Leigh Sherry journey – em-u Health

https://www.em-u.co/

Entrepreneurial journey told by six students

Story written by Pablo Ruiz-Villar Roura

I am very value driven person. That is something that has guided my career from the start and that’s why my ultimate goal has always been to reach the outcome without losing my values. I graduated from Physiology, Sports and Science at the University of Sydney, looking to help people improve their health and, while I got to experience that by practicing clinically and at fitness centers, the lack of health knowledge in the customers really concerned me. On top of that, growing with a brother with cerebral palsy, I have always been very aware of the inclusivity issues in our society, which have only increased with social media platforms. The frustration around the lack of inclusivity and health knowledge was the igniter of my entrepreneurial journey and what pushed me to create something that would improve society. I had an idea I thought was great, but when I ran it through my colleagues 15 years ago, they didn’t buy it. They told me that businesses are not very concerned about health since it was not profitable for them. I didn’t discard the idea, I just decided I would develop it until the moment was right. For years I kept practicing clinically, and while the business was doing well, I felt my heart wasn’t in it. I didn’t want to do the same tasks over and over for the rest of my life, I needed something more innovative. Alternatively, working as a fitness instructor, I realized that people believed in my methodology. Not only my classes became part of the customer’s routine, but they appreciated being told why they had to do the exercises and what they would get out of them. Fast forward to 2020, and with the increase in mental health awareness due to COVID-19, I was convinced that the timing for my em-u idea was right. I wanted to create a tech company and I had no clue about tech, so I put together a team of people that aligned with my values and could fill my knowledge gaps. This team not only helped me create em-u, but also educated me on areas where I felt less comfortable. The environment we created, which is based on feedback and open communication, allows my team to tell me when I’m wrong and that really helps me learn and be creative. I’m not afraid to make mistakes as I know I’ll learn from them, and that as an entrepreneur, is a very valuable lesson that is often learnt the hard way. 

Story written by Lucia Ordas

I have worked in the health industry for over 15 years, specifically in wellbeing in relation to exercise physiology. I took different paths to see what I was truly interested in. All throughout my journey I came across a considerable number of cases of people with the same back injuries. In addition, I realized how social media and the fitness industry alienates people to make them think they are not good enough. This made me think, there was a huge gap in the market, not everyone had access to useful resources to better their physical and mental health. My frustration along with my values, revolving around inclusivity, pushed me to start thinking about how to escalate the issue. My motivation was not money, I was moved by finding a way to better people’s life while staying true to my values. In addition, I am surrounded by the best support network, my family and friends understand what I am doing and do not demand the time I cannot give them. However, I am extremely close to them, I love being around my nieces and nephews, and my cat. Furthermore, my family has always been an inspiration to me, their intelligence, resilience, and brought thought. I love surrounding myself with different minded smart people, those who can complement my knowledge and challenge me to keep learning. I had the idea, and I was motivated to accomplished it but right when I started it was not the right timing. However, when Covid hit I decided to move forward. I am decisive and truly like and believe in what I do, and that also moves people. When I started, I was worried that I was going to be starting a tech company and I was useless at tech. Yet, I am not afraid to make mistakes, indeed I believe mistakes are important and they push you to keep growing. I have the idea that to succeed you and your company must be adaptable, so I focused on bringing together people with the right skills that complemented me but also with the right values. Furthermore, I thrive in a competitive market since it pushes me to better my company and to innovate. My advice to everyone that wants to be an entrepreneur is to start now, study the market, to not be afraid to fail, rather now your weaknesses, be curious, and connect with people.

Story written by Michaela Josephine Haet

My name is Leigh Sherry, and I founded my business, em-U Health in 2020.  em-U Health is a tech company that aims to redefine wellbeing, through delivering holistic and inclusive technology, and democratising health in the workplace. I am consistently working towards empowering corporate companies to create healthier, more sustainable work environments. My goal is not only to educate corporate companies on how to look after their employees mental and physical health but provide actual hands-on solutions to do so. My company provides three main products: Desk Coach, Movement Coach and My Intention Coach. Desk Coach is designed to mitigate the risks associated with back pain and increase employee health and movement throughout the workday. This product became successful as I recognised that mental and physical health claims were on the rise, especially during covid 19. Employers were looking to find a solution. Movement Coach is an on-demand meditation and stress management service, and my last product, My Intention Coach (coming soon), will be used to help people map their health goals through interactive and personalized experiences for clients. My product differentiates itself from others in the mental health industry by simultaneously addressing physical and mental health, as well as providing education on how both can improve employee productivity and efficiency.

My interest in physical wellbeing stems from my experiences as a ballet dancer and love for exercise. I am a proud University of Sydney Graduate, receiving my Bachelor of Exercise Physiology, Sports and Science. My beautiful family is what ultimately inspired me to pursue my dreams in the health industry. My brother has cerebral palsy, which moved me to work with the disabled, in both athletics and education. I was the state secretary for the cerebral palsy sport and recreation association and volunteered in the national multi-disability championships. My family is immensely resilient despite the many challenges we have faced with my brother’s disability and losing my dad at a young age. This has helped shaped my fearless, hardworking attitude, which I believe was key to my early success at em-U Health. They have inspired me to be authentic and passionate, providing me with the ability to empathize with a diverse range of clients.  The most important thing you should know about me is that I work in the health industry because I am genuinely dedicated to helping those in need. I knew from the start that financial motivation wouldn’t drive my success, rather I injected my core values into Em-health and watched as the company improved the lives of so many.

Story written by João (Johnny) Abreu Paixão de Almeida Henriques

Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to help people. In 2019 I founded em-u, a physical and mental health risk management software provider for corporates, which let me do exactly that.
With experience as a fitness and health instructor, I was able to do this on a relatively small-scale conducting group sessions to encourage better mental health practices as well as physical health. I first noticed that there was an opportunity in this space when multiple clients of mine were coming to me with the same chronic problems. Whether that be back pain, procrastination, task initiation amongst others. Having dealt with these issues for a few years, it occurred to me that if I were able to scale the service I was currently offering, it could really help a lot of people. It also frustrated me that access to quality healthcare and information surrounding it was grossly undemocratized. I felt I could change that.

The original idea for em-u came to me around 15 years ago, when the market at the time was not ready for it. Mental health was not being acknowledged, much less in the workplace, and therefore there was no room for my service to exist and grow in yet. I was laughed out of offices from investors and potential clients, but I found that my way in was through niching into problems commonly experienced in a corporate environment. Back problems were a way to start conversation, and that got the ball rolling toward building demand for a service like mine.
I quickly realized I am no tech genius when trying to build the first iteration of the software. This made me reach out to my network and find people with similar values as me, who I thought were masters of their craft, to help me. Surprisingly, more often than not, other people are willing to help. This was perhaps the biggest difference maker for me as an entrepreneur.
I had many bumps in the road when starting off, but with the right values, intentions, and team around me, we were able to navigate all of these uncertainties and innovate in areas which the industry was seriously failing consumers in. That was my strategy.
I have gone through many failures to get to this point, but without them and the learnings I got from them I would not be in this position.

Story written by Saksham Agarwal

“I’m a big believer in “WHY”, as a kid if you would ask me to do anything, I would do it, just tell me why. A lot of people are like that, so when you tell them why they are doing what they are doing, it resonates with them better. I don’t like the way social media takes the power away from people in the sense that it leverages people’s security, basically get them to buy products. I believe in drip feeding information to clients, and then let them decide that how step by step they can improve their behavior in favor of mental health and wellness. I believe in ethical behavior and treating people well. One of the most important part of being an entrepreneur is owning up to your flaws, I’m definitely the least tech savvy or business minded person on my team, so for this I have collected people around me who are good at filling my gaps and I’m happy to be advised by them. I came from a ballet background, so I know the importance of feedback an its how you improve on things. I used to work in a  family owned multi-disciplinary clinic but it wasn’t challenging and I wanted to bring a change. Emu-health might just be 3 year old but the idea for this project has been in my mind for years now, specially being in this space for 20+ years, looking to all the shortcomings and gaps just led to more frustration and thus after several round of advisory sessions and with the help of a lot of industry experts I founded this company. I like to stay on top on industry trends and focus on clint need over anything else, said that I’m also like a lone runner in a race, I like to give my best irrespective of the competitive landscape. Success for me would simply be being a decent person, money never motivates me, for me getting the desired outcome without sacrificing my values would be the most ideal situation.

Story written by Ajay Adithya Goud

It’s great that I’m able to create an impact in the lives of people who take up mental health sessions, but how do I scale up and reach a greater set of audience? I hate how social media takes away power from individuals and alienates them. I’ve seen my brother being isolated because of his disabilities. I decided right then that I will work towards democratizing mental health literacy and empowering people to do great things in life. I was laughed at when I first proposed the idea. My passion for health literacy kept me on track. Our values were aligned with psychological safety. I’m not financially motivated. It’s people close to me that I draw inspiration from. I used to run family-owned multi-disciplinary clinics and my heart wasn’t in it because I wasn’t being innovative. It was about reinforcing the same tools all over again. I’m an all-in or all-out person. The idea had been incubating for fifteen long years. The idea stood in the spotlight after the pandemic. The effectual logic was converging towards moving the health needle. I’m an excise physiologist with no experience in finance or technology. I formed a team with individuals whose interests align with mine and could fill the gaps. I love being in situations where people around me are very smart. They think differently and it allows me to absorb the information and have a whole new perspective. I’m not afraid to ask questions. I was a ballet dancer and feedback was an important aspect that I picked up. I look for individuals with whom I can have open and robust conversations. They, who have the courage to tell me if I’m looking in the wrong direction. Inclusion and exercise are non-negotiable for me. I see gaps because I get frustrated with something. You don’t have to run a marathon to prove that you’re fit. We group feed behaviour so that every individual can act on their health. We give them the answer to why with supportive evidence from science and literature. I tend to be more inclined towards my customers’ needs while understanding and incorporating changes as the market evolves. The direction and priorities of emu have not changed over time.