Sacha Awwa launches entrepreneurship series on founder burnout

Sacha Awwa will launch Your Brain on Entrepreneurship on Oct. 20 in Miami, starting with a session on founder burnout, sleep and decision-making under pressure. The complimentary series brings researchers and clinicians into the startup conversation as founder mental health draws more attention.

Why it matters: - Founder burnout is moving from private struggle to public conversation in the startup ecosystem. - The series is designed to give founders, operators and investors evidence-based guidance on stress, sleep and decision-making. - The first session focuses on the mental and physical costs of pushing through exhaustion, a problem that can affect company choices before founders realize they are at risk.

What happened: - Sacha Awwa will launch Your Brain on Entrepreneurship on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, at Mana Tech in Downtown Miami. - The opening session is called Running on Empty: The Fine Line Between Grit and Breakdown. - Registration for the first session is complimentary and open to founders, operators and investors. - The event takes place from 6:00 to 8:30 PM at Mana Tech, Loft 10, 21 SE 1st Ave #10, Miami, FL 33131. - Attendance is limited, and early registration is recommended. - Registration is available at request a place.

The details: - Awwa is the founder and author of Empower Your Marketing. - Awwa said her conversations with founders shifted from brand strategy to late-night discussions about whether to keep going. - The series will bring together researchers, clinicians and practitioners to discuss the mental pressures of building a company. - Session One will examine the science of pushing through and the science of pulling back. - The discussion will look at how sleep debt affects the quality of founders' decisions. - The panel will also cover the warning signs the brain and body send before a breakdown. - Guests are expected to leave with a clearer way to read those signals and judge where they stand. - The panel includes Dr. Marcelo Bigliassi, Associate Professor of Psychophysiology at Florida International University. - Bigliassi studies how the brain responds to stress, effort and fatigue. - The panel also includes Dr. Carmen Teresa Ramirez, a board-certified neurologist and chief medical officer of Wellness Tech Biodistribution. - Ramirez has more than two decades of experience in stroke, traumatic brain injury and brain health. - Awwa will moderate the conversation. - The idea for the series took shape while Awwa was writing her book. - Awwa described the project as a way to help founders survive, not just their business, but themselves. - Your Brain on Entrepreneurship will run every other month. - Sessions are planned in Miami in December and in New York in February 2027. - The series is supported by the Miami Chamber of Commerce Dubai, Mana Tech, ExV Agency and The Housing Summit. - Awwa said founders deserve real science, real experts and a room where the hardest parts of building a company can be spoken out loud. - Research cited in the release found that 72% of 242 entrepreneurs reported mental health concerns, through either a personal or family history, compared with 48% of a demographically matched comparison group. - The study was led by Dr. Michael Freeman, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco.

Between the lines: - The launch reflects a broader shift toward treating founder mental health as an operational issue, not just a personal one. - The format suggests Awwa is positioning the series as a bridge between startup culture and clinical expertise. - The emphasis on sleep, fatigue and decision quality points to a practical audience that wants tools, not motivational advice. - The cited research underscores how common mental health concerns are among entrepreneurs compared with peers outside the founder role.

What's next: - The series will continue with future sessions in Miami in December and New York in February 2027. - Awwa said the program will keep centering evidence-based discussions on the pressures founders face as they build companies. - Founders, operators and investors can continue to request attendance through the registration link.

The bottom line: - Awwa is turning founder burnout into a live, science-backed conversation, with the first session aimed at helping startup leaders recognize when grit becomes a risk.