The Problem No One Names in the Room

If you’re a technical or academic founder, this might sound familiar:

• You’re building the product
• Managing vendors or manufacturing decisions
• Handling regulatory conversations
• Pitching investors
• Trying to recruit talent
• And holding the emotional weight of the entire company

From the inside, it looks like commitment.

From the outside especially to investors, it often looks like fragility.

Not because you’re incapable.
But because no system can scale when everything depends on one exhausted person.

As Sabrina Runbeck puts it:

“You cannot say our society is burning out while building a healthcare company that burns out its own people. That’s not authentic leadership.”

Investors don’t always say this directly but they feel it.

When “Doing Everything” Becomes the Risk

In a recent conversation with MyPhuong Le, PhD, venture studio founder and ecosystem builder, this came up repeatedly.

Technical founders often start companies to create:

• New therapies
• New devices
• New approaches to care

But somewhere along the way, survival mode kicks in.

Founders start saying:

• “It’s cheaper if I do it myself.”
• “I’ll just learn manufacturing.”
• “I’ll handle supply chain for now.”
• “I’ll manage the team until we raise.”

And suddenly, the company is no longer built around innovation, it’s built around containment.

As MyPhuong shared:

“Founders often lose themselves trying to do everything. Are you still the scientist creating innovation—or are you becoming your own manufacturer, supply chain, and HR?”

That shift matters more than most founders realize.

Because when investors see a founder drifting away from their highest-leverage role, they don’t see dedication—they see misallocation of leadership energy.

Burnout Isn’t Just Personal, It’s Structural

Founder burnout is rarely about working too hard.
It’s about working without alignment.

In HealthTech especially, burnout often comes from:

• Siloed teams (science, software, business not speaking the same language)
• Unclear ownership and decision rights
• No ecosystem of support beyond the founding team
• A constant feeling of “I can’t let go or everything breaks”

This is why investors ask questions that feel indirect:

• “How do decisions get made?”
• “Who owns commercialization?”
• “How do you resolve conflict?”
• “What happens if you step back for 30 days?”

They’re not testing your toughness.
They’re testing whether the company can breathe without you holding it together.

The Quiet Connection Between Burnout and Fundability

Here’s the part most founders don’t want to hear:

Burnout changes how you show up in the room.

It shows up as:

• Over-explaining the science
• Defensiveness around feedback
• Resistance to outside perspectives
• Difficulty articulating priorities
• Subtle urgency that feels like pressure, not confidence

None of these are flaws.
They’re signals.

And investors, especially in capital-intensive healthcare, are trained to read signals, not intentions.

This is why you can have:

• reat meetings
• Positive feedback
• “Strong interest”

…and still walk away without a term sheet.

Not because you’re failing.
But because the system around you isn’t yet stable enough to scale.

Why Ecosystems Matter More Than Hustle

One of the strongest themes from MyPhuong’s work is ecosystem-building, not as a buzzword, but as a survival strategy.

She didn’t build space, labs, and community to make startups feel supported.

She built them because no HealthTech company succeeds in isolation.

Especially not at pre-seed and seed.

Founders don’t need more advice to:

• Work harder
• Grind longer
• Push through exhaustion

They need structures that:

• Distribute responsibility
• Encourage cross-functional dialogue
• Keep founders anchored to their core role
• Protect long-term decision-making capacity

That’s not a “nice to have.”
That’s how sustainable companies are built.

A Reframe Worth Sitting With

If you’re in the middle of stalled fundraising, ask yourself this not as self-criticism, but as strategy:

• Am I building a company that depends on my exhaustion?
• Or am I building one that can grow without consuming me?

Because investors don’t fund martyrdom.
They fund durability.

And durability starts with alignment inside the founder, inside the team, and across the ecosystem supporting the work.

As Sabrina reminds us:

“There’s the mind, body, and soul of a person—and the same exists in your business. If your team isn’t aligned, your innovation never reaches the people it’s meant to help.”

💡 Want help figuring out your first C-suite hire?

Join the PulsePoint Path Boardroom or apply as one of our advisors who we place into trusted portfolio companies. It's designed for HealthTech and digital health founders between Seed and Series B who want to hire smart and scale faster.

Going to JPM 2026?

Dr. MyPhuong Le will be hosting the Global Innovation in Women’s Health Pitch Showcase 2026, with Sabrina Runbeck serving as a judge—especially for founders heading to JPM 2026. 

This in-person event brings together innovators, investors, and leaders advancing women’s health.

📅 January 12, 2026 | 1:30–8:00 PM PST

📍 The Women’s Building, San Francisco, CA

🎟 Exclusive listener offer: Get 20% off registration

Use code WMNSHLTH20

Register here: https://eventship.com/event/01-12-26-global-innovation-in-women-s-health-pitch-showcase

Learn more about the agenda: https://www.aquillius.com/event/global-innovation-in-womens-health-pitch-showcase

Here are 3 ways we can support you right now:

🎤 Be a Featured Guest on Provider's Edge
Have traction and a story to share? Apply to join us: PulsePointPath.com/Call-Sabrina

📊 Ready to turn your pitch into a magnet?
Send us your draft—let me rewrite it for you 👉 PitchToYes.com

🎯 Get In Front of Aligned Investors
We match you with investors who already care about your niche. Apply at CapitalEngine.vc

🎧 Related Articles You'll Love

Ep 130- Why Most HealthTech Solutions Fail: The Hidden Gap Between Innovation and Implementation – This episode digs into the common pitfalls that healthtech founders face (particularly in scaling and market fit).

Ep 154- Is Your Startup Built on Swiss Cheese? with George Pappas – A strong fit because it explores structural weaknesses in startups (teams, roles, funding) that align directly with what we unpacked with MyPhuong.

Ep 177- What Traction Signals Investors Say Yes To – Especially relevant for founders looking for their first backers, this episode zeroes in on what investors are actually looking for.

About Sabrina Runbeck

Sabrina Runbeck, MPH, MHS, PA-C helps healthcare technology companies scale sustainably—without burning out their teams or running out of cash. She co-founded PulsePoint Path and works alongside a 12-member integrated board of advisors to help founders make strategic decisions that multiply impact and protect capital. Her signature 5D Integrated System helps companies move beyond one-dimensional problem-solving and instead builds an Empowered Ecosystem across leadership, team dynamics, and system alignment. This is how founders evolve from early traction to 10x growth. Sabrina is also a TEDx speaker, former Cardiothoracic Surgery PA, and trusted advisor with over 15 years of experience in public health, neuroscience, and business acceleration.