Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Chris Wang, CEO of Shimmer, located in San Francisco, CA, USA.

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

We offer "bite-sized" ADHD coaching. Our members are individuals living with ADHD (like us) who are looking for a new way that solves the gaps in the market (we know because our team of psychologists, coaches, and most importantly, HUMANS have tried hundreds of services). We've taken inspiration from each of them and built them back up with the challenges we found:

  • Affordability: we aim to be 5-10x cheaper than coaching alternatives!
  • Accountability: we believe in the power and necessity of real human touch.
  • Follow-through: aren't we all sick of downloading ANOTHER app we'll drop after a week?
  • Individualization: each person's life is different.

Our solutions are catered to YOU, not cookie cutter.

Tell us about yourself

I guess I'm kind of a Social Impact junkie. I started my career at Bain & Company and found every moment I could to get myself staffed on social impact projects. Then I went to a fast-growing rewards company and tried to inject social impact / "good" where I could. Then I ended up in social impact consulting, marrying everything I learned and am passionate about. But all of this still felt too far from the impact and not specific enough. There are a lot of things that make me angry and a lot of possibilities that fill me with hope. That intersection is why I'm here. Inequities in opportunity & treatment make me angry, and the possibility of a future where technology is leveraged in super specific ways to help alleviate that gives me hope! Oh, I also have ADHD. That's how I got to ADHD specifically :)

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Being able to help people every single day. My favorite part of my week is conducting member feedback sessions or reading their feedback emails. It's what makes me proud and keeps me going.

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

I think this is the hardest and most exhilarating part of the job: Not ever really knowing the answer. Having to make decisions way before you're ready and with not nearly enough information. You're always JUST making it through, scraping by. A lot of luck is needed and appreciated!

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

  1. Lead with passion: Imo, deeply rooted passion is what is going to get you through years of grueling work. There, of course, are more practical filters like market size (for a VC-backed co), consumer need, distribution, business model, etc. But you can figure all those out; I trust you can. The part you can't just "solve" for is your "why."
  2. Find your allies: It's a hard world out there! We've been long taught how impressive "doing it on your own" is. How independent and strong you are to be on your own. I believe the opposite; with teamwork and synergies, that's where 1+1=3. Find someone who shares your passion, challenges you, builds you up and ideally has complementary skills. I'm eternally grateful I found my co-founder & CTO, Vikram Sreedhar, who is all of the above and more!
  3. Take everyone's advice with lots of grains of salt, including mine: Everyone loves to give advice, and most people either do so from their n=1 experience or feel entitled because they have many data points but haven't gone deep on any of them. Be wary of those who claim they know the answer without really listening to you and asking you questions. Nobody understands the paths they didn't take and overvalue the ones they did. There are no right answers in life and business; everything is context.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.shimmer.care/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shimmer.health
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shimmer.care/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/shimmer_care
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shimmer-care/

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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