Jenna Ryan Shares Why Taking the Risk is Worth it in Business | Episode 087

Jenna Ryan is the CEO and co-founder of Uqora, the first-of-its-kind UTI prevention company. After experiencing what she calls “a UTI apocalypse” — eight UTIs in one year — Jenna and her co-founder, Spencer Gordon, began experimenting with ways to alleviate not only UTIs, but also the stress and anxiety that go along with them. A passionate advocate for women’s health, Jenna is committed to UTI prevention research, increasing public awareness, and ultimately removing the stigma around these private, painful infections. Her singular focus is on creating healthy, safe, effective products for women that will provide sustainable relief.

Are you afraid to take risks in your business? Fear of failure is a pretty common thread that runs through many entrepreneurs, but if you’re ready to overcome that fear and start taking big risks, read THIS BLOG POST!

Here are a few key secrets we talked about in this episode:

• Michelle introduces Jenna Ryan.
• Jenna shares a little bit about herself and her company, Uqora.
• When she was first starting out Jenna had to do a lot of pitching to investors, many of who were men. Many of the men who had the venture capital didn’t understand Jenna’s vision for her products. She shares her full experience in this episode.
• One of the investment firms that Jenna pitched had a super-engaged community that may have helped Uqora, but one investment partner showed up late to the meeting and the other left half-way through. Jenna knew this wouldn’t be the right firm for her company.
• Jenna shares how she handles the big NO’s after she’s received them.
• There are things you can do to prepare yourself when you’re heading out to look for investors. Jenna shares some of her tips!
• The most devastating NO that Jenna experienced came at a personal level when marketing her company. Jenna shares the struggles Uqora went through in order to properly market their products.
• Capitalizing on the community voice might have been the most important form of marketing that Jenna did with her company.
• Jenna’s most accomplished NO occurred while she was still working at DocuSign and was trying to decide if staying with the security of a 9 to 5 job was the better option over pursuing and growing Uqora. She shares her full story in this episode!
• If you’ve considered striking out on your own, Jenna says, “My idea is to go do it because, of course, it is always easier than you think it would be.” Don’t wait or worry about the mistakes or problems that could occur, just go do it.
• There were a couple occasions where Jenna and her business partner turned away investors because they felt like they weren’t going to be a good fit.
• The elderly population, many of whom are in assisted living facilities, struggle with UTIs very regularly. Jenna wants to help this community but had to turn them away. She shares the full, sad story in this episode.
• Jenna shares what she would tell her younger self.

Connect with Jenna Ryan:

• Jenna’s Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter

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P.S. How many opportunities have you missed out on because you’re afraid of taking risks? It STOPS now! Learn why taking the risk is always better than remaining where you are by reading THIS BLOG POST.

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