I had done the thing so many founders dream about: I sold my company. I joined the acquirer in a high-level role. I was earning the biggest salary of my life. And I was deeply, unexpectedly miserable.

I can’t believe I found this notebook.

Tucked away in a pile of papers, under years of memories, was something I hadn’t seen since the sale of my last company, a notebook I kept in the earliest days of the exit process.

This is the story of a female founder who started her company well, but it ended poorly. Due to her own bad choices.