At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring some of the meaningful and powerful stories from around the world to empower and motivate our growing community of entrepreneurs, influencers, management students and aspiring individuals. This week, we invited Marija Ryge for an exclusive interview to know more about her inspiring journey and the way forward. She is an International Speaker, Health Consultant & Educator. Marija has earned PhD degree in Medicine from the prestigious Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Let’s learn more about her interesting journey and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Marija:
Tell us a little bit about your background and your journey as a women entrepreneur/influencer, please.
I received my PhD degree in Medicine from the prestigious Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Karolinska Institute is one of the world’s foremost medical universities, best known for its Nobel Prize committee that every year selects the Nobel Prize Laureates in the field of Medicine and Physiology.
During my PhD studies, I was privileged to work closely with the Nobel Laureate professor Bengt Samuelsson who was one of my supervisors. After my PhD studies in the field of clinical biochemistry and immuno-oncology, I continued with my postdoctoral training in the field of nano-medicine and toxicology. My research interests had always been clinically oriented, so I started working on a project that was examining, at the time, newly patented nano-particles for selective and targeted drug delivery to cancer cells, with the aim to reshape the clinical practice in prostate, ovarian and lung cancer treatments (making new and current drugs more effective, and minimizing the side effects).
During the period of my PhD and postdoctoral fellowship, I received scientific training at several other renowned scientific institutions, such as the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, and Harvard Medical School in the USA.
I presented my work at numerous conferences and congresses worldwide, where I was awarded several times for my scientific achievements.”
After completion of my postdoctoral training, I moved to Switzerland and shifted gears, as I started working at the Swiss federal institute EPFL in Lausanne. I got an offer to help Professor Markram realize his vision for a large collaborative project aiming to use super-computers and emerging technologies in order to achieve fundamental insight into the organization and function of the human brain, and discover new pharmacological targets that will improve the treatment of mental and neurological disorders while boosting the development of brain-inspired computing, data analytics, robotics, and artificial intelligence. This was the beginning of the Human Brain Project, which was awarded 1 Billion Euros by the European Commission’s Future and Emerging Technologies scheme, making it one of the most generously funded scientific initiatives in Medicine.
I was part of the team that made it happen. I also lead the team that tactfully negotiated and formed a partnership with more than 100 pharmaceutical and biotech companies across the globe that committed to support the project with an additional 70 million Euros.
After the successful completion of the challenges at the EPFL, new scientific adventures took me to Brazil where I started exploring ethnomedicine of local tribes in Amazonas with the aim to pharmacologically translate their local practice into “modern medicine.” The life spent in Brazil brought me back to nature in a way I never thought possible for someone so defined by urban culture as myself.
After some time spent in Brazil, I came back to Switzerland, where I joined an international corporation headquartered close to Zurich, with operations in the field of medical devices. After a few months, I became a medical director and director of the medical and scientific board of the company. I worked there for 2 years, after which I decided to leave and start my own business: Consulting, educating, and helping people optimize their health.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a job?
I feel very passionate about personalized, preventive medicine with a holistic approach to human health, but there is very little support for this way of thinking in the western health industry, which is dominated by big pharma. Additionally, corporates can also be very rigid in the way they run their business and I felt I needed a higher degree of freedom to do my job.
My personality and creativity were not cut out for the limitations of corporate life. I always thought that successful leadership was about guiding others in a direction that leaves them feeling empowered and accomplished. Yet, to my big frustration, I did not experience such leadership. So, I felt I had no other option than to leave the company and start a new journey on my own to get where I wanted to go.
That’s how I started creating the Sci-Health Program. It’s a comprehensive personalized program in preventive medicine based on the latest medical research designed to provide the client with a customized nutritional plan, detox strategy, and one-on-one coaching tailored to their specific health challenges.
How do you find the industry/niche that you’re in?
It’s growing fast in certain parts of the world, but in Europe where I live, it is slow in picking up. It’s also a bit messy as a lot of people are self-proclaimed experts in nutrition, medicine, healthy living, so there are a lot of misinformation and scientific misinterpretations flaying around.
What gets you out of bed in the morning i.e. what’s your source of motivation?
High cortisol:) Joke aside, what gets me out of bed in the morning is the joy that I have a brand new day ahead of me with the possibility to help people reach their health goals.
During my PhD studies, I had this insanely intense feeling that sleeping was a waste of time. I was so enthusiastic about scientific projects I was working on, that I spent many nights in the lab, brainstorming and designing future experiments and making sure the ones I was working on at the time succeeded. I was deeply emotionally and mentally engaged in all experiments I was doing, completely forgetting about my wellbeing/health. Having a balance in life and work with inner peace is priceless.
What challenges/obstacles did you face in your journey so far?
I am a firm believer that obstacles, in general, create opportunities, because they require us to see things differently, make changes, and exercise our resilience.
One obstacle I had to overcome was my own self-doubt. Another difficult challenge I face on a more regular basis is to change people’s minds about their bad habits and routines that they have built up over a lifetime. Some people expect I give them a magic pill, so they can continue with the same old habits that put them in a rabbit hole, in regard to their health, in the first place. Most people want to get from A to Z with an elevator, without doing any hard work. It’s really important for your health and overall wellbeing how you approach your life, your diet, your food, your lifestyle habits. My work and challenges are to open people’s eyes to the fact that they hold the power to a better and healthier life in their hands, but it requires dedication, effort, and discipline to get there.
What comes first for you – money or emotions?
I am a very emotional person and I believe a successful business needs to have a balance of intellect and emotions. Not “private” emotions obviously, but more a set of gut feelings that inspires integrity, ethics, and concern for honesty, quality, and client satisfaction. Money is obviously important to survive and keep the business running, but I believe that if you are passionate about your work and create something others value, the money will follow.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
Planning is an important tool in handling pressure for me, as it minimizes surprises. Good/constructive pressure can help me stay motivated and productive. During my time in academia and in the industry, I learned how to balance multiple projects and meet deadlines.
It’s important to get skilled at it, as this ability prevents you from feeling overly stressed. As a general rule, I learned to always stay calm and think before responding (at least in the professional sphere)”
What is one strategy that you believe has helped you grow as a person?
Believe in yourself, embrace change, and have a flexible mind-set. This will help you be prepared to shift strategies when circumstances, beyond your control, rock the boat. When you are in the middle of the ocean, failure is not an option. So, keep rowing no matter what, and do not look back. Having a lean methodology also helps a lot. Work hard. Build relationships and be sensitive to non-verbal communication. These things are important for growing and developing business. Try to think long term, but do not obsess.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
There are few. I would say it’s very important to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve and to figure out a course that will take you there; you also need to have meticulous attention to details, and listen more than you talk… I am always concurrently both a teacher and a student. Learn from the mistakes, but don’t let them stop you from growing and bettering yourself. Push aside your self-doubt, learn compassionately and quickly, and then authentically keep moving forward.
Overcome your own self-doubt, work hard on your idea and network.
And don’t judge your success by other’s standards. Decide what your strengths and goals are and use that as your measure instead.
What advice would you give to someone starting out as an aspiring women entrepreneur?
As general advice, I would say aim high and work hard. Believe in yourself. Get rid of all past definitions, limitations, and expectations of yourself. Don’t dwell on a lack of experience, rejections, and mistakes. Especially in the beginning, you will meet with a lot of naysayers and negative comments. Be careful about who you listen to. Don’t focus primarily on money, but rather keep your focus on creating sustainable value and have fun/ enjoy the path. Always follow your interests and excitement to chart your own path.
Stay true to your core value system, and don’t forget to have a family life. The business should not define you. Do not neglect your relationships.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
