The 2022 setback we never told you about

This process forces me to revisit certain emotions: joy, pride, doubt, anxiety. It also forces me to look at events through a different lens, recognize how far we have come and set my intentions for the year ahead.

But this year, as I begin this writing process, I feel like doing things differently. Instead of giving you a bird's-eye view and a broad overview of what happened in 2022, I would rather offer you a close-up of an event that left a mark on us. So I am indulging myself and taking on this writing challenge: telling you about a rather difficult slice of our lives as entrepreneurs. And I am sharing it because it was one of the most critical moments of our year. We did not tell you about it when it happened because sometimes it is easier to stay quiet, accept things and move forward.

July 2022

It is Monday, July 18. The last Monday before two weeks of vacation; it has been more than two and a half years since we took two weeks completely off. Our employees doubt we can do it, but they underestimate how much our hearts and minds are crying out for those weeks. It is Monday and we are happy: we have just signed for half of our financing round, $1M, with investors we respect enormously, and the fall looks promising. We cannot wait to close our $2M round and have the means to match our ambitions.

All that remains is confirmation that a government program will provide the second million dollars. We are confident: we worked very hard in May to prepare our application, and our experienced coaches assure us it is strong and almost certain to be accepted. So we start the day on the right foot, ready to wrap up our tasks for the week and leave the country with peace of mind. Then we get the call:

• “Hello, am I speaking with Ms. Gagnon?”
• “Yes, that's me!”
• “I'm calling to let you know that, unfortunately, your application was not selected for the investment program.”
• “Okay, and why?”
• “Your application is very interesting, but you are not far enough along in commercialization.” … silence … “But we invite you to reapply!”
• “Thank you, goodbye,” I say curtly.

It is not like me to be so brief, but I am in shock. This kind of news is like stubbing your toe on the corner of a wall. You take the hit, then the pain arrives; in this case, a mix of tears, frustration and dismay. Why is it so difficult to convey how significant our progress in bringing the product to market has been? What did we say that was wrong? What are we going to do? What do we tell our employees? Our investors? What is plan B? How do we look now?

Then dismay gave way to discouragement. We are tired of constantly looking for funding; working on documentation over and over, convincing people that we are solving a real problem, that we have real traction, that we have the best solution and that we are the right people to deliver it, all while managing the pressure of uncertainty. It is all stimulating, but ultimately, what drives us is working to create Braver's impact, not endlessly working on funding applications. We are disappointed in our government, disappointed that this is how it assesses healthcare innovation emerging from its own citizens. Our morale is low; we are disillusioned. And above all, it feels unfair that life is bringing us this bad news on the eve of a moment so crucial to our balance. We do not want to leave for two weeks of vacation with a knot in our stomachs constantly reminding us that being an entrepreneur means giving up feeling carefree.

Here’s the secret of success and happiness: Be resilient, take responsibility, work hard, always look at things from a place of confidence and gratitude. — Excerpt from the book You are a message by Guillaume Wolf

Be resilient

We had to be. We accepted the different emotions that washed over us and bounced back. As we know so well how to do. After a few hours of feeling defeated, our entrepreneurial brains slowly switched back on. And what does an entrepreneurial brain do? It develops strategies, solves problems and sets plans B, C and D in motion. Frustration turned into a blazing fire: a tremendous energy that made us want to propel ourselves forward. When this kind of difficulty arises, I like to turn it into an opportunity. In this case, we told ourselves: “You doubt Braver? Just watch everything we are going to make happen in the coming months!” We scaled back our hiring plan and set our sights on bringing the product to market.

But it would be untrue to say this strength is always with us. We are human, and mental exhaustion is very real. We try to listen to the warning signs, but we know we are walking a fine line.

Take Responsibility

It is never easy to take responsibility for what happens to us. These reflections came several weeks after we received the news. At a certain point, we managed to gain enough distance from our emotions to take a more pragmatic look at the situation. We acknowledged that we had probably been too certain it would work out. We told ourselves that we had not created enough options. We admitted that we had not sold our technology's competitive advantage strongly enough. In short, we recognized what we could have done better. But it would be untrue to say we took everything on our own shoulders. We still analyzed and questioned things. We still felt that, beyond our mistakes, Quebec's investment culture needed to be questioned.

Work hard

We are used to it, but that does not make it any easier. Scaling back our hiring plan and adopting a more conservative strategy did not necessarily mean being less ambitious. So we were reducing our resources, but still had to achieve the same goals. Mathieu and I therefore worked extremely hard throughout the fall to compensate; 24 hours were not enough to do everything, even when getting up very early and working late. That fall, we were often the bottleneck on certain matters. We had to shift into managing urgent priorities, say "goodbye" to our balance and accept being imperfect. But it would be untrue to say we were the only ones working hard. Because Braver is no longer just us, but a team investing heart and soul in bringing its mission to life. Our team showed patience when we were unavailable, tolerance when things lacked clarity, and empathy for our situation. Without them, working hard would have been in vain.

Look at Things From a Place of Confidence and Gratitude

Despite this bad news, we never stopped believing. We were confident that the market was there and still wanted Braver. Someone once told me that, after all these years, we were the experts on Braver and our strategy. We can often feel that the people giving us advice know better than we do. I sometimes have to remind myself that if we have come this far, it is because our decisions, instincts and approach are sound. If Braver is still here after 4 years, it is because we have done the right things and must keep doing them with confidence.

But it would be untrue to say that confidence is enough. We also need to recognize our privileges: we have the physical and mental capacity to face these challenges, we live in a society that values entrepreneurship, and we could not hope for better timing to bring our healthcare innovation to market.

But one of our greatest privileges is being surrounded by incredible people who constantly support us with understanding, trust and kindness. Whether it is our investors, who understood the situation and stood by us; our employees, who adapted to the change in plan and continued to believe in us; our coaches, always ready to take 5 minutes to answer our questions; or our parents and friends, who accept the far-too-long gaps between our precious times together.

These people give us the strength to believe we can make it.

Whether it is our clients and users, who show openness and express their desire to walk alongside us toward change, even though goodness knows how uncomfortable that change can be; or our partners, who share our values of collaboration and give us all the credibility we deserve despite Braver's youth.

These people are creating the future with us.

I do not know whether this is the secret to success and happiness, but one thing I do know is that with these ingredients, whatever the destination, the journey will have been beautiful, vibrant and full of meaning.

Thank you to everyone taking part in the Braver movement, whether from near or far, watching it unfold or getting your hands involved. Your presence is incredibly precious. We hope you cultivate all these wonderful ingredients in 2023.

With all our gratitude,

Marie-Lou and Mathieu