Female Startup Club

Why I Disappeared Last Year, And How I Still Get Everything Done with Doone Roisin

January 21, 2026

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  • Doone Roisin experiences significant nervousness when the interview dynamic is flipped, revealing an internal thought process that runs much faster than her external communication. 
  • The common trait among the 700+ successful female founders Doone Roisin has interviewed is a fundamental desire for a life bigger than the norm, rejecting the 'easy, safe route' of a standard nine-to-five. 
  • Doone Roisin's reduced podcast output last year was due to losing established systems amidst the chaos of a highly successful but overwhelming year involving extensive travel, business focus (Techstars), and personal health issues. 

Segments

Interviewer Nerves and Thought Process
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(00:08:18)
  • Key Takeaway: Doone Roisin is a ’loop thinker’ whose internal conversation moves faster than her external speech, causing nervousness when she is not controlling the questions.
  • Summary: Being interviewed causes nervousness because the internal processing speed exceeds the ability to articulate thoughts clearly, leading to an internal conversation running on multiple tracks. A key piece of advice received was to keep speaking with confidence and let the flow continue, even if backtracking seems necessary, as the audience often forgets the original question. This approach allows the speaker to manage internal struggles without the audience noticing.
Interviewing Style and Active Listening
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(00:11:21)
  • Key Takeaway: Effective interviewing relies on treating the interaction like a natural party conversation driven by personal curiosity rather than adhering strictly to a prepared toolkit.
  • Summary: The best interviewing technique involves being oneself and following genuine curiosity about what the guest is saying. For new interviewers, the difficulty lies in balancing active listening with actively preparing the next question internally. This requires being highly switched on to manage both listening and preparation simultaneously.
Misconceptions About Extroversion
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(00:13:04)
  • Key Takeaway: Doone Roisin presents as an extrovert, but she is fundamentally an introvert who uses outward presentation as a coping mechanism requiring significant alone time to recharge.
  • Summary: People often mistake her loud, vibrant presentation for natural extroversion, overlooking her need for quiet, alone time after socializing. Her confidence is built through ‘brute force’ repetition of actions, rather than being an innate trait, similar to how artists overcome stage fright.
Public Speaking Nerves and Honesty
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(00:16:50)
  • Key Takeaway: Admitting nervousness at the start of a public speaking engagement can relieve pressure and foster greater relatability with the audience.
  • Summary: Nerves are a sign of being human, and the advice to simply ‘do it’ is key to overcoming the fear through repetition. For Doone Roisin, openly stating her nervousness relaxes her because it aligns with her true feelings, contrasting with advice to always project confidence.
Stress Manifestation and Techstars
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(00:18:19)
  • Key Takeaway: Extreme stress can manifest physically, as evidenced by the dye from a bodysuit staining Doone Roisin’s underarms during a high-pressure investor event at Techstars.
  • Summary: The experience at Techstars, involving intense investor pitches while unprepared, caused significant stress. This stress was so acute that it caused a physical reaction where the dye from her clothing stained her skin. This highlights the intense pressure of navigating unfamiliar, high-stakes corporate environments.
Common Trait Among Successful Founders
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(00:19:52)
  • Key Takeaway: The most common trait among successful female founders is a refusal to accept the norm, driven by a desire to build a fulfilling life or change the world.
  • Summary: Successful founders share an energy that rejects the ’easy, safe route’ of a standard nine-to-five job because it feels soul-sucking. They are motivated by purpose, financial goals, or a desire to design their own lifestyle, preferring the harder path to achieve their unique vision.
ADHD Diagnosis and Practical Strategies
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(00:22:21)
  • Key Takeaway: The ADHD diagnosis provided validation that her struggles in structured environments like school were due to brain wiring, not stupidity, leading to the adoption of practical coping mechanisms like ‘body doubling’.
  • Summary: Understanding her brain pathways allows Doone Roisin to work smarter rather than being hard on herself for struggling with simple tasks. The concept of ‘body doubling’—having someone sit nearby to maintain focus—is a practical strategy that combats task paralysis when facing simple administrative work.
Manifestation Through Practical Steps
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(00:28:24)
  • Key Takeaway: Doone Roisin’s version of ‘manifesting’ is practical: identifying a ‘wouldn’t it be cool if’ thought, treating it as achievable, and immediately reverse-engineering the necessary practical steps to connect the dots.
  • Summary: Manifesting is not woo-woo dreaming; it involves identifying achievable goals and then creating a practical, step-by-step plan to reach them. Publicly stating these goals serves to spark conversations that provide missing puzzle pieces, rather than purely for accountability.
Podcast Hiatus Reasons
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(00:33:52)
  • Key Takeaway: The podcast’s reduced posting schedule resulted from losing essential systems due to burnout, the transition of a key team member (Josephine), and prioritizing major life events like extensive global travel and purchasing a house.
  • Summary: The loss of structure began leading up to and during Techstars, exacerbated by ongoing energy issues leading to burnout cycles. When a key team member transitioned out, the ability to maintain complex systems diminished, forcing prioritization toward major life achievements over consistent podcast output.
Smash or Pass Celebrity Opinions
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(00:40:08)
  • Key Takeaway: Timothy Chalamet is a ‘smash’ due to being ‘a vibe,’ while Brad Pitt received a ‘pass’ in this rapid-fire segment.
  • Summary: The segment involved quick judgments on various celebrities, including a ‘smash’ for Justin Bieber and Jacob Elordi. The exercise highlighted the difference between appreciating an actor’s work (Steve Carell) and giving a direct ‘smash or pass’ rating.
Attitude Towards Money and Wish Lists
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(00:41:32)
  • Key Takeaway: Doone Roisin rejects the stereotype that women shouldn’t care about money, asserting that caring about finances is essential for building businesses and achieving goals, which fuels her ‘wish list’ mentality.
  • Summary: Caring about money is framed as necessary for building wealth and supporting other women in business, not as a negative trait. Her ‘wish list’ chat group involves aspirational items like a pink G-Wagon and a hot pink karaoke mic, which she actively works toward achieving.
Current Grinding Gears and Phone Addiction
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(00:44:37)
  • Key Takeaway: The primary thing grinding Doone Roisin’s gears is her phone addiction, which she recognizes requires breaking up with the device to achieve mental disconnection.
  • Summary: The desire to disconnect from the phone is strong, as being in line of sight immediately triggers the urge to pick it up. Experiencing two magical days without phones confirmed the need to remove the device from sight to achieve mental peace.
Word for the Year 2026
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(00:45:42)
  • Key Takeaway: The chosen concept for the year is ‘Maximum’ (or ‘Max it’), intended to build upon the previous year’s theme of ‘Variety’ by expanding the foundations built over the last six years of Female Startup Club.
  • Summary: Last year’s word, ‘Variety,’ successfully led to incorporating new hobbies and travel after a period of settling back in Australia. The new goal is to ’expand’ the business foundations, though the final word settled on is ‘Maximum’ to push efforts to the fullest extent.