Fit Minded Inc’s Post

Looking back, my journey from academic science to industry innovation seems inevitable. The first thing I ever did as a research scientist was implement a “physical activity” intervention for middle-aged women to increase their sense of self-worth. I started with 20 women, and it worked. And we continued to see positive results in other studies. We published a few papers showing that as women increased their physical activity, their self-worth improved, and their BMI decreased. Eventually, I started charging for it. I joined an incubator to learn about business planning and marketing. Mentors kept saying, “Jen, you have a business here,” or “Jen, you should write a small business grant to support this.” I knew that’s where my passion was, but I stayed on the track for promotion and tenure instead. Over time, I kept dabbling in business. I was helping nonprofits decide if the programs they were using were helping the children attending their programs (eating better, more exercise) or helping pregnant women be healthier during pregnancy. Before I knew it, I ended up at Calm. I was 3.5 years into writing an NIH grant with their app when I was more officially part of their team and was awarded a grant for 2.5 million—as a professor—mixing science and industry.  It’s just always been what I love and am passionate about. And now I get to do it full-time, with all kinds of world-changing companies, alongside some of the best people I know. If you're just getting started, keep going; you'll never know how your passions will become your bread and butter one day. #IndustryScience #Innovation #FractionalCSO