Hi, I’m Serena Fordham, and this blog post is an extension of my Amazon Bestselling Book “ProspHER(ish): The diary of a fcuked up female-founder” written to help women succeed in their businesses and careers – while ultimately achieving their dreams and fullest potential.
Bouncing back from bad news gets easier. Let me explain.
The most recent verdict from Innovate UK hit my inbox today: another rejection. Initially, a wave of disappointment washed over me, followed by that familiar self-doubt. But after a few minutes of reading the feedback, something shifted. I felt a sense of immense pride in what my team and I have achieved, especially over a very difficult few years. This news might not have been what we had hoped for, but a “no” has never held us back.
Making it happen
I know building our innovative, gamified learning platform, ProspHER Quest, WILL HAPPEN. It might just take a little longer without funding, but our passion to educate and empower millions of women around the world to succeed remains stronger than ever.
It wasn’t always this easy to see the bigger picture. I remember receiving our first competition feedback in early 2023 and breaking down in tears. It took weeks to get over the feeling that I’d let myself and my team down. I linked this bad news directly to my self-worth and branded myself a complete failure.
But now, as I look at our scores from all the Innovate UK competitions we’ve applied for, I see something different. While we’ve had our share of ups and downs, our scores have improved massively over time. And that’s nothing to be ashamed of. Even through extreme adversity, we’ve remained resilient and never given up. We’ve evolved.
What it’s really about
My biggest learning from taking part in these processes is this: it’s not really about winning—the destination. It’s about evolving and becoming better—the journey. And that’s a HUGE win for ProspHER.
Our story is a perfect example of what is often called a growth mindset. This powerful concept, popularized by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, is the belief that our abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication and hard work. People with a growth mindset see challenges as opportunities to learn and grow, rather than as a reflection of their limitations.
Instead of allowing this rejection to define us, we’re using it to propel us forward. We’re taking the feedback, identifying our areas for improvement, and building an even stronger platform. We’re celebrating the small victories along the way—the steady increase in our scores, the lessons we’ve learned, and the resilience we’ve built as a team.
True success
This journey has taught me that true success isn’t just about securing a grant or winning a competition. It’s about the transformation that happens on the path to your goal. It’s about building a team that trusts in the mission, staying true to your vision, and never giving up, no matter how many “nos” you receive.
So, to my incredible team: thank you. Your hard work, passion, and belief in ProspHER Quest are what make this journey so worthwhile. We’ve come so far, and this is just the beginning. The destination is in sight, but the journey has already been the greatest reward.
Have you faced rejection that you’ve overcome? Or had a win lately? Share it with me here.
Hi, I’m Serena Fordham, and this blog post is an extension of my Amazon Bestselling Book “ProspHER(ish): The diary of a fcuked up female-founder” written to help women succeed in their businesses and careers – while ultimately achieving their dreams and fullest potential.
For years, I believed I hated sales. The very word brought to mind the cutthroat, dishonest, and ruthless environment I experienced as a young estate agent.
Being made redundant from my Lettings Manager role while on maternity leave was, in a strange way, the perfect escape hatch. It was the push I needed to start my own business, where I hoped to leave that “icky” feeling behind. However, for the last 12 years, that mindset around selling has been a constant struggle.
Then came my session at ClimbUK with the amazing team at MySalesCoach. A “coaching on the coach” chat with Steve Myers was a total lightbulb moment. It wasn’t sales I disliked; it was competition. This distinction was a game-changer. I realized my aversion wasn’t to the act of helping someone find a solution (the essence of sales), but to the rivalry and fighting that so often accompany it.
Unmasking the real culprit
This revelation wasn’t confined to business. I started noticing a pattern in other areas of my life. I’d always told myself I hated board games, sports, the investment landscape, and even politics. What did they all have in common? Competition.
The dictionary defines competition as “a rivalry where two or more parties strive for the same goal, which may be a prize, a position, or resources.” As someone with a naturally collaborative and supportive nature, this definition makes perfect sense. My core being shrinks from the idea of competing or fighting with others. I have no desire to metaphorically trample over people to get what I want. My vision of success is one where we can all achieve our goals and dreams. The thought of a zero-sum game, where one person’s win necessitates another’s loss, just gives me the ick.
From rivalry to collaboration
This new perspective has been incredibly freeing. Instead of trying to force myself to be a “shark” in a competitive ocean, I’m focusing on building a business framework based on my strengths: collaboration, support, and shared success. I’m not a “bad salesperson”; I’m a good collaborator.
By reframing my mindset, I’m now actively seeking partnerships and focusing on adding genuine value. I see other businesses not as rivals to be defeated, but as potential allies with whom I can achieve more. This isn’t a naive approach; it’s a strategic one. By focusing on shared goals and mutual support, we can build a more robust and sustainable ecosystem where everyone thrives. My business, built on a foundation of integrity and support, is a reflection of my personal values.
This journey has taught me that we don’t have to conform to old, ruthless models of success. We can, and should, redefine what it means to win on our own terms.
Join the conversation
This shift has been transformative for me, and I’m curious to hear your thoughts. Have you ever felt that “icky” feeling about competition? What are your tips and tricks for navigating a competitive landscape while staying true to your collaborative nature? Let’s discuss how we can build a world where we all get to win.
Hi, I’m Serena Fordham, and this blog post is an extension of my Amazon Bestselling Book “ProspHER(ish): The diary of a fcuked up female-founder” written to help women succeed in their businesses and careers – while ultimately achieving their dreams and fullest potential.
Not the plan
This is not the blog post I planned to write. My alarm went off this morning, not with a gentle, melodic chime, but with the frantic barking of my two dogs at 3 a.m. One of those “it’s windy and therefore a cause for alarm” barks. A quick trip into the garden in the dark to let them out, a fruitless attempt to get them to quiet down, and then, just as quickly as it started, they were calm again. Me? Not so much. I didn’t get back to sleep.
My second alarm at 7 a.m. went off, and I was in that frustrating half-awake, half-asleep limbo. The morning was just getting started. My daughter, bless her heart, dropped a bomb: no clean school shirt. My husband wasn’t around, so I was the one to rummage through the laundry, frantically searching for a dryer sheet, only to find the clothes were still damp. My son, having seen his pre-made lunch, declared it inedible, so I had to slap together a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in record time, which, of course, resulted in a sticky mess all over my hands.
From bad to worse
Then, the dog food bag broke. Spilling across the kitchen floor, it created a crunchy, oily mosaic. At least the dogs were happy, eagerly helping me “clean” it up. The final straw came when my son, on his way to school, fell off his bike. He came back in tears, with grazed knees and a broken chain. I spent a frantic few minutes trying to fix the bike, getting my hands covered in grease, and then comforting him, all while watching the clock tick past my departure time.
I was supposed to be on my way to London Tech Week at Olympia, ready to network and learn, but instead, I’m here, writing this, still in my pajamas, sipping a lukewarm cup of coffee. The FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is real, but so is the need to just take a breath and wallow in the chaos.
This is me
As a female founder and mum with a disability, things often don’t go to plan. And I’m willing to bet it’s the same for many of you. We see these polished photos online—the smiling faces at conferences, the perfectly styled outfits, the “I’m living my best life” posts. But what we don’t often see is the reality behind it all. The spilled coffee, the last-minute crises, the exhaustion that comes with juggling everything.
So, this is me, being fully transparent.
This is me, sharing a messy, frustrating, and very real morning. This is me, embracing the fact that sometimes, life doesn’t cooperate. And that’s okay. It’s a reminder that it’s perfectly fine to have a day where you do nothing but rest and recharge. There’s always next year for London Tech Week. For now, I’ll be here, scrolling through LinkedIn posts of everyone else enjoying the event, and I’ll be fine with that. I hope that by sharing this, you’ll know that you’re not alone on those days when everything seems to go wrong.
Share your story
Do you have a story like this where the day didn’t seem to go how you’d imagined it? Please share it with me here.
