S1EP10 - Why Mess with My Maternity Leave with Sona Shah

What happens when the round is “closed” on paper, but your runway is still waiting on a wire?In this episode of The Capital Flex, I sit down with Sona Shah, CEO and co-founder of Neopenda, a med tech company building wearable vital sign monitors for newborns in hospitals across Eastern Africa. Sona’s path began in chemical engineering, took her to Western Kenya as a teacher, and ultimately led her to biomedical engineering at Columbia. It was there that Neopenda was born from a stark realization: most traditional medical equipment is not designed for the majority of the world’s population.Sona shares the unfiltered reality of fundraising when you are building hardware in a regulated category for emerging markets, and what it looks like when a “trusted” investor commitment quietly turns into months of delay. She shares the moment she realized, just days before giving birth, that a signed check was never coming, and how that realization unraveled her timeline, her plans, and her peace.We also go beyond the mechanics of capital and into the power dynamics that surface in the room. The blurred boundaries. The subtle tests. The decisions founders have to make when professionalism crosses the line. Sona names what happened, how she responded, and why she handled it with precision instead of panic.This conversation is about persistence, safeguards, and building a company that proves profitability and impact can scale together.Key Takeaways:Why regulated hardware fundraising requires different expectationsHow a “closed” round can still become a cash crisisWhat to change in your closing process so funds actually arriveHow to respond when investor behavior crosses professional linesWhy conversation is not enough and action is the only metricScaling Neopenda from thousands of patients to millionsMy Reflection & Challenge:Listening back, what stayed with me was Sona’s clarity. Fundraising is not only about conviction, it is about systems. The system you use to close and protect your time matters as well as how to decide who earns access to you. When people tell women to be “less intense,” what they are really saying is, leave gaps they can exploit. Sona’s story is the reminder that being meticulous is not a personality trait, it is a strategy.This Week’s Challenge:Before your next investor meeting, write your closing rules in advance. Ask yourself:Do I have a same-day wire expectation tied to signature?What are my non-negotiables if funds are delayed?Am I treating this like a relationship or a transaction?Who has earned the right to stay close when things get hard?Links and Resources:www.neopenda.com https://www.linkedin.com/company/neopenda/https://www.instagram.com/neopendahealth/https://www.facebook.com/Neopendahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/sonarshah/If you enjoyed this conversation, follow The Capital Flex, leave a rating, and share this episode with a founder who needs it.And if you’re looking for a more candid space to talk fundraising, power, and building inside systems not designed for you, stay close. The conversation continues.Production and Administration work completed by Smart Podcast Solutions and Elevate Business Solutions.