How Three Female Founders Went From Stuck to Successful
Jasmine Panayiotou
Three female founders share how they quit their uninspiring 9-5 jobs and traded knocking for breaking down doors, both in their dream workplaces and within themselves.
Have you ever felt stuck in the job you once chose? Whether you're navigating an unfamiliar workplace or trying to hold your own in a testosterone-heavy environment, finding solid footing can be tough.
Despite progress, reports indicate that women still remain underrepresented at every stage of the corporate pipeline.
If you’re trying to make your mark in the corporate world or looking to escape the 9-5 cycle, but struggle to turn entrepreneurial thoughts into action, this one’s for you.
Three female entrepreneurs share how they defied the system stacked against them, reshaped the status quo and built their dream careers from the ground up. Our three interviewees blend their diverse expertise to offer an infallible guide to dismantling the system. Once ‘jack-of-all-trades’, they’re now masters of female entrepreneurship, with their success and the victories of their clients to show for it.
Siti Atinna Fadillah
Applied Neuroscientist and Clothing Brand Owner
Applied neuroscientist Siti Atinna faced a turbulent adolescence, her early years marked by domestic and health-related challenges. On reflection, Atinna now believes she was experiencing undiagnosed depression.
After returning to education, Atinna wrestled with the age-old choice: make art or make money? She ultimately found her calling in neuroscience after being drawn to STEM research and the industry's lucrative potential.
But art kept calling. Despite progressing rapidly in the field, that pull toward creativity persisted, leading her into cross-disciplinary work. Today, she runs her own clothing brand HVIT while serving as assistant director at biotech firm,
Atinna geared up to pursue her dream career by replacing stagnation with gratitude and resilience, ironically, through applied neuroscience. Nonetheless, she acknowledges that women face systemic and cultural barriers that can make the corporate environment more challenging.
“Leadership traits are often defined through a male lens, which can perpetuate unrealistic double standards,” said Atinna.
Doormat Culture: stop being the 'nice girl'
Atinna says rejecting 'doormat culture' is a key part of becoming a successful female entrepreneur, a step that shouldn't be overlooked.
“We are conditioned to shrink ourselves, over-apologise or prioritise harmony over our own voice. Recognise this, and refuse to internalise it. That means setting boundaries, advocating for yourself and surrounding yourself with people who see your value,” said Atinna.
The neuroscientist stated that trying to conform to this stoic mould can take a toll on the brain, as women can often downplay empathy and intuition to embody a conventionally ‘masculine’ persona.
“Some studies show that constant self-suppression increases stress, drains mental energy and can hurt memory and well-being. This internal conflict can very quickly lead to burnout.”
How do you stop being stagnant?
To escape complacency, Atinna recommends pausing to sit in your stillness.
“You might feel like you're drowning. Allow yourself to drown.” said Atinna. “Feel what’s underneath. Burnout, fear, disconnection or misalignment. Sit down with your feelings, and reflect on what’s been energising you and draining you.” said Atinna.
Atinna said this pause of consciousness is essential, and is what will enable you to swim back to the surface, and discover what truly fulfils you energetically.
Atinna's Neuroscience-backed Strategies
Here are some proven methods Atinna recommends women look to realign with their cognitive rhythms to improve their professional mindset and performance.
1. Work with your circadian rhythm
“Schedule demanding tasks when you naturally feel most alert, and protect your sleep and rest is essential for memory, focus, and emotional regulation.”
2. Follow ultradian cycles
“Use 90-minute focus blocks followed by 10–20 minute breaks to maintain energy and prevent burnout.”
3. Establish mindful routines
“Consistent start and end-of-day rituals support brain rhythms and make transitions smoother.”
Prioritise recovery
“Take regular breaks and rest days to reset stress levels and support long-term cognitive health. Ultimately, the key is self-awareness. Learn your rhythms, honour them, and adapt strategies that work for you.”
Practice positivity
“Women can build confidence and authority by training their brains through positive neuroplasticity. Visualisation, self-affirmations, and confident body language can strengthen neural pathways tied to self-belief. These techniques activate brain regions linked to reward and self-worth, helping reduce stress and boost poise.”
Laney Oden
Women's Empowerment Coach
Laney Oden, a spiritual empowerment coach, helps women break free from the old identities, patterns and beliefs keeping them small, so they can fully lean into their power.
However, Laney's journey wasn’t sparked by a single epiphany, but a build-up of years bending, shrinking and performing for the approval of others.
Laney is passionate about shedding roles rooted in complicity, when she states, “these aren’t our identities. They’re strategies we learned to stay safe.”
“I hit a point where I couldn’t ignore the disconnect anymore,” said Oden. “Breakthrough came from detaching from past identities, obligations and expectations.”
Laney followed a blueprint inspired by the advice of her business mentor, now a guide she shares with clients to help them craft their own professional persona.
“She asked, what does the most powerful version of me believe? How does she move? Lead? Speak? Then, I practice becoming her every day, until it becomes second nature.” said Laney.
She believes women truly thrive when balancing their masculine and feminine energy, guided by fine-tuned intuition that knows which to lead with.
“When your business needs structure, planning and drive, that’s using masculine energy. At other times, it needs space, softness and surrender, that’s feminine. The more attuned you are holistically to your body, your emotions, and your energy, the more you’ll be able to switch between them in the moment.”
“Purpose isn’t something you go find, it’s something you come back to.” Said Laney. “Get quiet, move your body, journal without a goal. Tune into your desires without judging them.”
She says when you strip back the noise, the truth is always there. suggesting ladies get quiet, move their bodies and journal the ride. Not with a goal in mind, but for your own joy and fulfilment.
Rebecca Christian
Mindset Consultant and Female Company Founder
Rebecca Christian, founder of RL Coaching, helps women break free from trauma and self-doubt to reach their full potential. Drawing from her own experiences with burnout, heartbreak and in corporate roles, she blends her wisdom with powerful techniques like NLP and EFT, guiding women toward healing, balance, and success.
Rebecaa's path to entrepreneurship was shaped by a diverse career, from stewardess to business manager. But her true transformation came after the pandemic. A breakup, the loss of a loved one, and growing dissatisfaction with her corporate role converged, forcing her to pause.
Amid grief and uncertainty, Rebecca turned inward and sought the guidance of a life coach, planting the seed that would eventually grow into her own coaching practice.
Rebecca Christian views her hardships with gratitude, crediting them for shaping a stronger, more tenacious mindset. She attributes success to this inner framework, one rooted in accountability for both action and inaction, championing discipline over motivation, as a “commitment to one’s future self.” said Rebecca.
“Entrepreneurship is not just a strategy that you have to learn. It's about emotional resilience and learning how to navigate the fear, the self-doubt, the financial dips that come with it.
You're not guaranteed the same income every single month. You’ll have to start over multiple times, you’ll fall down at seven, and need to get back up at eight, over and over. It’s having that resilient mindset to keep you going,” said Rebecca.
Rebecca: How to Reach Your Creative Flow State and Figure it All Out
Here are this coach’s practical pointers for women trying to find their calling and craft a more resilient mentality.
1. Regulate Your Nervous System
"Start regulating your nervous system daily. Do things like breath work, personalised tapping, grounding practices, visualisations, journaling." 2.
Connect with Your Future Self
"Start reconnecting with your future self, so the version of you already has the thing that she wants... What does her ideal life look like?"
3. Work on Your Belief System
"Do work on yourself in terms of your own belief system, because your beliefs, you will only act at the level of your belief system... If your belief system is flaky, that's your first goal to work on."
4. Develop Mental Faculties
“Perception, will, imagination, intuition, reason, and memory are required to operate at a certain vibration and attract everything you desire.”
5. Take Action Before You Feel Ready
"Start before you feel ready. It's about letting go of who you think you need to be, and step into somebody that you already are."
6. Make Small Steps Every Day
"Become 1% better every single day... Because success doesn't come from doing more, it's 95% mindset and 5% strategy."
7. Seek Guidance
"Become 1% better every single day... Because success doesn't come from doing more, it's 95% mindset and 5% strategy."
I haven't got here on my own... I've always had guidance, coaches, mentors, training... You can't see your own blind spots."
What These Women Share
Each of these women faced challenging first chapters, which were just the start of accomplished, unfolding life stories. They show us that returning to the drawing board is not a defeat, but a golden chance to rebuild a more vibrant and fulfilling life.
Through setbacks and reflection, they navigated the working world by realigning their mind, body and spirit, sharpening the intuition that continues to guide them throughout their entrepreneurial careers. Their stories encourage women to defy the systems that try to contain us and to stand strong in pursuit of their purpose.