of Lifestyle on Menopause Timing

28:47 Transgenerational Effects of Diet and Lifestyle

30:16 Balancing Stress and Wellness

31:14 The Challenges of Fundraising for Women's Health

34:03 Building Wealth: Empowering Female Leaders

36:52 A Promising Future for Women's Health