Regardless of how the condition was assessed, Yoonha Kim, CEO of Simple Habit, offers to stop for a few minutes, close her eyes and take slow breaths. It turns out that with such simple actions of coming to peace, a new round begins that can change the lives of leaders around the world. Yunha knows what it means to be a busy leader.
She launched and sold her first startup in 20 years, got on the Forbes list of 2017 up to 30 years. Now launches Simple Habit: the highest rated mindfulness app on the App Store. Offering a little meditation, Yunha developed Simple Habit, focusing on an ever-changing world.
Yunha Kim
Meditation has always been part of Yunha’s life. Like most leaders, she struggled to cope with the intensity of life of a novice entrepreneur before discovering the benefits of short breaks.
Yunha came to success early, and then considered her mission to guide others to awareness and meditation.
From a burnt leader to a successful defender
“With my first startup, I did not think about my state of mind or my own health,” says Yunha Kim.
At age 26, she had already left a company in Manhattan as an investment banking analyst to launch Locket, an application that set up smartphone lock screens. After many years of trouble-free work, the girl experienced her first real breakdown.
Yunhi's growing tension reached its climax when she had to make one of the most difficult decisions a leader had ever encountered. To promote Loket, I had to significantly change the advertising model, which meant the dismissal of half of her team. From a business point of view, the move proved to be the right one. But emotionally, it was a completely different story.
“We were like family and friends,” says Yunha. - The situation struck me greatly. It was like an existential crisis. ”
Yunha knew that she needed to run a company, not to think about this problem. She tried everything from diet to lavender oil, and although the methods were beneficial, something was missing.
It was then that the therapist told the tormented CEO about meditation. “I didn’t even think it was a good option,” says Yunha. “I thought it was some kind of Buddhist thing.”
Despite some concerns, Yunha tried meditation, and she immediately liked the results. “It was the best thing in the world,” she recalls. “Only five minutes of shutdown, even on the train or in the office, gave a discharge, and now it was possible to focus on the most important tasks. Meditation is like a shower to my brain. ”
Soon, she incorporated meditation into her daily practice and quickly noticed a significant improvement in almost all aspects of her life - from work to personal relationships.
Starting with a simple skill
Further, Yunha decided to continue her education, so she entered the Stanford Business School.
But as with many entrepreneurs, this attempt to transition to traditional life did not last long. Although she liked everything at Stanford, the desire to create something new could not be realized. Within a few months, she had ideas.
Currently, Yunha regularly meditates and uses such popular applications as Headspace and Calm. She liked these apps, but she felt that something was missing. Yunha admits that listening to only one voice was not very interesting: “In the world of music, you cannot imagine that you need to download the Justin Bieber app or the Jay-Z app.There is one platform that brings this content together. ”
Then an insight came. It will create Spotify or Netflix of awareness, meditation and mental health, provide users with an incredible variety of content, and give instructors a new platform to spread their work.
Soon, Yunha began asking other practitioners of meditation if they would find value in an application that offers many classes, courses and instructors. These were mostly positive answers.
But Yunha was at Stanford. In addition, her difficult time at Loket was still fresh in her mind.
So Yunha started developing Simple Habit as a side project. However, the more she developed the application, the more she felt that she was already ready for something special.
Yoonhee's mind began to change when Simple Habit appeared on the App Store. Soon, she began to receive feedback from users.
“I received emails from people. For example: “I am undergoing chemotherapy” or “I am struggling with anxiety, and your application has changed my life,” she recalls. - This had a significant impact on people's daily lives. That's what moved me. ”
So Yunha created something that positively affected people's lives.
Once, while sitting in a classroom at Stanford, Yunha was working on the Simple Habit application again instead of paying attention to the lecture, and suddenly made an unexpected decision. She left the classroom, went to the administration and announced that she was leaving the business school. “I loved Stanford,” says Yunha. “But I think I love Simple Habit even more.”
Uplifting development
Today, the Simple Habit app has brought in about 13 million US dollars, has over 2.7 million registrations and currently offers more than 2000 meditations with a guide created for any busy schedule.
Now the application is used by a lot of people from students who dream of a career and leadership, to the elderly who have retired and are trying to understand their purpose in life.
Reflecting on his path to success, Yunha says: “There is one thing that I have learned firmly. This is how to take care of yourself. When you start a startup, you often forget that the biggest resource you have is you. ”