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In ELLE.com’s series Office Hours, we ask people in powerful positions to take us through their first jobs, worst jobs, and everything in between. This month, we spoke with Shizu Okusa, the founder of wellness brand Apothékary. Before she started the company, which aims to address common health concerns with herbal medicine, she began her career at the ripe old age of 19 as a trader at Goldman Sachs—an experience that has served her well in her second life as an entrepreneur. “I don’t know if we would have been able to raise the capital that we have if I didn’t go through this journey of being in finance,” Okusa says. “It allowed me to understand financial statements and how to talk to investors in a really confident way.” Since launching in 2020, Apothékary has entered Ulta, raised over $15 million in funding, and gained Shiseido as an investor. The brand has also launched 22 powders and tinctures designed to do everything from balance hormones to boost energy levels using traditional Eastern medicine-inspired formulas. Sugar Kick, which launches today, promises to stabilize glucose levels and encourage proper sugar metabolism with ingredients like Chinese bitter melon. Here, Okusa shares more about her time on Wall Street, how her Japanese heritage impacts her brand, and the merits of Eastern and Western medicine.
My first job
A dishwasher at my parents’ restaurant. They’re both Japanese immigrants who lived in Vancouver, so, of course, they had a sushi restaurant. I was 14 years old, so it wasn’t necessarily the most legal job, but I was like, “Okay, I’ll help the family business.” I was a dishwasher for three years, and then my first corporate job was working and trading at Goldman Sachs in New York.
My worst job
I’ve had so many different lives. I would say the tempura station at my parents’ restaurant, because you just have oil and shrimp flying into your face.
How I got to Wall Street
My parents wanted me to have a very stable job and to choose a path that would make me happy but also would maximize stability. They worked really hard to get me into school without any debt. My older sister was also in finance. She was at Goldman Sachs in Tokyo. And I was like, “Oh, I think I want to also be in finance. And if I’m going to be in finance, then I want to live in New York.” So when I was 19, I ended up cold-emailing my first boss, who I found on Google and who happened to be Canadian. I said, “Look—I have a great stock idea. I’m going to be in New York next week. I’d love to pitch it to you.” And he was like, “Great, let’s meet here at 2 P.M. I ended up flying myself out and pitched him an idea. Ten minutes turned into an eight-hour interview, and I got a job offer the next day. If you try and if you manifest, I think things are really possible.
Why I took a career gap year
After I left Goldman, I lived in Mozambique for about a year. I took a complete break to figure out who I was and what I wanted to do. I think that stopping and slowing down before you speed up is really important. And I don’t think we as a society allow ourselves that time and grace. I packed everything into Manhattan Mini Storage and booked a flight to Maputo. I lived there for a year on a banana farm, and I was helping entrepreneurs raise capital. Ultimately, I wasn’t making any money, but I was resetting my life and reassessing who I was and what I wanted to do. I realized at that point, like, “I think I’m going to start a business and move back to D.C.” And I wound up starting my first company, Jrink, there when I was 22.
Why I launched Apothékary
When I sold Jrink in 2019, I was also entering my 30s. I realized at that point that I was always going to be in wellness, mainly because I always was seeking solutions for my own stress and personal healing journey. As I was getting older and dealing with things like hormones, sleep issues, and other things that you just can’t see, I realized that I needed better supplements. I needed better natural, plant-based remedies. So I tapped into how my ancestors and parents brought me up, which was: never take Advil, never take Tylenol, drink your ginseng, and have your reishi and your mushrooms. Always go for natural. And I was like, “Why isn’t there a company like that? Why is everything in pale, opaque bottles?” I realized that there was a huge market and a huge opportunity to share natural, plant-based remedies with the world.
My advice for other female founders raising capital
Have all your documents together in one place from the beginning—just be prepared. Also, know your numbers without having to look at your documents. Know your revenue, know your gross margin, know your forecast for next year, high level, top line, EBITDA and bottom line, know your hiring plans. Know exactly what you’re going to do with the money. If you’re saying you want to raise $5 million, what is that $5 million going to be doing? What’s the return on the $5 million, and when do you expect to bring that money back? Having answers to all those questions shows that you’re an experienced fundraiser and that you know raising money means you have to actually deliver the money back one day.
How my Japanese heritage impacts Apothékary
My parents have inspired me in many ways in terms of how we built the company, our values, and our products. We don’t use any chemicals. We don’t add any additives. My parents both live on a farm in Vancouver, but it’s all Japanese farming. All of my family is still in Japan, and we just recently filmed a documentary also in Japan, highlighting these natural healing modalities, including Japanese Kampo (traditional herbal medicine), onsen (Japanese hot springs), matcha tea ceremonies, and forest bathing. There’s a huge amount of wisdom in Eastern healing traditions. It’s all about using nature as medicine.
How my parents feel about the business
They’re proud. But I have to be honest with you—they never said “I’m proud of you” until the last two years.
The tinctures and powders in my daily routine
I use Hormone Harmonizer, which is one of our powder formulas for hormonal balance, when I’m feeling completely out of whack on my period. Mind Over Matter in the morning with coffee, that’s a go-to staple. At night, I get really serious with my tinctures. It’s usually Wine Down mixed with Take the Edge Off, so I make a mocktail with them. If I’m really tired, I’ll just take them directly on my tongue and pass out.
Apothékary Hormone Harmonizer
Apothékary Mind Over Matter
Apothékary Wine Down
Apothékary Take the Edge Off
On the importance of clinical testing
For the most part, herbal medicine hasn’t been regulated, but it also hasn’t been funded. There is not enough research or pharmaceutical dollars going into this category and the science isn’t being put behind it. As a company that’s leading the edge on herbal medicine, we want to help bring the category forward, and part of that work means doing a lot of studies on herbs and how powerfully potent they can be. We just finished our first clinical study for Wine Down, and we’ll probably continue to do another four clinical studies in the next 12 months, including for Blue Burn and Sugar Kick.
How I feel about Western vs. Eastern medicine
I think that there is a balance. I have never felt like one is better or one is worse. When you’re in critical pain and you need to lower the inflammation in your body, or you’re really sick, a Tylenol is not bad for you. I don’t think that every kid should suffer on the ground or sweat it out like I did when I was young. But if you’re really looking to get to the root cause of a certain issue, not just treat the symptom, I think Eastern medicine is incredibly important. So I believe that a marriage of the two is ultimately where I think the industry should go. I hope that that’s something we can strive towards in the next few years.