Paul Javid of Oseh: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A Founder
An Interview With Doug Noll
Listen to everyone, act on very few. Everyone has advice. Listen to it, especially from people who have a lot of experience in the market you are building in. But you can’t act on all of it if you will be running in every direction.
As part of our interview series called “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A Founder”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Paul Javid.
Paul Javid is a serial consumer internet entrepreneur who has successfully sold over $50M in online subscriptions within the wellness industry. His first enterprise, Alo Moves, ranks as a top fitness app and was acquired by Alo Yoga in 2017. Javid holds an MBA and an MPH from Berkeley and is a Computer Science graduate from the University of Washington.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
From a young age, I felt a calling to merge my personal interests with providing a service to others. This journey took flight during my time in rural Chile, where I contributed to an indigenous radio station. It served as the community’s first line of communication and a tool for organization. This experience deepened my passion for harnessing technology to support community development, leading me to study computer science and engage in efforts such as distance education and telemedicine in India.
Decades later, my commitment to service fueled the pursuit of an MBA and MPH from Berkeley, pivoting my focus to building businesses in the wellness sector. Starting with an online fitness company, Alo Moves, and now building an online meditation platform, Oseh, my aim has remained constant: to offer services that better peoples’ lives.
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?
Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
We were 18 months into my first company. We were running out of money and had less than 2 months of runway left. The drive to continue came from knowing the other side. The stark choice was either to struggle for what I loved, even if it meant crashing on my parents’ couch, or to give in and settle for a job that didn’t resonate with me. I knew I would be much happier pursuing my passion, and with that attitude, the fact that the company was about to run out of money had no influence on whether or not I would continue to pour my life energy into it. A few months later we turned a corner and the company became profitable.
So, how are things going today? How did grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?
Grit and resilience were pivotal in scaling my first company from zero to a top-five fitness app on Apple’s App Store. From a modest beginning, we grew to a 60-member team and exited to Alo Yoga.
With my current venture, Oseh, I’m applying the lessons from that journey, knowing full well the role that grit and resilience will play. Despite having more experience now, the competition is stiffer, and it requires relentless effort to craft an exceptional product that resonates with users.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
In our early days, we invested significant time and money into designing a mascot for our fitness app — a speaking digital robot named Cody (like a Siri, but for fitness). This endeavor taught us a valuable lesson: avoid sinking resources into features without clear evidence that users actually desire them
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Oseh offers bite-sized meditation, breathwork, and mindfulness experiences. Our content, ranging from one to five minutes, is crafted to integrate into daily life. Rather than inundating users with options, we curate the ideal class for each individual. We also build a sense of partnership with their mindfulness journey and join them in celebrating their achievements.
Amid worsening mental health statistics in the U.S., despite the abundance of online mental health resources, we believe that by providing an experience that’s simpler, more accessible, and free, we can help cultivate the next generation of millions of meditators.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Initial excitement is to be expected, but endurance is key. Establish and maintain energizing routines (like fitness, meditation, time with family and friends, etc.) outside of work and prioritize them.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Andy Sack has been a mentor of mine for over 10 years. He offered free office space to my first company for our first year, and then became our first investor. We have become good friends, and he continues to advise me formally and informally in my second venture with Oseh.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
Anyone who is a builder who wants my help will receive it. Whether they are building companies, content, or a passion project, I am always interested and passionate about helping people create things that make this world better. I do this actively with many people and companies, often with zero compensation.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started leading my company” and why?
1 . It will take longer than you think. Don’t expect a rocket ship. Prepare for crossing the Baltic sea on a sailboat, and you will be ready for any storm that comes your way.
2 . Listen to everyone, act on very few. Everyone has advice. Listen to it, especially from people who have a lot of experience in the market you are building in. But you can’t act on all of it if you will be running in every direction.
3 . Find a niche, ignore everything else. You only need 100 passionate people that really care about what you are doing to build a business. Focus on finding your first 100 enthusiasts, and build for them. Going from there to your first 1K is more repeatable and less challenging than finding your first 100.
4 . Love what you do. You will burn out if you are not passionate about what you do. Money is not a good enough reason to build a lasting business, and those that enter it for money leave empty handed in the middle of the race.
5 . Define success for yourself. The world is noisy. Figure out what success looks like for you, and go after that.
Can you share a few ideas or stories from your experience about how to successfully ride the emotional highs & lows of being a founder”?
We are social beings, and we are not meant to be alone. When going through the celebrations or the challenges in life, those moments are meant to be shared. Find your partner that is your rock, and even better, build a small team (3–5 people) that are your go-tos to share your life with. You will spend a good chunk of your life working. Build a small community of people you love to share that journey with and keep them close, happy, and well fed.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Everyone meditates 3 minutes a day on how they can serve others.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
https://www.instagram.com/pauljavid
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
