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Future Optimist

Ep. 172 - Sharon Kan: On the Hard Decision to Shut Down Your Start-up [Live in Boston]

Broadcast on:
11 Aug 2023

Sharon Kan is the CEO & Co-Founder at Pepperlane, a start-up that helped mothers transform their ideas, skills, and passions into businesses that fit into their busy lives. They raised millions with her brilliant concept. Alas, like so many others, COVID had a massive negative impact on her business, and she had to make the difficult decision to shut it down earlier this year.

In my conversations, I’m keenly aware of survivorship bias—that only talking to people who’ve won the lottery can give us a false impression about what it’s like to play the lottery. Or as Mitch Hedberg said: “You know when you see an advertisement for a casino, and they have a picture of a guy winning money? That’s false advertising, because that happens the least. That’s like if you’re advertising a hamburger, they could show a guy choking. “This is what happened once.””

Today we talk about life after a start-up, and how this unpleasant aspect of the journey led to Sharon finding a new voice and a new passion. Now she’s mentored hundreds of women CEOs and business owners, and she’s building a new life behind the scenes. If you’ve ever tried to build something ambitious, this episode is for you.

➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon2016/

➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/sharon-kan

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