What song would you choose to sum up your business journey?

Entrepreneurship comes with its fair share of challenges. From networking and finding your business model, to raising funds and refining your strategy, life in business is by no means as easy as it may initially seem.

Amid this hectic life, business leaders must remain calm and collected, going through different trajectories on their business journey.

And what better way to sum up this journey than through music?

Music not only calms the soul and provides respite from everyday life, but it also gives listeners countless lessons, points of reflection, and lyrics they might be able to relate to.

Posting on social media on Wednesday, Ana Rubio, CEO and Founder of start-up datalitiks, remarked that this also applies to a business journey. Different business leaders and companies relate to different songs, according to what point they find themselves in.

To Ms Rubio, the song that summarises her start-up journey is ‘Whatever It Takes’ by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons, with the CEO stating that the song’s title is a “very common expression between entrepreneurs”.

“It reflects the risks and rapid changes of the start-up world. Much like the song, experiencing the rush of ‘the adrenaline in my veins,’ pushing through challenges and uncertainties with determination to turn what is initially an experiment into a business,” she explained.

She noted that in the early stages of start-ups, they enter what is termed as the “survival mode”, the point where they face a number of challenges and hardships. “It’s not about precarity, but about juggling market fit, development, traction, and assembling the right team,” she said.

In August 2022, Ms Rubio founded datalitiks, a company that measures and drives ESG impact for clients, resulting in sustainable solutions for a better future. She manages a team of data experts, delivering data-driven insights for clients and driving a positive change through data analytics.

Quoting the song yet again, Ms Rubio said that the lyric: “Everybody circling, it’s vulturous. Negative nepotist,” is a “fitting description” of the industry’s competitive nature.

Despite this competitiveness, each Founder hopes: “Everybody hoping they could be the one.”

“The path of a solo Founder can indeed by overwhelming. The vision is clear, but the challenges are many. And with statistics suggesting that start-ups are more likely to fail than succeed, the pressure is immense,” he continued.

However, Ms Rubio added that despite this pressure, just as the song states “Break me down and build me up”, each setback must become a lesson, while every failure presents an “opportunity to grow and evolve”.

Ms Rubio said that recently she has started engaging with different entrepreneurs and start-up Founders, focusing on “mutual growth and learning” together. “Everyone has their battles, their moments of doubt, and their triumphs. But the journey is about persistence, resilience, and the relentless drive to achieve – whatever it takes,” she concluded.

Ms Rubio’s song of choice to sum up her journey is ‘Whatever It Takes’, but what is yours?