9 Founders Turn Personal Crises Into Businesses, From 200-Client Brain Training to Six-Figure Skincare
Updated
Updated · Forbes · Jul 2
9 Founders Turn Personal Crises Into Businesses, From 200-Client Brain Training to Six-Figure Skincare
2 articles · Updated · Forbes · Jul 2
Summary
Nine founders were profiled for building companies directly from personal crises, from suicide loss and war disruption to infertility, burnout and a child’s cancer treatment.
Several ventures grew by solving the founders’ own unmet needs first: Mariela Hunter turned her recovery into Cognitive OS and used it with 200 founders and executives, while Georgina Tang’s YNNY became a six-figure skincare business.
The stories also show businesses forged under acute pressure—Alyona Mysko rebuilt Fuelfinance after Russia’s 2022 invasion wiped out half its revenue overnight, and Kevin Leyes created LeyesX after losing nearly $150,000 to online scams.
Across the cases, the common pattern was demand emerging once others recognized the same gap, whether in mental health support, reproductive health information, grief policies or nutrition guidance during treatment.