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Tenacity with Sonia C.

Sonia Couto

A top 2% globally ranked podcast about what it takes to build in business, leadership, and life.

Tenacity is the discipline to keep building when the path is unclear, refusing to let fear, pressure, or uncertainty make your decisions for you.

Every conversation digs into the pivots, failures, restarts, and the growth that came from them. Guests share what happened when things fell apart, what they did next, and what they learned the hard way, with actionable takeaways founders can apply to shape long-term success.

Our guests are founders and leaders who have built and rebuilt after failure, started over after major life disruption, or built success in rooms not built for them.

Hosted by Sonia Couto, a Toronto-based tech founder who has been starting over her whole life, rebuilding failed products, leading three companies through a breast cancer diagnosis, and turning every restart into something stronger.

New episodes weekly. Learn more at soniacouto.com

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  • 21 episodes
  • fortnightly
  • Avg 39 min
  • English

Episodes 21

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  • March 19 · 1 hr 2 min

    What Happens When Your Hobby Becomes a Real Business

    Tenacity with Sonia C is a podcast for founders building real companies. Each episode explores how founders decide what to build, how they prioritize, and how they navigate uncertainty as they move from idea to product and from product to growth. What happens when a childhood obsession becomes a real business? In this episode of Tenacity with Sonia C, Sonia talks with Rui Couto about how he turned collecting comic books, Pokémon cards, and rare manga into a business built on sourcing, consulting, product design, and deep trust in a niche market. Rui shares how he went from passionate collector to recognized expert, why he moved to Japan, how he built a network without relying on a traditional website, and what founders can learn from solving their own problem before the market catches up. He also breaks down the real work behind niche credibility, the cultural lessons of doing business in Japan, and why product innovation often starts with frustration. This episode is for founders, collectors, niche builders, and anyone trying to turn expertise into a business without following the standard playbook. Practical takeaways include: how to spot hidden market opportunities, why trust can outperform scale, how to build authority in a niche, and what it takes to turn passion into real revenue. If you enjoyed this conversation, follow Tenacity with Sonia C for more honest discussions with founders who share the realities of entrepreneurship, leadership, growth, and resilience, without the highlight reel. Follow Our Socials: Website: https://soniacouto.com/podcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TenacitywithSoniaC Host IG: https://www.instagram.com/soniactech Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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  • S3 · E122
    March 12 · 47 min

    Why Most Startups Fail: The Founder Mistakes No One Warns You About

    Tenacity with Sonia C is a podcast for founders building real companies. Each episode explores how founders decide what to build, how they prioritize, and how they navigate uncertainty as they move from idea to product and from product to growth. Most startups don’t fail because founders lack ambition. They fail because founders build in a vacuum, avoid the real problem, and keep operating at the wrong level for the stage of the company. In this episode of Tenacity with Sonia C, Sonia sits down with startup founder, investor, and author Andrew Ackerman, who has built multiple companies and invested in more than 70 early-stage startups. Andrew shares the patterns he sees repeatedly across founders, the mistakes that quietly kill startups, and the habits that separate companies that survive from those that disappear. One of the biggest misconceptions founders have is that building a startup is about big ideas and innovation. In reality, most founders spend the majority of their time doing whatever needs to be done just to keep the business moving forward. Throughout the conversation, Andrew breaks down the practical lessons founders usually learn the hard way, including why startups should test ideas before building, how to identify real customer problems, and the signals investors look for when deciding whether to back a founder. Sonia and Andrew also explore the realities of scaling a company, the pressure founders face as teams grow, and how leaders must evolve their skills at every stage of the startup journey. This episode is a reminder that building a company isn't about avoiding mistakes; it's about recognizing signals early, learning quickly, and adapting before time and capital run out. If you're building a startup, launching a product, or trying to turn an idea into a real business, this conversation offers insights that could save founders months, or even years, of costly mistakes. In This Episode You’ll Learn • Why founders should test ideas before building products • The most common mistakes first-time founders make • How investors evaluate startup founders • Why coachability is one of the biggest signals of success • The importance of customer discovery in startup growth • How founders transition from operator to CEO • Why founders must constantly learn new skills as companies scale • How to identify real problems vs surface-level startup challenges If you enjoyed this conversation, follow Tenacity with Sonia C for more honest discussions with founders who share the realities of entrepreneurship, leadership, growth, and resilience, without the highlight reel. Follow Our Socials: Website: https://soniacouto.com/podcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TenacitywithSoniaC Host IG: https://www.instagram.com/soniactech Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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  • S3 · E121
    March 5 · 31 min

    When the Safe Path Feels Heavy

    What founders must confront when the “obvious” path is successful but internally misaligned

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Showing 1–20 of 21 episodes