The parts that aren't posted about, finally written down.

I didn’t start this to give advice.

I started it because I couldn’t keep everything in my head anymore. Because after enough setbacks, quiet wins, near-misses, and long drives home from co-working spaces and coffee shops that smelled like burnt coffee and burnout — I realized these moments were starting to blur together. And they mattered. Even the little ones. Maybe especially the little ones.

Founded in Canada is a journal. A personal one. A public one. A collection of what it feels like to build something in real time — not from a stage, not in a highlight reel, not after raising a round — but from the middle of the mess.

It’s written for founders who are in it. For the ones putting one foot in front of the other, even when the direction isn’t totally clear. For Canadian founders navigating this strange, sometimes lonely, often under-celebrated ecosystem. For anyone who’s ever tried to make something out of nothing — and wondered if they were the only one stumbling through it.

This isn’t a blog about how to get 10x growth in 10 days. There are no frameworks here. No blueprints. No pretend certainty.

Just the stories that don’t usually get told.

The hard conversations with co-founders. The meetings that leave you more confused than when you walked in. The quiet wins you celebrate alone in your kitchen. The late nights, the early mornings, the half-written pitch decks, the moments you feel like maybe — just maybe — you’re on to something.

There’s a lot of noise in the startup world. And for a while, I didn’t feel like adding to it. But eventually, I realized there’s a difference between noise and honesty. Between performance and presence. This blog is the latter. It won’t always be polished. Sometimes the entries will feel unfinished. That’s the point. I’m still in it.

If you’re here to follow along, welcome.
There’s room here for all of it — the small wins, the real frustrations, the unglamorous middle.

This isn’t a story about making it.
It’s a story about making it through.

And that feels worth writing down.

— Kendra