Howdy!
My name is Azora Zoe Paknad, but you can call me Zoe. I started an ecommerce marketplace business in 2020 and parted with it at the end of 2022. I had a hell of a time.
Those years were challenging beyond belief, and so were the years after when I had to go back to working for someone else— but I found that nobody talks about the ugly parts of this weird little whirlpool of entrepreneurial mythology and the cult of “building a brand.”
I started my business in 2020 with a newsletter, and it made sense for me after winding it down to keep writing to you all, just to get the weirdness out of my system and process what a trip it had all been.
Turns out there were a lot of other people who needed to talk about and feel seen in the hard, brutal, not-so-easy-to-label-and-compartmentalize parts of start-up, founder, or work life & identity.
Now, I write a twice-weekly (ish) newsletter that’s born out of all the things I learned on my journey—and after it: reflections on my First Rodeo as a leader.
On the side, I do freelance support (mental, emotional, operational, “coaching”— though that word gives me the ick) for founders, former founders re-entering a tough market, or anyone who needs a little help or real talk figuring out how to navigate work and identity. You can always email me anytime if you want to work together!
Most recently, I worked in M&A of distressed consumer brands. Now, I’m in the wind— aka, doing strategy, biz ops and growth consulting full time, writing First Rodeo, and, shockingly, TikToking.
If you’re new here, here are some of my most popular letters:
Summer saved me from myself
Last May, I did something really hard— I had to let go of my team. All of it. I was running a business that wasn’t growing (at least not in the way a venture capitalist wants it to) and I had hired too much and in the wrong parts of the business. I don’t talk about this often because
Did the "Girlboss" narrative kill my company?
First, let me get one thing straight: no one thing led to my decision to close up shop about a year ago. When I started Goldune, I was 26. 26! I …
What it's actually like to look for a job as a "failed founder"
I knew I had to get a job in October of last year. Simply put, the decision made itself: I needed money, and I had not much left after years of paying my business instead of my business paying me. The decision morphed over time. At first I was open to something maybe part-time while I kept working on my business. Then I thought my business would be a sid…
The f-up that cost my business its runway.
It’s both simple and complicated all at once: I hired too big and too fast, and then continued to make a series of decisions that were bad for the company but good for those hires because I really didn’t want to deal with painful truths, being disliked, or firing people.
Do you need a personal brand? Does anyone?
I’ve now woken up twice in the middle of the night, tip toed to my office, and rabidly *unscheduled* a Substack that was set to send early the next morning. Even in my sleep, there’s a niggling subconscious that says “Wait! That letter isn’t good enough to send yet!”
Where's the line between *consuming* reality and *creating* reality?
Hi! First off, welcome to a bunch of new readers who found me through my lovely friend Nate. If you’re new here or just get too many newsletters to keep them straight, here’s a brief refresher on who I am and what I write about. Now let’s go :) Only decades ago, the average person had one source of information, if any — the local newspaper. I…
How the f💰💸k is everybody living like this?
I’ve wanted to write this for so long, but there’s so much to say and it never feels complete. I’ve tip toed around it— talking about founder debt, how we are living through a second Gilded Age, “quiet luxury”— but never hit it right on the nose. As I’m learning with writing, more regularly and more seriously, you sort of have to release the hope of eve…
Are you living a toothless life? On living with regrets... or taking the plunge.
The other day I wrote about how desperate I was to take a pause from the breakneck speed of jumping from start-up to start-up to start-up for the last 4 years.
They don't build statues of curators.
Good morning on this very Spring-y Wednesday and Happy May! My boyfriend and I have dubbed this “8,000-step-a-day-May” and our goal is to surpass 8K steps every day this month. This is a very meaty letter, so we’ll keep it short up here with the fluff
The essential quality that makes someone successful... and, well, what if I don't have it??
This is a very personal, long, meaty letter today— so buckle up, get your beverages ready, settle into a comfortable chair.
I also write a series called “So you want to start a brand…”, and you can check out issues on taking the plunge, product development and marketing a launch here.
If you’re curious about life after entrepreneurship, getting back on the horse after you’re bucked off 100 times, you liked my vision or the way my start-up helped make sustainability feel less stiff and serious and granola and more fun, kooky, and sexy, then maybe you should subscribe.
If you’re interested in consulting, coaching, advising, fractional services or potentially selling your business— you can always contact me here.
xo
Zoe
