Micro-wins, ‘risky’ steps and keeping grounded during the journey

I’m incredibly excited to share the first of our cohort catchup series! Here at Even Founders, we’re really passionate about our start-up school, where we equip women with the knowledge and guidance they need to confidently start their entrepreneurship journey.

Now, for the first time, we’re going to be sharing some catch-ups with past cohorts and taking an honest look at how things have been since they completed our start-up school.

A lot can happen in a year! We want to inspire you with these women’s stories, while also showcasing how different they can look from person to person. As a female entrepreneur, your business is in your own hands and while for some people that looks like running with it at full-speed, for others it involves taking things more slowly alongside a full-time job.

They’re both equally valid - the only thing that matters is that you’re managing your business in a way that works for you.

It was an honour and a privilege to catch up with Augusta Klingsten Peytz, Co-founder of Aisel Health, which provides intelligent assessments for psychiatry. Their solution ensures psychiatrists are informed from the first appointment and can focus on providing specific patient care rather than checking boxes. In a time where mental health waiting lists are at a record high and referral processes are slow, Aisel Health’s solution has enormous potential.

Take a read through our conversation to learn more about how Augusta’s year has been, including managing the highs and lows, celebrating all wins big and small, and some of her thoughts on entrepreneurship myths.

Hey Augusta, how are you doing? ‍

I’m doing good! I am currently in Munich for a conference and I was really lucky to borrow my friend’s place to stay, so that’s where I am right now! The European conferences give me an extra chance to catch-up with international friends, which really matters to me - so very happy these days!

Sounds great! Ok, so it’s been one year since you finished the start-up school. What’s been happening since then?

For me, the startup school was preparation for doing a full-time accelerator. During the fall when I was in the startup school I was working full time as an investor. Then in February I joined the accelerator and became a full-time entrepreneur. It was great because I had performed learnings from Even Founders that made me more aware of what I was getting into.

When I started full-time, because I went through Even Founders, I had clarity on the first steps and on all the technical terms. So it was super helpful to have that starting point!

Amazing, then what happened after the accelerator?

So jumping a bit back -  before the accelerator - I called an old friend and colleague, asked if he’d consider quitting his job and joining me, and he said yes!

That’s my co-founder Christian, who is everything I’m not, in all the best possible ways. We both started full-time in February, and we were trying to figure out what within the mental health space we are solving, who our customers are, and trying to find the need that we can work into.

In April, we were joined by our third co-founder, our CTO. He’s a great guy with 20 years of tech experience - and the perfect addition to our team.

In May we incorporated the company, and all of a sudden it’s a bit more real! Today we’re five people, three advisors, and wrapping up funding in the next few months - so I’m very excited to see what’s in store!

And you’ve been full-time fundraising since May? How’s that been?

It’s been a blast! We came out of stealth mode a few weeks ago and it’s starting to feel like a real company.

That’s so exciting. How are your emotions doing with that?

Overall, I thrive in risk and the day to day work of what we’re doing. I love what we’re doing so much, I can really see our product making a difference and freeing up space in psychiatry for patient care.

There’s a lot of emotions with running a startup, there’s ups and downs and so I try to be very careful about getting too excited. I try to be a bit pessimistic about specific things and optimistic about the overall journey; I have great expectations for what Aisel is going to achieve in these spaces, but tend to set low expectations for specific deals going through. I always take the mindset of “if not this, then the next”, so the lows are not actual lows.

It sounds like that’s a really good way to handle it.

I think most founders know that building a company is a marathon not a sprint. There are good and bad days, just as in any other job.

So on the days where you’re more distracted and exhausted, the best you can do is have routines in place to bring you back up. For example, for me, that’s going to dinner with a friend or going for a run.

After that the energy is always better, and you acknowledge that maybe this was not the most high-energy day, but tomorrow can be.

I could do with remembering this more! How do you deal with the pressures of being a founder?

Aisel is my third venture, but it’s the first full-time with high stakes.

If you’ve tried to found something before, you know how much mental space it takes and it can absorb your entire mood and identity - the company’s successes are your successes and vice versa. For me, this time around, it’s become important to remember that my identity is tied to myself or being an entrepreneur, and not a company.

I always have in mind to not become too reliant on the company's performance. Sometimes, it doesn’t work out - things are out of your control. That shouldn’t be discouraging, but rather a drive to figure out how to do it better on the next tasks or deal. There are also so many learnings that can be taken from these situations.

What are some of the main challenges you’ve faced?

Definitely the uncertainty.

So we haven’t had a salary for almost a year, but that does not stop rent needing to be paid and all the other life expenses from continuing.

There is clearly uncertainty in the financial planning, but as an early early stage start-up, there’s also the risk that what we are building might not be right. If that is the case, you need to think in pivots, and replanning, or perhaps even considering when to call it quits?

I believe the whole team is looking forward to a bit more stability, starting to plan for year 2 and 3, and things being a bit less touch and go.

We are, however, gaining more and more confidence on a daily basis that we have found the right need and space for us. We launched our solution in the first clinical setting recently, and the results have been better than we expected - so that was a major win for all of us.

Congratulations! What are some other celebrations you’ve had?

Getting our first customer!

The first yes is always the hardest, but it’s such a celebration to all the work coming together, the first results, the first feedback -  even if it’s the first step up a mountain.

For us, it’s very important to celebrate all wins, big and small. Back in May, for example, when we got the first sign-on to our alpha project, I picked up some “champagne” from a kiosk on my way to work, came in at nine, and we all just had a “Congratulations, let’s go!” celebration.

Another big moment for us recently was when we came out of stealth mode on our way to Tech BBQ. With the whole Copenhagen eco-system gathered it made sense to do it then, regardless of me wanting to perhaps wait a bit longer.

So as me and my-co-founder were on the bus going to the conference, we got the LinkedIn up and running - and then spent the next two days making sure everyone knew.

Those sound like pretty big celebrations!

Absolutely, but it’s equally important to celebrate the microwins for us -  we have a small win slack channel and every small win goes in there, whether it’s a new hire, a new commitment, or a new master student thesis. We celebrate it all!

That attitude is wonderful, and probably really helpful.

Haha, we try to keep it that way, but of course there are more tense days where I’m playing it cool under pressure.

For now, we are just very excited about how far we have come.With hindsight, we’ve achieved a lot - but undoubtedly it’s nothing in comparison to where we can go.

Looking back, we spent a long time trying to figure out the problem and product. Initially, we were fascinated by the concept of affective computing and voice analytics, but that as a stand-alone does not solve a problem.

One of the biggest problems in mental health care now is that people don’t have access, and you have to wait 103 weeks to see a psychiatrist. Of course, there is a lot more to it; such as misdiagnosis and follow-ups after sessions, but if you don’t have access to see someone you never make it further down the problem chain. So Aisel is tackling “access” as a first.

That’s so valid, and I love that you’re doing something about that. Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Beyond the company mission, I’m finding myself with a personal mission on debunking the myth of entrepreneurship being overly risky.

At the end of the day, it’s a job, the same as any job. The financial competent is the risk - so as a first step focus on savings, find creative ways to get a bit of income, and limit your expenses. With the financial risk under control, then start-up is not a risk, but rather a plan.

At the end of the day, it’s taking six or nine months out of your life to try - it’s not a long time, so if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t, and you get a more traditional job again. Not to say getting financial risk under control is not incredibly challenging in itself - it is.

But if building a start-up is the dream, then the regret will most likely be more challenging.

So if you are considering a start-up, start there, come with a good attitude of “I’ll make it work” and find a good community - then you are halfway there!