Tick. Tock.
What Wicked Teaches Female Founders About Time, Pressure, and Branding.
If you watched the new Wicked movie, you felt it:
that eerie, mechanical heartbeat in the background.
Tick.
Tock.
Time isn’t a gentle suggestion in the story.
It’s a presence, a pulse, a reminder.
A countdown disguised as a soundtrack.
And if you’re a female founder, you’ve lived that rhythm long before the movie ever hit the screen.
Tick.
You should be further by now.
Tock.
Everyone else seems ahead.
Tick.
Your branding still doesn’t feel like you.
Tock.
You’re tired. So tired.
Time in Wicked doesn’t just measure minutes.
It measures pressure.
Expectation.
Identity.
Be this. Don’t be that.
Shine but don’t slip.
Stand out… but don’t stand too far out.
Sound familiar?
The Tick-Tock That Female Founders Know Too Well
Every woman who sits across from me in a Brand Spark session arrives carrying her own invisible clock:
- The “I should be everywhere” clock
- The “I need to catch up” clock
- The “I can’t slow down or everything will fall apart” clock
- The “I said yes to too many things” clock
- The “my clients get the best of me and my business gets the scraps” clock
She’s overwhelmed, overworked, and quietly over it, but still pushing.
Tick.
Tock.
And just like Elphaba and Glinda, she’s performing two identities at once:
The sparkly version who shows up polished and pleasant.
And the quiet version shrinking herself so she doesn’t ruffle feathers.
Too much.
Not enough.
Back and forth.
Tick and tock.
It’s a rhythm that drains the magic right out of a brand.
In Wicked, Time Doesn’t Change.
The Character Does.
This is the moment that hit me hardest.
The ticking doesn’t stop.
The pressure doesn’t disappear.
The expectations don’t magically dissolve.
But once Elphaba stops apologizing for who she is,
once she stops contorting herself to fit the mold,
the clock suddenly loses its power.
Her green isn’t the problem.
The shame around it is.
And that’s exactly what happens when a founder steps into brand clarity.
Everything stops feeling urgent.
Everything stops feeling heavy.
Everything stops feeling like a race she’s losing.
Clarity doesn’t slow time down.
It stops the panic around it.
Tick.
Tock.
Most Founders Don’t Have a Time Problem.
They Have a Clarity Problem.
Time feels like it’s slipping through your fingers when:
- Your message is scattered
- Your audience is unclear
- Your offers don’t align
- You’re trying to be everything to everyone
- You’re guessing instead of deciding
- You’re reacting instead of leading
But once you get clear, deeply, soulfully clear, everything tightens into place.
Focus returns.
Decisions get easier.
Marketing feels lighter.
Your brand starts working for you.
Your time becomes yours again.
Your business stops being a ticking bomb.
It becomes a rhythm you can actually breathe inside.
Tick.
Tock.
Turns into
Click.
Flow.
Wicked Isn’t a Fairy Tale. It’s a Branding Masterclass.
It teaches us what I see daily:
You can’t build a powerful brand while performing perfection.
You can’t build a sustainable business while shrinking for approval.
You can’t find your magic while trying to fit into someone else’s mold.
The moment Elphaba decides she’s done fitting in…
everything changes.
And the moment you decide?
Your brand changes too.
Not when the website is done.
Not when the logo is perfect.
Not when you finally “feel ready.”
The moment everything clicks is the moment you choose yourself.
If You’re Reading This Feeling the Ticking in Your Own Chest…
You’re on the cusp of becoming.
And if you’re ready, truly ready, to shift from overwhelmed and invisible to aligned and unmistakable…
Start with clarity.
Start with your magic.
Start with the part of you you’ve been trying to tuck away for too long.
Tick.
Tock.
Your moment is calling.
P.S. If you’re the overwhelmed overachiever, the one balancing 42 tabs, a cold coffee, and a never-ending list of “shoulds.” Cut the chaos, keep what works, so you can stop wasting precious time on things that aren’t getting results.
