5 important lessons Circe's founders have learnt in one year since they launched

Claudia Radu and Gaurav Sood co-founded Circe, a digital platform that uses AI to unlock group therapy for women at scale. Through this startup, they make  evidence-based mental healthcare accessible and affordable at scale, while generating anonymised insights to improve research and reduce the gender mental health gap. They have recently celebrated their first birthday, and we wanted to get their reflections on the year gone by. The first interview we published with the two founders is available here.

5 lessons we've learnt as founders, by Claudia Radu & Gaurav Sood

Take care of yourself. You ARE your business. If you're not well, your work won't be either

Starting a company is hard. Especially the early days. There are days when you’re worried about making payroll. There are days when you wrestle with imposter syndrome. And then come the days when nothing seems to work out, and you question why you even started.

We often joke it’s ironic that there have been periods of time when we were so stressed/ anxious/ burnt out/ all-of-the-above that we probably had no business being the founders of a mental health company. 

Because as founders, there will always be a million things that you’ll want to do. There are always fires to put out and always the overwhelming urge to put them out this very minute. 

But, and I say this even as an ex-McKinsey consultant, 16-hour days & 7-day weeks are only possible for so long. 

And the sooner you’re able to accept that you’ve signed up for a marathon, not a sprint, the better you’ll be able to pace yourself and the better your team and company will be for it. 

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The relations you build matter more than the product. You'll inevitably pivot, and it's the people who will determine how you land

Naively, our very first attempt at Circe was to set up remotely in Romania, which is where Claudia is from. But we very quickly learnt, the hard way, that building a company from afar was a terrible idea, despite the myriad of advantages a market like Romania seemed to offer on paper - significantly less competition, cheaper customer acquisition, local market knowledge etc. 

For all its advantages, it was impossible to develop any human relationships or build a network, the value of which we hugely underestimated. Today, with the advent of a whole host of AI automation options, it’s easier than ever to hook Claude up to a SaaS tool that automates your entire outbound process, from LinkedIn to Email. The problem with that is that there’s a fine line between ‘personalisation at scale’ and ‘spam’, making real human relationships even more valuable in today’s environment. 

Contrast this with our first official year with Circe, everything we’ve achieved so far has either been on the back of the existing relationships or been made possible by the people we’ve met along the way. 

We shaped our product based on feedback from the founder communities we were part of. The founder communities organised meetups, at one of which we met our now advisor. Our advisors shaped our clinical product, which led to our first customers, which in turn got us attention at awards and pitching events. At one of these pitching events, we were introduced to Innovate UK by an audience member - a year later, that translated into a grant. The grant allowed us to make our first hire, which we proceeded to do on the back of recommendations from friends through a LinkedIn post. And that hire went on to organise Circe’s first in-person event that was attended by not just friends, but friends-of-friends and strangers as well!

Relations matter more than you realise in the moment. You can only connect the dots looking back. 

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Fall in love with the problem, not the solution. That's what will keep you going when the inevitable path shuts

If there’s one thing no one prepares you for, it’s the sheer volume of rejections (or being left on seen) you’re going to face as a founder. Grant applications, LinkedIn outbounds, sales email outreach, investor fundraising conversations - the lists never end. 

The only way to survive the undeniable bruising to your ego is by being so madly in love with a problem that your best friends have likely flirted with the thought that you might be certifiably insane. 

Because inevitably, as they did for us, paths that you thought were sure shots will close themselves to you. But at the same time, paths that you had never even considered will open when you least expect them to. 

Our north star, without question, has always been the problem that we’re trying to solve. That’s the destination we’re always making our way towards.
Like on any map, however, there will be multiple ways to get to that destination. 

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There's no one way to build a startup. Some things just need time to compound. Comparison is the thief of joy, so find your own way. 

There’s a rule in an Indian community known for producing some of India’s most famous business empires - once you start a business, you have to give it a minimum of 1000 days (3 years, give or take), before you’re even allowed to entertain the notion of giving up. 

And the reason is incredibly simple - things take time. 

Businesses take time to find their rhythm. Customers need time to trust you. Markets need time to understand what you’re offering. 

More importantly, you need time to learn what actually works, and this is usually different for every business and every entrepreneur. 

So, no comparing yourself to everyone else’s highlight reel on LinkedIn. No panicking when it’s crickets on launch day.  And no quitting when things get tough in month 6. 

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Celebrate the little things. A win is a win. And if you were waiting for permission, consider this it. 

Two years ago, we tried to sell something for the first time. We had worked hard to be ready for launch day and were so incredibly excited when our online shop went live. But then hours went by, and it was just… crickets. Hours turned to days and not a peep. No visitors, no sales. Nothing. 

I remember us pacing around our living room, equal parts panicking, equal parts contemplating every single life choice that had led us to this. The familiar self-thoughts of self-doubt start to make an appearance in your head - “why did we ever think we could do this”, “who would ever buy from US”, “are we even sure that our Google Ads are delivering okay”.

I’m sure fellow founders can relate.

And just when we had resigned ourselves to yet another day without a sale, we heard that sweet Shopify “KA-CHING”

I remember us locking eyes for a moment. And then both of us went absolutely nuts. We began jumping around the room, screaming happy tears, very nearly smothering Skye, our (now very confused) husky, who was ready to tuck in for the night. 

It’s silly how little it can take for two humans to go from moping around in pajamas to popping prosecco to celebrate (a heavily discounted) first sale. But before you know it, that one sale every few days turns into a sale every day, which before you know it becomes one of many. 

I used to be incredibly awkward about this, so Claudia gets the bulk of the credit here, but I’m so glad we took (and continue to take) the time to celebrate the little things. Because even though the wins feel ‘little’ or silly or insignificant in the moment, when you look back, you realise that the journey really isn’t much more than a whole bunch of ‘little’ moments strung together, each just a little bigger every time. 

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Make sure to follow Circe's journey and join the platform if you are in need of support!