A Startup Story on How to Manage Rapid Growth

What does it take to build a biotech startup tackling one of the toughest challenges in women’s health? In this episode of Startup Success, we sit down with Oriana Papin-Zoghbi, Founder and CEO of AOA, whose company is pioneering a novel approach to detecting early-stage ovarian cancer. Oriana shares her journey to founding AOA, the mission-critical lessons she learned from scaling her team too fast, and why she believes “doing the hard things the right way” is the key to long-term success. She offers candid insights on: Her incremental approach to fundraising as a first-time founder The realities of hiring and why not everyone is a good fit for startup life How scaling consciously can save your startup from chaos What it took to recover when rapid growth nearly broke the company If you’ve ever questioned what it really takes to turn an idea into a thriving company, this conversation will challenge you to think differently about growth, grit, and what it means to build something that lasts. Chapters: 00:18 – Welcome and Introduction 00:51 – Oriana’s Career Background 03:00 – Inspiration for AOA Dx and Ovarian Cancer Diagnostics 05:00 – From Concept to Funding 07:54 – Current Stage of AOA Dx 08:12 – Challenges Along the Way 09:41 – People-First Philosophy 12:44 – Building a Robust Hiring Process 14:07 – Balancing Learners and Guides in a Startup 15:56 – Scaling Consciously 18:16 – Organizational Systems and Operational Infrastructure 21:02 – Final Words of Wisdom for Founders 23:02 – Where to Find AOA Dx ---- Stay connected with our host, Kate Adams, here on LinkedIn ! Learn more about AOA, visit:

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A Startup Story on How to Manage Rapid Growth is an episode from Startup Success: A Podcast for Founders & Investors by Burkland.

This episode is 23:50 long.

This episode was published on Nov 18, 2025.

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