Q&A with Shizu Okusa, Founder of JRINK and Apothékary

Shizu Okusa is the Founder of JRINK and Apothékary. She worked at Goldman Sachs from 2010 to 2012 in the firm’s FICC Division in New York.

What were some of your immediate pursuits after leaving Goldman Sachs as an analyst in FICC in 2012 and what inspired you to start your companies JRINK and Apothékary?
Shizu: I absolutely loved my time at Goldman and got to work with some of the smartest and kindest people. After two years, it was time to expand my experience outside of finance, specifically in the United States, so I moved to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, to help entrepreneurs and smallholder farmers raise capital for their projects. After a year living in Maputo, I decided that it was time for a change of scenery and moved to Ubud, Bali to get my 500-hour yoga teacher training certification. Looking back, it was these two decisions that made me passionate about wellness, agriculture and the mind-body connection. Finally, in mid-2013, I came back to the United States and was hired as one of the first associates for the private equity arm of the World Bank (IFC Asset Management Company). Considering I was bottling juice every night for my own use and there was nobody doing it commercially in Washington D.C., I conceptualized JRINK as the city's first delivery and subscription cold-pressed juice and healthy meals business. Back then, businesses like Instacart, UberEATs and Postmates did not exist so this was a pretty novel idea. I shocked many by trading my stable finance job yet again for an unknown adventure. Little did I know that seven years later I'd bootstrap, scale, fundraise the business to a multimillion-dollar valuation and start my second venture, Apothékary, a better-for-you herbal pharmacy.

Please share how your Japanese heritage and historical use of Eastern medicine motivated your newest venture, Apothékary?
Shizu: Whenever I got sick, or felt even remotely sick, my very traditional Japanese mother would shy me away from taking pills like Tylenol or Advil. Instead, I got weird, black and oozy drinks that were broths of mushrooms (Reishi, Cordyceps, Lions Mane) and various herbs (Ginseng, Ashwagandha) that were on the stove for 48-72 hours. Unknowingly, my path to creating Apothékary started over 25 years ago in my childhood kitchen. Our goal is to provide a more digital and modern experience to what is traditionally considered a "woo woo" world. We want to digitize the traditional apothecary encounter where you would walk in, show your tongue and eyes, share your health concerns and get a customized blend of herbs to drink over 1-2 months. This method is considered a long-term solution and not a quick fix. That is exactly what we're doing but at scale and using data to create forward looking formulas that are personalized for every customer.

As the wellness space becomes more and more saturated, how are you setting your two companies apart from the crowd?
Shizu: We offer both breadth and depth of herbs and tailor the email and website experience for the informed, curious and even skeptical customer. Most importantly, we personalize our blends and herbs for customers based on their unique needs, historical health issues and how they want to feel. We are providing a solution that gets to the root of the problem versus a one-size-fits-all product that simply doesn't work. Finally, Apothékary is vertically integrated so we employ over 15 production staff and make, label and blend every order before it goes out for shipment. We are truly set up for scale like nobody else's business.

Both of your companies have brick-and-mortar locations and local partners in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. How do you choose the locations of these stores and your partners?
Shizu: We carefully analyze our customer data and evaluate zip codes for shipping. Then, we talk to those customers to better understand whether they live, play or work in these locations to understand traffic patterns. All of this is important and an indicator of whether or not we should open a pop up, do an event or think about a significant capital expenditure into building a brick and mortar location. We also measure tenancy co-efficiency ensuring that our locations are close to a gym, beauty or retail store. As a result, it's an easier education curve to our brand and products.

What have you been doing during this global pandemic to stay healthy and what role do your companies play in supporting people’s health during this time?
Shizu: JRINK has pivoted away from just a juice business and is now offering local groceries on the platform. This is truly a win-win solution for our staff, community of local businesses and customers wanting healthier and delicious foods delivered to their door. With Apothékary, we have been well positioned since the start of the company in early 2020. We are currently fulfilling over 500 orders a day and growing +1200% YOY as more and more customers are focusing on wellness, self-care and preventative healthcare. Our ethos has always been #PlantsOverPills.

What unique business challenges have you faced during this global pandemic?
Shizu: A ton! For example, our supply chain is global and a single herb or ingredient delivered to our commissary has likely gone through over 20+ steps to get to us. We have learned to have two to three backup suppliers and make decisions quickly. I've realized the fragility of our economy and am actively working on putting safeguards in place to become a more "variable cost business" and anti-fragile. At the core, I am immensely grateful for our supportive and agile investors and team!

What other exciting wellness adventures do you have up your sleeve?
Shizu: I am excited to launch Apothékary international shipping this year. We already ship nationwide and in Canada (20% of volume), but I think that post-COVID there will be even more global customers looking for sustainably sourced and packaged personalized preventative medicine. We are also launching seasonal blends and investing in our supply chain to create customized blends for each individual in the second half of 2020 with your name on it. Finally, I am looking to invest in my own wellness and self-care this year. Building two companies during the last seven years has been a lot and I'm excited to mentor other founders at varying levels of career development.

Do you have any best advice for entrepreneurs who are starting their own companies?
Shizu: It is easy to spook and talk yourself out of your passions when the logical says to pursue a less scary linear progression. In a world that revolves around LinkedIn, aka "resume virtues," my advice is to focus on your "eulogy virtues." Pivot often so that you are more resilient to change and stay both interested and interesting.

What are some things that you learned while working at Goldman Sachs that have helped you launch and run your companies?
Shizu: I am grateful for my team at Goldman Sachs who taught me that balance, mentorship and teamwork are important to one's success.