Featured on ALX Ventures: Priyanka Returns as Health Tech Strategy Mentor for Cohort 2 Workshops

We’re thrilled to share that Priyanka, founder of Sandboxes & Scaleups, has been invited for the second time to mentor in the ALX Ventures strategy consulting workshops — this round supporting three promising health tech startups from Cohort 2, all working to strengthen healthcare delivery and accessibility across Africa.

As part of her ongoing pro bono mentorship with ALX Ventures, Priyanka helps founders refine their go-to-market and commercialization strategies, prepare their products for strong pilots, and design sustainable operations that grow with their teams.

In her feature interview with ALX Ventures, she shares hard-earned insights on product readiness, market strategy, founder resilience, and the importance of mentorship in early-stage innovation.

Read and share the original feature on ALX’s social pages published on 31 Octoeber 2025: LINKEDIN; alxventures_global

💬 Interview: Priyanka on Mentorship, Strategy, and Founder Growth

What impact do you always hope to make with founders you mentor?Mostly, I help founders get their products ready for a strong pilot and think strategically about go-to-market and commercialisation. I also push them to get a handle on team, budget, and resources — avoiding early burnout by working modularly, setting clear KPIs, and keeping things running smoothly as the team grows and shifts.

What advice do you often find yourself giving to founders?Really get to know your market and competitors. Follow where the money and key relationships are, and keep an eye on impact KPIs and ROI — honestly, once the initial PR buzz dies down, investors often value the quieter startups making steady, sustainable progress. And don’t pour all your energy into tech development; a lot of the time, success comes from understanding your users, figuring out the right way to package the product (subscription, white-label, etc.), and having a solid monetisation strategy.

What has been the most rewarding part of working with ALX Ventures founders?The first exciting bit for me has been getting a front-row seat to the African innovation scene. Sounds cliché, but what really hits me is working on solutions for everyday, “boring” problems — like cutting admin costs or easing healthcare headaches — that might not scream innovation in the West, but actually make resources stretch further and improve lives. Sure, niche markets have their place, but this time it’s been great to see startups building scalable solutions that reach lots of people.

Any advice for new founders navigating the startup journey?Be bold. Building a startup isn’t just about grit — you need emotional intelligence to handle everyone from investors to interns. Take smart, courageous leaps, trust your gut, but keep the momentum so decision fatigue doesn’t set in. As a colleague once told me, founders have to keep their cognitive health in check to make fast, sharp calls — kind, but lean when it counts.

In one sentence, what do you believe is the importance of mentorship for early-stage founders?Mentorship is huge for early-stage founders — there’s no rulebook, so it’s really about sharing hard-earned lessons, helping them dodge mistakes, move faster, and troubleshoot as they figure things out. Good mentors become human playbooks, and the incentives should reflect that.

ALX Ventures is part of the ALX Africa ecosystem founded by Fred Swaniker and led by Deon Olowu, empowering young African innovators to build scalable, sustainable ventures through mentorship, strategy support, and community-led learning.