Today we’d like to introduce you to Varsha Chawla.
Hi Varsha, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
After spending 17 years in the technology industry, most recently as a systems engineer, I decided to pursue my passion for wellness and holistic health to help people feel their best.
I stumbled into the holistic health and functional medicine world by accident, after two pregnancies resulting in two amazing boys, a full-time job, and an entrepreneurial spouse left me with an amazing life, but little gas in the tank. You know that saying that you can’t pour into others if you don’t fill up your own cup first? Well, that was me.
I had carefully researched every ingredient in everything from baby lotion to baby wipes before our first baby was born (I know, I used to be so type-A!). I had made sure that everything from his crib sheets to his swaddle blankets were organic and chemical free. But, as weird as this sounds….I neglected my own health in the process of having kids. Chips and salsa for lunch while nursing the baby? On repeat for me.
Over the years, I battled terrible acne, chronic joint and back pain, fatigue, high cortisol levels, difficulty losing weight, hair loss, and disruptive PMS symptoms. One day when everything seemed to hit all at once, I had enough. I went back to nutrition school, got certified as a health and wellness coach, and started healing myself, as well as others. Coaching taught me that our hormonal shifts that we experience throughout the years have some commonalities: we all struggle with sleep and energy at some point. I created a line of functional, adaptogenic drink mixes that provide energy and sleep support, help with hormone balance, and taste like your favorite hot cocoa or herbal tea beverage. As an ex-engineer and mom, I created these for my own health and I’m now ready to share them with the world. I can’t wait for you to try them!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Entrepreneurship is hardly ever smooth! For me, it definitely has not been so far. As an engineer, I’m driven by data and analytics, and bringing that to a new venture is definitely helpful. However, diving into an entirely new industry can be daunting and I’m still learning a ton as I go. We’ve ran into roadblocks with ingredients, packaging, and supply chain, but each time, we get a little closer to the goal of providing amazing products that improve our lives through sleep and energy support, and taste delicious too. Combining motherhood with entrepreneurship, while training for a marathon this year has taught me a lot of patience, grit, and resilience.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Well & Great / Glim Wellness?
I launched Well & Great a few years ago with the goal of providing holistic health coaching and help people not only nourish themselves well, but also deal with the hormonal shifts that we all go through as we age. I am now launching Glim Wellness as a direct result of the many coaching interactions I’ve had with clients. We all struggle with energy and sleep at some point and being able to provide holistic, delicious, functional, and adaptogenic solutions that nourish our minds and bodies is what Glim Wellness is all about. I’ve spent over a year refining and sourcing ingredients that I’m proud to put into my own body. It’s been a journey and I’m immensely proud of the results.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
I have to give some credit to the book “Everything is Figureoutable” by Marie Foleo. This book taught me how to keep going, regardless of the roadblocks, the ingredient shortages, the packaging issues, the challenges involved with creating a clean label product. It’s never easy, and definitely not as fast as I would have liked to take my product line to market, but not taking the easy path is also the most rewarding. It just doesn’t feel like that in the moment. Everyone wants to see you start and people love watching you cross the finish line. Those moments get all the glory online and on social media. But the middle part? That’s messy and ugly and I’ve learned to love those moments just as much. It’s a powerful thing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wellandgreat.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wellandgreat/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/varshachawla/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@wellandgreat
