Expert Advice from Aliaa Remtilla, PhD, Harvard-trained Anthropologist, Executive Coach and Startup Founder
Question
What if I fail again?
Many have asked this question as entrepreneurs or will at some point in their entrepreneurial journey and we felt that Aliaa Remtilla’s personal story will help address the fear and uncertainty that is often associated with this question.
Answer
What if fear isn’t holding you back – but holding the key?
For me, fear begins in my chest as a quiet heat. Then it spreads to my face. My arms. My toes. It’s a full-body alarm that freezes me and forces me to pay attention.
I felt that fear – vividly – two years into building StoryTiling, a startup I co-founded. We had raised significant funding, we had a promising product and we had clients. But we didn’t have a clear path to a big exit, like our investors were hoping for. And one day, my co-founder asked the question that had been left unspoken for months:
“Should we stop?”
Hearing the question spoken out loud hit me hard. My body responded before my mind could: the heat, the tightening, the sense of everything narrowing in.
It wasn’t just fear about the future of the company. It was fear about what the decision would say about me – a BIPOC woman who had “made it” on paper. Harvard grad. PhD. Non-profit executive. And now co-founder of a venture-backed startup. I had built a life around ambition and success. Around proving that I could succeed in spaces that weren’t built for me. Which meant that the startup HAD to succeed!
