Shizu Okusa
Shizu Okusa has not one but two thriving wellness brands: herbal pharmacy Apothekary and cold press juice company JRNK. The former Wall-Street banker turned wellness entrepreneur’s approach to health is shaped by the principles of Ayurvedic and Japanese Kampo Medicine, both of which view healing holistically.
While we’re grateful for the life-saving effects of Western medicine, we’ve always skewed towards Eastern when the pathology permits. The thing with herbs is that even if you don’t feel the affects immediately, they literally cannot hurt you. It’s natural medicine that speaks more to prevention than the cure for things like gut health, energy, and overall well-being.
Shizu wielded her financial background and knowledge of herbal healing to create two brands that speak to all of our modern day ailments. She’s a risk taker, an integrated leader, and has a stellar sense of humor—all of which and so much more make her so damn Dandy.
It's been quite a year. How are you doing mentally?
Oh boy—you already know I laughed when I read this question! It's definitely been a year. I moved 3 times in 2020, from DC to NY to SF, but I’m finally feeling more settled (only took 7 months). As the founder of two wellness companies—but on very different sales channels—I feel like I was torn in two pieces: survival leader and exponential growth leader. It's been a struggle managing my mindset between both, but now I’m getting used to the flow. I've done a lot of work, including meditation, movement, and getting back to something we used to call "boredom.”
Before founding JRINK and then Apothekary, you worked at Goldman Sachs. Tell us a bit about the transitional space you were in when you made that decision to leave your gig and create a company of your own.
I was scared. I was scared that I was going to live a life that I could literally see: you know, the business school > finance > business school again > private equity > retirement? I need a decent amount of change and growth to feel like my best self. In 2012, I wasn’t feeling any of that. I was young and single with nothing holding me back. I quit Goldman and moved to Mozambique to volunteer for a year on a banana plantation; literally getting back to my roots. It was such an important experience to solidify the non-negotiables of what makes me happy: laughter, room for growth, and finding new ways to do things that don’t exist otherwise. I moved back to the US after getting another finance job at the World Bank in 2013 and everything started from there.
As far as the actual process of creating a company, did you have the operational piece down? Or were you more of the raising capital and big picture creative mind?
I am definitely more of the former. I would feel severe imposter syndrome if I raised millions of dollars with nothing to show for it. Some people are great at that—I’m just not. I had 6 years of experience building JRINK, which is arguably a tougher / less scalable business than Apothekary. Many connections, not repeating the same mistakes, and internal confidence were probably the three main things that allowed us to grow so quickly.
Where did you grow up? What was your childhood/adolescent introduction to health and food?
Vancouver BC, Canada! I’m Japanese so that means lot of miso soup, matsutake gohan, which is mushroom rice, etc. A lot of the principles in Japanese cooking comes from nature (being an island), plant-based, and mindfulness (slow cooking).
For those who don't know much about ayurvedic or kampo medicine, can you provide a little 101?
Sure! Ayurveda is a +5,000 year old science—actually the first documented form of medicine. It’s the sister science to Yoga, which is breath and movement. Ayurveda is more about nutrition and lifestyle. Kampo is Japanese herbal medicine, which stems a lot from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) but adapted for what was grown more locally. There needs to be a better connection between these holistic natural forms of medicine and Western ailments. Due to politics and lack of funding, herbs and eastern medicine is just not as known or popular, but with social media now things are now finally changing.
We have to ask: what's your skincare regimen?
I’m pretty simple. I grew up all through high school actually using just water! Nowadays, it’s an oil based cleanser and then a light oil or moisturizer depending on how dry or oily my skin is. I’m a Vata type (in Ayurveda there are three main types - find yours here) so I err on the side of being dry. Sometimes if I’m feeling fancy, I’ll do a mask. But stay tuned; we might be coming out with something next year, inspired by Japanese geishas.
For many people, taking the energizing herb maca is not necessarily like having coffee or even matcha. Do you think you have to take herbs regularly to see results?
You can see results quickly with herbs that are more stimulating / yang energetics! Herbs like maca (energy), lion’s mane (focus), and ashwagandha (stress) are pretty effective. However, I do find that for things like skin clearing, skin elasticity, and inflammation herbs may take a bit longer. Typically our customers say they see results within 10 days of consecutive use.
Are there any books you've read or podcasts you've listened to that have helped you become a stronger entrepreneur?
I love the Reboot podcast by Jerry Colonna. He’s a former VC turned CEO coach and buddhist practitioner. His voice, questions, and stories are all just so real and relatable for any founder. He talks about all the things we don’t talk about enough: fear of failure, the downside of the “growth at all costs” mindset, and recovery from ending a company.
You live in SF now. What are your favorite spots you frequent in normal times?
I love San Francisco. It’s always been my dream to live in California. I literally just moved here 5 minutes ago so I haven’t made a full list yet. So far: Presidio, Napa, The Mill (NOT for their toast!), and all the coffee shops.
What's a standard day of food/medicine for you? Think of this answer like a mini Grub Street diet.
Immediately: 1 cup of water
1 hour after waking up: Black coffee + Maca + Mind Over Matter blend
Breakfast: Smoothie with extra Follow Your Gut (I typically go tropical smoothie with our yellow turmeric blend or if I do a green smoothie, it’ll be Slay All Day)
Lunch: 2 eggs, girl LOVES her carbs (bread / rice / noodles), a healthy portion of fats (hummus, avocado, sesame oil, olive oil, etc.), 2-3 cups of greens, etc. This is more about portions but each meal will be a different cuisine. I also also like to eat warm foods because I’m a Vata.
Dinner: More carb focused with also greens. Usually stir frys, mushroom pasta, Korean bibimbap, udon, etc. All easy things with the right sauces!
What was one of your biggest insecurities you had to overcome to start Apothekary?
Fear of being left behind, fear of spending money to make money, and hiring people smarter than myself. The latter was the best decision EVER. I love being the least experienced in a topic.
Do you think you're generally good at "managing" people? In our experience, it feels like managers need a manager training course of sorts.
It’s not my biggest strength, but I’m working on it—and when it works, it’s one of the most fulfilling feelings. I just wrote a reference letter for our biz dev intern that is now going to work at a large New York bank and seeing how much she’s done, grown, and learned was just…*tears*. I felt super proud and grateful to have been apart of her early career journey.
Do you have any marketing tips or advice to share with young women who want to start their own biz?
Don’t be afraid to stand out. Have a voice and stand for something!
Go slow. The world makes you think you need to do that thing yesterday, but the more thoughtful you can be about big decisions the better. It will be your leg up against competitors who make irrational decisions based more on buying growth than retaining and making customers happy.
Go fast. On the same token, go fast on decisions that are small or not as big of a deal. It’s these decisions that’ll burn you out because you’ve used all your mental headspace on the small things! Make a decision and move on.
The last time you felt embarrassed was when:
I thought I was not on video on a Zoom call but actually was.
In a past-life, you were probably a:
A cat, like a leopard or cheetah.