All business owners face a set of issues sooner or later. To seek out like-minded founders who can support them mentally and emotionally when they hit roadblocks is critical. In the meantime, a book can really help. Interview with the author, accustomed to success, Mona Bijoor.

Hi Mona, so why did you write this book… now? 

Mona Bijoor: I’ve spent the past couple of years advising hundreds of first-time founders, and my conversations with them were the inspiration for Startups and Downs: The Secrets of Resilient Entrepreneurs.

Through advising founders, I found that there is a set of issues that all business owners face at one time or another. But these common challenges—pitching investors, losing key employees, dealing with the competition—aren’t something people automatically know how to deal with from the start.

In Startups and Downs: The Secrets of Resilient Entrepreneurs, I share what I think all business owners (big, small, start-up, or established) need to know about overcoming the challenges every entrepreneur or intra-preneur experiences during his or her journey.


An extract from your book that best represents yourself?

M.B.:“Finding your flow as an entrepreneur doesn’t happen automatically. It takes confidence, time, and tenacity to develop. You’ll need to know yourself really well to figure out the structure that will help you to be your best creative self and make progress toward your vision. You’ll need to quickly assess your learning’s from failures and success, let go of what doesn’t work, and keep what does. All of this takes intuition and heightened perception, which only comes with flexing your spiritual muscle.” (excerpt from Startups and Downs)



The trends that are just emerging and that you believe in the most?

M.B.: I think most cultures are on a quest for equality—racial, gender, and economic. I’m interested in how this fight for equality manifests in new and improved business models.


If you had to give one piece of advice to a reader of this article, what would it be?

M.B.: Many entrepreneurs are experiencing (or have experienced) the same things that you are in your entrepreneurial journey. I encourage entrepreneurs that I mentor to seek out like-minded founders who can support them mentally and emotionally when they hit roadblocks and help them rebound quickly.


In a nutshell, what are the next topics that you will be passionate about?

M.B.: Wealth creation for all, building two sided marketplaces, and disrupting taboo industries.

Thank you Mona,

Thank you Bertrand

The book: Startups and Downs, The Secrets of Resilient Entrepreneurs, Mona Bijoor, Indigo River Publishing, 2019.