Richard Jacobs: Hello. This is Richard Jacobs with the future tech and future tech health podcast. My guest is Masha Kouzmenko. She’s the co-founder of Silicon Valley Wellness. Well Masha, thanks for coming. How are you doing today?

Masha Kouzmenko: I’m wonderful. Thank you so much for having me here on your podcast.

Richard Jacobs: Yeah, well tell me what inspired you to create this company?

Masha Kouzmenko: Ah, yes. So this company is really near and dear to my heart and it all started out with my journey and my life story. We moved here with my family from Israel and before that Kazakhstan and we were never sure how that you can become ill at a young age. And I’m speaking of my mother’s age, she was 50 years old, so we didn’t believe in regular checkups and going to the doctor. We just thought that health comes naturally. So as an immigrant, I strive to go to the best school and get the best education to work hard. And I graduated from Berkeley and went to onto an investment job. Then all of a sudden my mother got sick and we discovered that she had stage four cervical cancer at age 50. So this came as a shock. Like what? How is this possible? So of course, like any American family, we went to the western approach of healing, you know, the chemotherapy and malpractice happened during one of the visits. So we decided to try the holistic approach that eastern medicines. So my sister and I dove deep into understanding the body and how to heal it. So we started juicing and cleansing through different things like coffee enemas to get rid of the toxins in the body. But unfortunately, it was too late for my mom. And she passed away six months after being diagnosed. So it was quick, but that’s when we really began to understand that everything begins in the mind, which creates the emotions and feelings that we store in a body. If you didn’t know, we all get cancer cells in our body 7 to 10 times in our lifetime, which is simply mutated cells. But if we’re holding onto any tension in the body, any emotional pain, any trauma, whether it’s conscious or subconscious, these mutated cells just flow through the body. If we’re not holding onto any tension. But if we did experience traumas, especially as children, which most of us have and we’re holding onto it without proper healing, this energy, this trauma might get stuck in the body, which can later manifest as sickness or you can inflict pain onto others. So that’s how we started Silicon Valley Wellness. We basically wanted to educate the community about this information and to help others prevent big illnesses and suffering.

After my mother passed, my sister and I embarked on a world journey, starting our studies in India, you know, the epicenter of enlightenment and meditation, studying with many gurus and teachers too. That led us to a deeper understanding of how the mind works and how the mind really influences the suffering on our lives. And in order to become free from the suffering, we must become free of this constant dissociation with our minds and with our pasts especially, and become more aware of our being.

Richard Jacobs: So this led to the creation of this Silicon Valley Wellness company?

Masha Kouzmenko: Correct? Yes.

Richard Jacobs: What’s the premise of the company? What does it do for people?

Masha Kouzmenko: So at first we started as community events. We had gatherings. It started out as a meetup group and we just attracted to people in our local community to come and learn more about meditation, Yoga, alternative healings, Ayurveda. And then it slowly progressed into becoming more of B2B service. So we went into companies and taught them peace healing modalities to help her do stress in the workforce because $300 billion a year is lost in productivity due to stress. So that’s one of the biggest ways to reduce stress is through meditation. So we began to teach the employees how to do these practices through yoga and meditation to reduce their stress.

Richard Jacobs: Okay. So what does it look like when a company or an individual works with you? Do you do like an initial evaluation and do they choose either yoga or meditation or both or, you know, what are the programs look like?

Masha Kouzmenko: So we do an initial evaluation depending on the space that they have. We usually do yoga and meditation combined because you know, when you’re sitting in your office all day, you need a little movement and connection to your body to get out of your head. So that’s the typical suggestion for an office. But sometimes we have gone into companies that didn’t have that space, so we would just, we did a meditation and then a few simple chair yoga poses to help you, you know, release that tension, the neck, and shoulders and the spine that we all experience when we’re seated and we’re sitting for a long time.

Richard Jacobs: Right. So once you go in and do the initial work with somebody, I guess it’s giving them a taste of what they could feel like.

Masha Kouzmenko: Yes and then that becomes a usually ongoing weekly session that we have our teachers or me come in and continue to show this practice.

Richard Jacobs: What’s the response to the people wants to do this initial work? Do they say, oh, I want more of that. Or you know, like what sort of typical responses you get?

Masha Kouzmenko: Yeah, some people want more as some, it’s a little bit of a challenge to get into some companies and to really have them feel the benefit from one class. So sometimes they’re like, well, maybe once we have the budget or let me see if we can get this approved. Uh, could, one of the responses that I hear, but the people who do know the benefits want this on an ongoing basis. So I would say it’s a 50, 50% just because yoga and meditation are still kind of taboo, although not for long. But some people consider it like a gym or going for a run like exercise. But really what we’re trying to do is get into the mind and reduce the stress.

Richard Jacobs: Okay. So I mean, of the companies that embrace this, what does it look like? Is it a weekly program or do you do initial training and then the people in the company do it themselves or like what happens?

Masha Kouzmenko: So yes, it is a weekly program. Weekly live experience within your office. So we do come in and we guide you through an hour-long session. Some companies like it during lunch and then other companies have us come in at 11 in the morning right before lunch so that the employees can don’t skip lunch that they benefit from this and then go to lunch. So yes, it is an ongoing weekly program.

Richard Jacobs: So what kind of participation do you get? If you get X percentage of the people to do it, how do you make sure you keep the participation up? Do you have incentives like through the company or is it just that they want to be healthier and that motivates them to do it?

Masha Kouzmenko: Yes, they want to be healthier and it motivates them to do it. They see the results for themselves and then they bring in their coworkers and tell their coworkers about it and that’s how the class grows in size. But it really depends. Sometimes there’s meetings and a lot of work, for example, towards the end of the corridor, especially when employees needed the most, sometimes there is less attendance because of the workload. So there are no incentives that we have currently within the company. It’s really personal.

Richard Jacobs: All right. Have you had clients that work in companies, you know, for a long time or is the company pretty new? Like, you know, how long ago some of your clients in the program?

Masha Kouzmenko: So some of our clients are two years in the program and we have wonderful testimonials from these clients. And I can give you an example of the benefits that, someone came up to me after class. I’ll share this with you. I think it’s really inspiring. He wasn’t sure if he can come in for class because he had a lot of work on his plate, but you know, he was really agitated after a meeting, like really, was butting heads with another coworker, and couldn’t really see his point of view. So there was a lot of tension that he could feel. So he decided to attend class and after the yoga and during the meditation when they were instructed to release and let go and he finally released and let go and release this tension and anger that he was feeling, this frustration that he was feeling towards his coworker. And Yeah, he personally thanked me and said later on when he went back to work, he was able to resolve the conflict and just proceed with his work and proceed with a project without any halt without any hesitation. So I believe that that type of experience shows the company that we just saved a really great amount of time in productivity here because one employee who attended this work, the other employee didn’t need to attend the class because the one employee that attended was able to do the work for both of them.

Richard Jacobs: So you set up specific metrics when you contract with a company, like, you know, our goal is to reduce the number of sick days or you know, or does the company just say, help our people feel better. Do the company pay for it or the individuals pay for it. How does it work?

Masha Kouzmenko: Yes, so the company pays for it. And we do come in with the research that we have a brochure that we present to them showing the research and the studies that have been done already. For example, the National Institute of Health, Harvard’s Mind, Body Medical Institute, basically proves that meditation is the most, the single most effective method for countering stress, shows them the highlights. But there isn’t really a way to track this. There are companies out there who are trying to say, oh, we’ve reduced stress by 30%. I think it takes time to basically show you that it works.

Richard Jacobs: It is hard to quantify it. But I just wondered is there any way you can quantify it, you know, maybe through a satisfaction rate of a survey after X number of classes and you know, if our goal is like 30% of the people that participate should report feeling that are two points on a scale of one to 10 after doing these, something like that. I don’t know. Maybe there’s something you can do that.

Masha Kouzmenko: Yeah, We had an initial survey but we haven’t had followed up surveys. That’s it. That’s a good recommendation. We might have to follow up on that.

Richard Jacobs: Well, it might help you because they might point you out to like what I’ve noticed is when people use the product and you asked them about it, they might give you generic answers, but if you probe a little bit, they might say stop and say, Hey, you know, I used to get headaches every day and now I don’t anymore. I didn’t realize that. Or I used to always fight with my wife and stuff like that and now we haven’t had a fight in a few weeks. So I guess that’s better too. You probably won’t even get that unless you survey the people and ask them. I bet you’ll get surprising feedback though. Like surprise that people and you.

Masha Kouzmenko: Yes. I mean I have asked for testimonials from the students, the employees who are regulars and I received the amazing testimonials. I just wasn’t able to quantify it in percentage.

Richard Jacobs: I mean, if you get enough of them, then you’ll be able to say like on average, 80, 84% of people reported feeling more relaxed or whatever it is.

Masha Kouzmenko: I think it’s a hundred

Richard Jacobs: An unasked for advice, you know? There you go.

Masha Kouzmenko: Yes. Thank you.

Richard Jacobs: All right, well what is your end goal? What would be the ideal situation, you know, for your company or maybe even for a particular customer, like what do you want to hear that makes you feel really good or, you know, what do you want the company to do that would be a great outcome for you?

Masha Kouzmenko: The satisfaction that I get is when there is one student who is benefiting and just shares that experience with you right after class. I think that’s the most satisfying thing. Our end goal is to continue to spread this nationwide. So we started in Silicon Valley and then we expanded our outreach in Austin and now we’re expanding in Los Angeles. So the end goal is to continue to expand it nationwide across the big cities, making a difference and mid-sized companies and eventually taking it global to bigger companies and just making it more available to all and allowing everyone to feel the benefits and effects of it.

Richard Jacobs: Okay. Well, that’s great. What would be a really big win for you, this year or next year? Is there any particular goal that you’re shooting for that would be like amazing to you? Let’s say the United States Congress, you know, let’s you come in and do sessions or something and you know, help those poor baskets out.

Masha Kouzmenko: That would be amazing. I would love to get into the government sector to bring in more consciousness on that level. Although we have a candidate running for the presidency who is very conscious and aware, so let’s see how that goes. But my biggest when I’m actually in talks with them, a big global company that has offices worldwide. So I can’t really mention the name yet, but that would be a really great win for me. And once they allow us to start a pilot program in one of their offices here, and then eventually we could take it and take a globally and partner with this company.

Richard Jacobs: Okay, well that’s great. So who would be a good customer for you? Like is there a minimum size of the company? What would be ideal for you?

Masha Kouzmenko: We’d done companies anywhere from 20 to 300 employee companies. So we’re looking for that, you know, well-established company that has the budget to invest in their employees and has the budget to see their employees become happier and healthier. And a lot of big companies already have some programs in place. So we’re kind of shooting for that mid-size, smaller companies that want to focus on retaining their employees. Creating a happy, healthy environment.

Richard Jacobs: Yeah, that’s great. So what’s the best way for people to get in touch and to find out about your services and use it in their company?

Masha Kouzmenko: Yeah. So they can go to siliconvalleywellness.com and request a call. We could schedule a call and take it from there.

Richard Jacobs: Okay, well that’s great. Well, Masha thanks for coming on the podcast. I really appreciate it and good to talk to you.

Masha Kouzmenko: Thank you, Richard. I had a great time.