Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Melissa Farmer, Chief Clinical Officer of Aivo Health, located in Chicago, IL, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Aivo is a science-based approach to holistic pain management, delivered through an easy-to-use app installed on your phone. The scientific knowledge needed to reverse chronic pain exists today, but the average person with pain doesn't have access to these tools. Aivo brings the latest science to normal people living with pain, so your pain care is at your fingertips all the time.

Tell us about yourself

As a neuroscientist and pain psychologist with expertise in chronic pain, I devoted 17 years of my life to understanding the experience of hard-to-treat pain. I had a comfortable academic position as a Research Assistant Professor at Northwestern University, but I grew disillusioned because my research only reached the professional community and had no direct impact on the lives of people struggling with pain. I felt a deep calling to create a pain management solution for people who had tried everything and still had pain.

In 2018, I left academia to team up with the pioneering chronic pain neuroscientist Vania Apkarian at Northwestern University and the seasoned Finnish entrepreneur Mika Marjalaakso, who had personal experience with chronic pain. Together, we envisioned a future where virtual pain care is easily accessible, backed by hard science, data-driven, and tailored to the ever-changing daily needs of the individual. Aivo Health was born!

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

The only accomplishment that matters is pain relief. I am humbled to have co-created a product that helps members achieve up to 74% pain reduction in as little as eight weeks.

As one member recently shared with me, "There is something subtle yet wildly different about the Aivo program. It's really helpful to use Aivo on a daily basis and have these healthy ideas about chronic pain reinforced. I'm definitely learning new things!!! Today I was blown away when I read that I'm not broken, fragile, or weak. There are stressful things happening in my life, but it doesn't seem to be affecting my pain. Being able to talk to a real expert like yourself is tremendous. I didn't expect that. Thank you!"

The key to our success is that the person in pain is at the center of all of our decisions. We welcome the beautiful complexity of chronic pain. Aivo can compassionately address the human experience of living with pain by actively listening to the needs expressed by our members, creating opportunities for authentic human connection and empathy, and supporting the sovereignty of every individual whose life we touch.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

One of my greatest challenges has been finding authentic ways to help people understand that the Aivo program is different from standard approaches to pain management and that Aivo can support real pain relief. So many people with pain have been traumatized by their experiences in the medical system, and they are rightly skeptical of promises of relief. No one has taken the time to explain chronic pain to them in a way that makes sense, or they've been told that the pain is "all in their heads." The reality is that all pain is real.

Chronic pain is a perception that is just as real as vision, touch, taste, and smell. Given the brain's central role in chronic pain, it is clear that the brain is the most important treatment target. The massive failure of the traditional approach to pain management can be explained by a single simple fact: health care providers completely ignore the brain and focuses entirely on the painful body part(s). As a result, people living with pain are dependent on a broken healthcare model that cannot deliver real, lasting pain relief.

Our mission at Aivo is to help people understand their pain and give them science-based approaches to overcome it for good.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Start with a mission that inspires your passion.
  2. Listen to your customer's emotional needs.
  3. Infuse empathy and compassion into your business model.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

If you live with chronic pain, know that your pain is real because you feel it.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://aivohealth.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aivohealth
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aivo_health/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aivohealth
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aivo-health/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.