Hi! I'm Azora Zoe Paknad.
Hi! I'm Azora Zoe Paknad.
Nice to meet you!
I’m a former founder with 12+ years growing start-ups in NYC. I’ve built, scaled, started and sold companies like BaubleBar, Thingtesting, Food52, Goldune, and Prima. Most recently, I worked in distressed assets and consumer M&A at The Hedgehog Company.
Now, I put all that trial by fire to use by supporting founders and funders with all things growth, strategy, biz ops, and commercial.
On the side I write a popular Substack about the ugly, hard parts of entrepreneurship— and how to get back up on the horse when you’ve been bucked off 100 times. When I’m not consulting or writing, I support entrepreneurs and creatives as a leadership coach.
Growing, building, buying, selling...
Growing, building, buying, selling...
What I do!
Consulting
I’ve grown late-stage start-ups, worn many hats on a well-funded but tiny team, and bootstrapped as a team of one.
Across the board, my secret sauce is in GTM, and making your biz ops, marketing strategy and revenue/commercial stack sing… ending with an exit.
I work with founders and funders to leverage those skills at the intersection of making money and managing money— whether in a project capacity (the sprint) or on retainer for more consistent support (the marathon).
Want to see a deck and some case studies? Shoot me a note with a bit more about who you are and what you’re looking for here.
Writing
I started my business in 2020 with a newsletter, and never stopped writing it. Turns out there were a lot of other people who needed to feel seen in the hard, brutal, not-so-easy-to-label-and-compartmentalize parts of start-up, founder, or work life & identity.
Now, I write a twice-weekly (ish) newsletter that’s born out of all the things I learned on my journey—and after it: reflections on my First Rodeo as a leader.
First Rodeo is now a Substack Bestseller. You can subscribe here!
Coaching
Starting a business, planning a big career pivot or navigating the ugly middle bits of your entrepreneurial journey can be a lonely road. (It sure was for me!)
I work with founders, creatives, and aspiring entrepreneurs to help them get unstuck, in the groove, and to chart the lonely course by making it a little less lonely, bit by bit.
I typically take on 2-3 of these engagements per quarter. Curious about how it could work? Shoot me a note here.
Featured in...
Featured in...
Get in touch.
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It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe your portcos need help with their monetization strategy. Maybe you want to start marketing on Substack. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.
zoepaknad@gmail.com