How to gain confidence, keep a positive mindset and bounce back

Overview

This 2-hour session will show you how to strengthen your mindset, boost your confidence, and build the emotional resilience needed to thrive while working or building a startup.

Through powerful mindset models, guided reflections, and peer discussions, you'll learn how to manage inner critics, navigate uncertainty, and lead with grounded confidence - even in the face of rejection, burnout or failure.

Who it’s for

This session is open to all UCL students, staff, and alumni who graduated from UCL within the past 2 years.

You don't need any business experience or a startup idea to attend.

UCL doctoral students will receive one DocSkills training point via InkPath and the Doctoral School for completing this session.

What to expect

This interactive session creates a safe space to stop, reflect and build inner tools that support sustainable leadership.

You'll engage with proven psychological frameworks through guided activities and meaningful peer discussions.

Rather than just learning theory, you'll actively apply concepts, leaving with a personalised toolkit you can implement immediately.

You'll leave with practical strategies for managing self-doubt, maintaining energy, and bouncing back from setbacks - plus the confidence to lead authentically even under pressure.

What you’ll learn

The session will cover the following topics:

• Understanding founder psychology: Recognise the unique emotional demands of founder life, including rejection, uncertainty, overwork, and loneliness, and develop proactive strategies to respond effectively.
• Reframing failure and doubt: Apply Carol Dweck's Growth Mindset principles to view failure as feedback and risk as growth, while learning to identify and manage imposter syndrome patterns.
• Building confidence tools: Explore what authentic confidence looks and feels like for you personally, and develop techniques to maintain self-assurance even when facing criticism or setbacks.
• Energy and boundary management: Master practical tools like the Eisenhower Matrix and Energy Mapping for daily prioritisation, and learn how to say no with confidence and clarity to protect your focus.
• Resilience practices: Develop gratitude practices that build positive momentum and team culture, while creating your personalised Founder Resilience Toolkit for ongoing support.
• Sustainable leadership habits: Design daily practices that prevent burnout and maintain clear thinking, ensuring you can lead effectively over the long term.

About the tutor

Ed Halliday has spent his career helping entrepreneurial people develop the skills and mindsets to succeed. He's a mission-driven startup co-founder (Coschool, Future Faculty), venture builder (Zinc VC, King's20 Accelerator, Mayor's Entrepreneur), advisor, and COO (Fyma AI, Focaldata AI, Fire Tech, La Fosse Academy).

Ed has spent the last 12 years working with entrepreneurs in the UK, Middle East and South America, helping to build over 100 new ventures and upskill over 3,500 students and founders. He's helped develop new products in AI, health tech, and edtech, and has a strong passion for user-centred design.

Accessibility

If you have any accessibility requirements or requests, please let us know in the signup form.

Photography

Filming and photography occasionally take place at our workshops and events. We use these photos and recordings to help promote future events through our website and social media channels. You can always choose not to be included in any photos or videos.

Date and times

Thursday, 11 June, 4pm to 6pm.

Book your place

Read our privacy notice to understand how UCL Innovation & Enterprise will deal with your personal data.

UCL Innovation & Enterprise reserves the right to make changes to the programme, location and/or speakers without prior notice. Such alterations are occasionally necessary due to circumstances beyond our control.

Location

UCL BaseKX, 103c Camley Street, London, N1C 4PF