Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Nilan Saha, Co-Founder of Juna, located in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Juna is a telehealth company focusing on weight management and sexual health. Both are quite taboo topics that have serious health implications and yet aren't addressed as much. With Juna, our goal is to enable people to take control of their health without all the awkward and time-consuming in-person clinic visits.
Tell us about yourself
I am a computer engineer by training but have worked in various roles ranging from Data Scientist, Software Engineer to Engineering Manager. I just love building things from scratch, analyzing data, and making informed decisions. My role as the CTO of the company is perfectly aligned with that. I lead engineering and am heavily involved in day-to-day business decisions. I first met my co-founder Peter when I was in grad school. We both talked a lot about the future of healthcare and how it is so inefficient. We both had personal experiences which led us to be super passionate about this field. We kept in touch and after a few years later, Juna was born. I am super passionate about the field and building things, as mentioned, but I am also incredibly disciplined. I will get up and do what needs to be done even if I am not motivated that day. I think that has worked really well for me so far.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I think the biggest accomplishment is that we have managed to create a decent-sized organic following that brings us steady sales. We have been able to connect with our audience in a way that's authentic. We receive comments all the time about how our content has helped them navigate their health and just made them more knowledgeable. There is no greater validation than when your product does quite well organically.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
One of the hardest things of being a business owner is just to keep going. You cannot possibly be motivated every single day. There are really good days and really bad days. You need to be incredibly disciplined and have the grit to go through it. Entrepreneurship is not at all easy, but I think it's worth it.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Make sure you have the right team. These are the people who you will be working with all day, and they will be with you on good and bad days.
- Make sure you validate the product or idea first. More often than not, I see people building their products for months without even properly validating them.
- Move fast and execute ruthlessly. Once you have validated, you need to move quickly and iterate on every aspect of your business. The biggest advantage a startup often has is its speed due to a lack of bureaucracy.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.heyjuna.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nilansaha
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nilan-saha/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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