MY JOURNEY TO THE REAL PAIN POINT

Why I love and hate start-up speak

November 2nd, 2025

by Hanna Koch

I love it because I can say something like “I pivoted during my incubator program,” and it sounds exactly like what start‑ups are about: focus, pain points, speed, evaluation tools, building.

And I hate it because it is exclusive—hard to understand for anyone outside the bubble—and it promotes an image of fast‑paced, dynamic entrepreneurship that seems achievable only for independent youngsters.

When I began my founding journey, it was clear I would have to build at a different pace as the mother of a toddler.

And I am not the only one, so sharing my journey is part of the mission to present different role models in the start‑up scene.

So how did it all begin?

At the beginning of this year, I set out to open my practice towards applied art and practical use cases.

I was determined to use my creativity in an impactful way, bringing together my political and social ambitions with my love for art, design, and tech.

The idea of storing designs as NFTs on the blockchain and launching them as community‑owned IP assets was my initial reason to dive into web3.

I took part in an incubator program for social entrepreneurs and start‑ups and the SheFi blockchain education course, and over several months of preparation and learning I stumbled over my own care work and the experiences of other female founders.

For a while, it feels heroic to manage it all — your child, helping out your parents, preparing presentations at night — and the endorphins of building, your ambition, and the image you have of a successful mother with a career keep you going… until you burn out.​

For me, it did not happen from one day to the next; it slowed me down bit by bit, until everything just felt like a struggle and the question arose: if this is only the beginning, how on earth am I going to get through it?​

I can imagine that many women stop at this point simply to stay healthy for their children’s sake.​

That was my main motivation at least — being a raging, constantly stressed‑out mom? No, thanks.

This made me rethink and focus on what I saw as a real pain point for everyone who takes care of their children or parents while also working in a job. Everyone was just somehow making it through.

Then I learned about State Change through a podcast by Joseph Harper —forever grateful for his program.

State Change wants to launch the Florida Coin to reward voluntary public work by connecting sponsors, donors, and public interest, and by representing that unpaid work on‑chain through a cryptocurrency, and everything clicked.​
There had to be a solution, with web3 emerging, the creator economy, digital currencies even for memes, and ecosystems organizing reward systems, for showing the value of private care work.

It is not possible to stretch the day beyond 24 hours, but there is a way to recognize ALL this work, which ultimately adds up in the economy.
There is this old saying: behind every successful man is a strong woman who has his back — meaning that without her help at home, he simply could not be as successful.

So if her contribution is necessary for him to create value in the economy, why is her work not evaluated as part of the economy?

This has shifted today, of course, even though women still do the larger share, which is reflected in working‑hour statistics and the proportion of female founders.

Today — and even more so in the future — it is about valuing the private care work of everyone who has a job and everyone who struggles to find a healthy work‑life balance.

To get to that point — to finally create equality and make family and work truly inclusive — I shifted towards building Project Care‑Coin and immediately realized from the feedback I received that this is a real mission.

The idea was born to create a cryptocurrency that represents private care work — to tokenize private care work and bring its value into the broader economy.

And why am I telling you this? Because it is part of the Project Care‑Coin story.
I am strongly influenced by web3 marketing and community building, where the core values are authenticity, credibility, and the ability to tell the story behind the technology.