What Every Founder Needs to Know Before They Launch

Описание: What should every founder know before launching a business?
Enterprise Nation CMO Lorna Bladen shares the lessons she’s learned from supporting over 140,000 UK founders.

Launching a business is exciting, but it’s also lonely, overwhelming, and far harder than most people expect.

In this the first episode of What The F Happened? Season 2, we sit down with Lorna Bladen, Chief Marketing Officer at Enterprise Nation, to talk honestly about what founders really face before and after they launch.

From being told she’d fail her A-levels to running national startup campaigns, Lorna shares the moments that shaped her career, and the advice she now gives to thousands of entrepreneurs every year.

We cover:
What founders must know before launching
Why obsession and consistency matter more than perfection
The mental health realities of entrepreneurship
Why you shouldn’t build in isolation
The power of generosity, community, and showing up

This episode is essential viewing if you’re:
About to launch a startup
Running a small business and feeling isolated
A marketer working with founders
Struggling with confidence or momentum

Chapters 👇
00:00 Why most founders lower their expectations
01:20 Who is Lorna Bladen & Enterprise Nation
04:32 From school struggles to startup life
06:49 The email that changed everything
08:04 Learning marketing by doing (not textbooks)
11:36 Quitting without a plan & mental health
15:00 Why founders feel isolated
21:23 Why you shouldn’t start a business alone
23:32 “Launch ugly” and fail fast
25:03 Small founder stories that matter most
27:48 Creating life-changing opportunities for small businesses
30:42 Leaving Enterprise Nation & joining Canva
36:51 What every founder should know before launching
38:23 The best marketing advice founders ignore
41:09 The squiggle journey exercise
42:17 A final lesson on generosity

Links section
🔗 Learn more about Enterprise Nation
🔗 Subscribe for more founder stories
🔗 Follow the podcast for Season 2