· How did Monique deal with the toxicity in the relationship?

· What impact did this have on her personal and professional life?

· How did she seek the help she needed to overcome the anxiety and protect herself?

Founder and co-founder relationships are often compared to romantic relationships. They’re full of ups and downs. When it works, it's amazing, but when things don’t work out, it’s an entirely different story. What happens when the person you thought you could rely upon the most, is the one that makes you want to run away? When that person is the one you have to fight to save yourself and your business?

Monique Baars, founder and CEO of Fineazy - a technology business solving for financial inclusion in emerging countries, did everything by the book, just as people told her - and then realised that books are just books and the reality is very different. Monique shares her journey with Vladi and Nektarios; from the early days of co-founder dating through the honeymoon period, to when the cracks started to appear and the inevitable separation.  

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Reading:

· The Body Keeps the Score: Mind, Brain and Body in the Transformation of Trauma, by Bessel van der Kolk

· Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know, by Malcolm Gladwell

· The Courage To Be Disliked: How to free yourself, change your life and achieve real happiness, by Ichiro Kishimi

· How to Fix the Co-Founder Fights You’re Sick of Having — Lessons from Couples Therapist Esther Perel

Podcasts:

Anything and everything Brené Brown. Some of Monqiue’s favourites include:

· The Tim Ferriss Show with Brené Brown: Striving versus Self-Acceptance, Saving Marriages, and More 

· Present Company with Brené Brown 

· Gwyneth x Brené Brown: On the Roots of Shame, Courage, and Vulnerability 

Tools:

· Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) with a trusted therapist

· Hitting golf balls at the driving range

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