There’s a particular kind of certainty that comes from a traditional career. You have the training, the title, you know what good looks like. Starting a business feels like stepping off solid ground onto a rollercoaster you’re still building as it moves.

Recorded live at Climb 26, this is a conversation with Eve Hanks, founder and CEO of veterinary diagnostics company MI:RNA. Eve spent years as a vet and scientist before a midlife moment when she sat with her finger hovering over the “incorporate a company” button, worked out she had roughly two thousand working Mondays left, and decided that wasn’t a lot. So she packed up boxes, drove to France, renovated a house and launched a business ... during COVID ... because it had become more terrifying to stay than it was scary to go.

We get into the science that made it possible: microRNAs, a control system in the body we didn’t even know existed until recently, and how a process that once took six months now takes an afternoon. We talk about pitching a technology so new that investors asked her what a dairy cow was, what resilience actually looks like (pitching, getting no traction, crying in the bath, and getting up to do it again), and why she tells every scientist she mentors that they’re the one holding all the cards.

A conversation about counting your Mondays, betting on yourself, and turning brilliant science into something real. Find out more at mirna.tech.

The Unlock Moment is hosted by Dr Gary Crotaz, PhD — master interviewer, executive coach and author. Downloaded in over 140 countries. Sign up to The Unlock Moment newsletter at https://tinyurl.com/ywhdaazp Find out more at https://garycrotaz.com and https://theunlockmoment.com Also discover his other podcasts, The Box of Keys and Unlock Your Leadership. Follow, subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts — and connect with Dr Gary on LinkedIn for more leadership insights. Part of The Unlock Moment podcast family.