You’re Not Broken — You’re Misaligned
The Psychology of Finding the Right Business, Featuring Rebecca Monet, CEO & Chief Scientist of Zorakle Profiles
By Chris Tucker
🎧 Prefer to listen? Here’s the Deep Dive Conversation this piece inspired.
The Moment I Thought I Was the Problem
There’s a memory from my early franchise ownership that still hits me in a place I can’t quite name.
Five months after opening my StretchLab studio in 2020, we hit profitability.
I remember the exact feeling — the validation, the pride, the sense that everything I had endured in corporate America was finally leading somewhere of my choosing.
And then the next month…
New York shut down.
COVID hit.
Everything went dark.
Almost overnight:
I closed the studio.
I laid off almost my entire staff.
My GM left — and took several team members with her.
I went through four general managers in five years.
The emotional load grew while the business felt heavier and heavier.
But the worst part wasn’t the chaos.
It was the quiet thought underneath it:
“Maybe I’m not cut out for this.”
That’s the part I carried alone.
Until I realized the truth that changed my life:
I wasn’t broken.
I was misaligned.
StretchLab wasn’t a bad brand.
It just wasn’t the right brand for me.
My wiring didn’t match the business model, and I didn’t have the language for that yet.
The Zorakle SpotOn assessment would have shown me in 10 minutes what it took me five years to learn the hard way.
⭐ Misalignment Masquerades as Failure
Corporate professionals say things like:
“I’m not tough enough.”
“I should be able to make this work.”
“Maybe I’m just not leadership material.”
But misalignment makes you blame yourself for a business that was never built for your strengths.
When I interviewed Rebecca Monet, the CEO & Chief Scientist behind Zorakle Profiles, she said something that hit me in that deep, private place:
“People don’t fail because they’re broken.
They fail because the business doesn’t fit.”
That sentence rewired something in me.
It also explained every moment of struggle I lived through.
⭐ Rebecca’s Corporate Refugee Story (Yes — She Had One Too)
Rebecca didn’t leave corporate because she was miserable.
She left while everything looked perfect:
Great pay
Supportive leadership
Smart colleagues
Recognition
Advancement
And still…
There was a quiet ache inside her — a lack of creative expression, freedom, and contribution.
She didn’t leave because of pain.
She left from possibility.
That decision ultimately changed thousands of franchise careers — including mine.
⭐ Why Zorakle Exists (And How It Could Have Saved Me Years)
Rebecca watched too many people:
Pick franchises based on fantasy
Fall in love with categories, not models
Choose businesses built for someone else’s wiring
Lose money, confidence, relationships, and identity
So she built Zorakle SpotOn, a multi-science assessment that measures:
Values
Work style
Culture fit
Decision patterns
Strengths & blindspots
Business stage alignment
And then matches people to the models where they are naturally wired to win.
It’s not personality.
It’s predictive science.
⭐ The Story That Stopped Me Cold
Rebecca told me about a wealthy man who bought three different franchises.
He failed in all three.
Not because he lacked discipline.
Not because he lacked intelligence.
Not because he lacked capital.
He simply kept choosing early-stage brands — chaotic, builder-driven environments — even though his wiring was built for mature, structured Stage 4 Empire brands.
His SpotOn profile exposed the truth:
He wasn’t a bad operator.
He was in the wrong environment.
Once he switched to a brand aligned with his profile…
He became one of the top performers.
That story felt familiar.
Because it was my story — just in a different outfit.
⭐ False Attraction vs True Fit
Corporate refugees often fall into this trap:
“I love fitness.”
“I love wellness.”
“I love dogs.”
“I love coffee.”
“I love tech.”
Passion can guide you.
But passion can deceive you.
False attraction feels like chemistry.
True fit feels like home.
StretchLab was passion.
But it wasn’t home.
⭐ My SpotOn Revealed the Truth About Me
When I finally took the SpotOn assessment years later, I felt a deep, unexpected sense of peace.
Like someone had handed me the owner’s manual for my life.
Here’s who I am:
Values: Societal
Purpose. Contribution. Relationships. Harmony. Impact.
Work Style: Thinker
Analytical. Structured. Insight-driven. Methodical. Precise.
Culture Fit: Create
Collaboration. Innovation. Shared energy. Purpose-driven environments.
Business Stage Fit: Partner / Plug & Play
Give me strong systems, reliable support, and space to innovate —
but NOT chaos.
NOT ambiguity.
NOT “build it as you go.”
And suddenly, everything clicked.
I didn’t fail.
I misaligned.
⭐ The Promise I Made to My Clients
After living the psychological cost of misalignment, I made one commitment:
No candidate of mine will ever choose a franchise blindly.
Not when this science exists.
Not when people are risking their families, savings, mental health, and identity.
Not when I know how painful the wrong fit can be.
Fit first.
Category second.
Data always.
Feelings last.
That is my promise to the people I serve.
⭐ The Corporate Refugee Pattern (If This Is You… Pay Attention)
Across Lyft passengers, franchise candidates, podcast listeners, and corporate professionals, I’ve seen the same emotional story:
They’re talented.
They’re respected.
They’re successful.
And yet… something feels off.
They blame themselves.
They grind harder.
They try to outrun the feeling.
Until eventually, in a whisper, they admit:
“There has to be more.”
That whisper isn’t fear.
Its identity.
⭐ Women Are Rewriting the Franchise Story
Because our interview happened on Women’s Business Day, Rebecca shared a truth that needs amplification:
Women now own 30–31% of franchises — and they thrive across:
home services
logistics
auto
B2B
fitness
commercial services
Rebecca told me:
“Women aren’t risk-averse.
They’re risk-aware.”
They don’t leap blindly.
They leap intentionally.
And fit science only sharpens that strength.
⭐ Franpreneurship: A Smarter, Safer Way Out of Corporate
Rebecca used a word that I haven’t been able to shake:
Franpreneur.
Someone who wants entrepreneurship with:
Support
Structure
Systems
Guardrails
Community
A proven model
Not chaos.
Not a blank slate.
Not “figure it out alone.”
Franchising is entrepreneurship for people who want control — with clarity.
⭐ A Public Thank You to Rebecca
Before I close, I want to say something directly to Rebecca:
You were the first person who said yes to me.
Before the podcast had a name.
Before the audience existed.
Before the mission had shape.
You didn’t need the exposure.
You didn’t benefit from the platform.
You simply believed in me — before I believed in myself.
Your fingerprints are on everything The Corporate Refugee has become.
Thank you for opening the door.
⭐ If You’re Feeling the Pull… Here Is Your Next Step
You don’t need to quit your job tomorrow.
You don’t need to take a reckless leap.
You don’t need to “be braver.”
You need alignment.
And alignment starts with knowing your wiring.
👉 Take the Zorakle SpotOn Assessment
(It takes 10 minutes. You can do it from your phone.)
Your results will arrive instantly.
👉 Want me to walk you through your profile?
No pitch.
No pressure.
Just clarity.
⭐ **You’re Not Broken.
You’re Not Behind.
You’re Not Alone.**
You’re simply one aligned decision away from the life you’re meant to build.
— Chris Tucker
Founder, The Corporate Refugee™
Helping purpose-driven leaders design freedom through structured entrepreneurship