"I try to avoid multitasking and practice taking short breaks during the workday to stay focused" with Luba Pashkovskaya

Luba Pashkovskaya is CEO and co-founder of Verv, a global health, and fitness company. Verv offers a comprehensive wellness app that is now ranked among the top mobile app publishers in the U.S. and Europe. Ms. Pashkovskaya is a Forbes European Top 50 Women in Tech honoree. Under her leadership, Verv has earned more app downloads than some of the world’s best-known fitness brands. 

Can you tell our readers about your background? 

Since childhood, I have been involved in sports. After overcoming severe pneumonia, doctors persuaded my parents to send me to sports to strengthen my body. I went through competitions, got awards in professional gymnastics, and I still believe that my perseverance in business has its roots in an early commitment to the sport and an understanding of discipline and competition.

Both of my parents are engineers who graduated from Radiotechnical University in Minsk. This affected me in a certain way, as I always wanted my life to be tied to technology and innovation. After getting my Master’s Degree in Computer Science and Simulation (same university and faculty that my parents graduated from), I started my career in tech where I gained experience in mobile app development, product management, and marketing. 

Ten years ago I had the opportunity to focus on developing mobile apps for the fitness industry. My job was to manage the process from market research and development to app launch and further product marketing. After that experience, I felt confident about running a mobile business and was inspired to start my own company. 

When Verv was established, it was similar and yet very different, since I also became responsible for the entire business strategy, financing, and brand marketing. At the same time, I was so passionate about promoting positive life changes in people’s lives through fitness apps that I decided to make it my personal mission and dedicate my life to it.

What inspired you to start your business? 

The two main factors that I would call fundamental when I created my own fitness app are my solid experience in technology, especially in developing mobile devices, and my passion for sports, which began in youth. I realized that by putting these pieces together, I will be able to fulfill a greater mission and create something that will outlast my time. Therefore, I made a commitment to help people live healthier lives. And it still inspires me to move forward. 

Where is your business based?

The company's headquarters and most of its employees are located in Minsk, Belarus. However, we have employees who work remotely from the United States. In any case, Verv is available across the globe, and our business deals with different languages and cultures, so we consider ourselves an international company with roots in Belarus.

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took? 

I worked with Verv’s two co-founders, Natalia Bahar and Igor Udin, at another technology company before we decided to start our own business. It is quite interesting that the three of us were responsible for the same areas that we are now responsible for in Verv. I managed the product department, Natalia was responsible for marketing, and Igor was the chief technologist. At that time, we had a clear understanding of launching mobile fitness apps and some savings that could be used as an initial investment. We quit our jobs simultaneously and ran all the business processes from home. In the beginning, we hired freelancers to design, create training programs, and localize them. This is how our first app called “Running for Weight Loss" was born. Fortunately, it started to pay off very quickly and gave us the opportunity to expand the team.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

Since brand awareness is pretty hard to measure, we started with, and still focus on, two basic but critical areas. The first one is social media and the second is media interest. From a social media perspective, we started to see positive outcomes after implementing a consistent and strategic approach to Verv’s social accounts including putting an emphasis on our visual assets. Media significantly increased after I was included in “Europe's Top 50 Women in Tech 2018” Forbes list. What I learned then and there is that a business owner's personal brand plays an important role in raising awareness about the company. Also, it's crucial to treat your external communication strategy as seriously as an overall business strategy and never neglect it. 

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

One of the biggest challenges for me was building the right team and finding the right employees. At the very beginning, you can do a lot of things alone, but if you want to scale, you need to hire people. I realized early on that a team is a core and building that core, training, and motivating it takes a lot of time and energy. The second challenge is to cope with your own stress. To be honest, when I started my company, I didn't think it would be so difficult. It turns out that as a business owner, you don't spend hours relaxing and socializing with co-workers, instead you fail and often don't know what to do next. Especially now, when something like COVID-19 or a tough political situation emerges and as a leader, you have to make quick decisions without delay. So I had to figure out how to handle it. This led me back to sports in my life, meditations which help me feel more rested, and time that I spend with my family in order to switch focus.

How do you stay focused? 

I try to avoid multitasking and practice taking short breaks during the workday to stay focused. Exercise and meditation are also great helpers for memory and concentration, so I always include them in my daily routine.

In critical situations, I try not to solve all the problems at once, but clearly distinguish which issues should be addressed immediately, and which can wait and require more time, information, and possibly the participation of third parties.

In terms of boring or difficult tasks, I prefer to use a tactic of "eating a frog in the morning" (that is, doing unpleasant things as quickly as possible), thereby freeing your day/week from these additional concerns. 

Another practice that helps me a lot in building a day out of energy management, not time. It’s always good to know when you are at your peak and plan the most important things at this time. I also put more routine tasks at a time when the amount of energy is already decreasing.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

Verv’s mission is to help people maintain a healthier lifestyle.

The idea of immortality projects (described in Ernest Becker’s book called The Denial of Death) in which we create or become part of something that we feel will outlast our time on earth appeals to me a great deal. To me, Verv is like an immortality project, and every decision we make as a company should bring us closer to the fulfillment of our mission.

Unlike apps that provide fitness, nutrition, and meditation separately, the Verv app is based on the idea of being comprehensive. We approach health as a puzzle that can't be put together without any of the four elements: physical activity, nutrition, sleep, and mindfulness. Verv combined these four vital components in one place, making it affordable and easy to use. We always emphasize that Verv comes from deep experience in app development, and every part of our content is created by the best trainers and professionals. 

We also adhere to the following principle: instead of following your competitors and differentiating from them, you should follow your users and do everything possible to make them happy. We are not so much concerned about what is happening in the competition market, but what our users think about the problem that we are helping to solve.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

Switching our products to a subscription model and attracting users through popular social networks is what allowed us to reach a million audiences and ensure the growth of the entire business. Due to growth and strategic partnerships, we’ve been able to quickly increase marketing budgets, expand the channels for attracting users, and grow the marketing team. At the same time, we did not have to make additional investments by selling the company's share. 

Currently, we pay special attention to developing the Verv brand and creating a community among our users.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Choose only an activity that is as close to you as possible and resonates in the very depths of your soul. Entrepreneurship as well as honing a skill to the top level requires a very deep dive, dedication, time, and energy. In order to do something outstanding, you will have to sacrifice a lot for the business or activity. This becomes possible only when you are genuinely passionate about what you are doing, and you can do it not because of the result, but because you like the process itself.

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why? 

The Verv app is my favorite. Not because it’s ours, but because this product helps me to be healthier, more active, and easier to handle stress. I look there for inspiration for new workouts, recipes, and snack ideas, and I calm down with sounds or meditations. In terms of impact on my life, this is currently my #1 app.

I really like to follow blogs from a healthy lifestyle field. It not only helps in business but also stimulates personal motivation. It's always interesting to learn the latest news, try something new, and get a better understanding of how your body works. I'd highlight Mindbodygreen as a reliable and up-to-date resource where I always find new ideas. And I love the FemFounder Q&As with other leaders - very inspiring to read.

As for books, I have two. "Last to build" is about how you can get closer to creating a really big company, a business that will last for a long time. And "Emotional intelligence" by Daniel Goleman, who talks about emotional intelligence as a key to understanding yourself and others, as well as a tool for managing people more successfully. 

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

It's even a little scary how many tools we have to use now and how dependent we are on them. There are dozens of tools in my top: from the calendar, notes, reminders, and time tracker to Google Suite, Dropbox, Zoom, and so on. Recently, my iPhone crashed after landing in a foreign country and I felt completely helpless: I could not contact the driver, I did not remember the address of the hotel, I did not know the password for any of the cards. I was completely paralyzed. A quick reminder of how (too) dependent we are. 

Of the new business tools that have had a great impact on the business, I want to mention User Testing. This tool helps us quickly test many hypotheses and saves tens of thousands of dollars on development, as well as allows us to speed up our production, which is extremely important today.

Who is your business role model? Why?

Today I’d like to remember Ruth Bader, who recently passed away and left the world in sorrow. This is a great example of a person with a high mission in life, who is brave, is not afraid to remain in the minority, and defends unpopular opinions. Thanks to it, all of humanity has made a huge step towards equal rights for men and women. There is still a long road to equality ahead of us, but today many continue the work she started, and Ruth's contribution will always remain a firm foundation brick for this movement.

I think it is important for any outstanding business person to have their own life mission, immortality project, which will be more than making money or memorializing their name on a big sign. At the end of the day, only such people are followed by other strong leaders and creative, talented people. 

How do you balance work and life? 

I tend to think that work is a significant part of my life. This is a huge part of me that I'm interested in diving into. So I don't put the word "between" in the phrase "work-life balance". 

I also have two little kids who automatically switch my attention when I get home. It so happened that I gave birth to both my children when the business was already starting and growing, and it turned out that this has its advantages. Certain hours of the day I had to look after them instead of sitting in another online meeting or writing emails. And now for me, as a mother, it's very important to have a couple of hours a day that I spend with them. This is the balance. 

What’s your favorite way to decompress? 

Business is always associated with great stress and tension. If you want to be engaged in it for the long term, then you have to understand that no one needs a trapped horse. You can successfully manage your company only if you are full of energy and vitality. Therefore, as soon as I feel tired, I immediately plan some kind of trip, massage, hiking, or anything else to recover. And during this time that I spend on rest, I don't think I could have worked more: on the contrary, I feel like I'm recovering to make even more productive decisions. I really like walking in nature, cycling, swimming, or meditating outdoors. 

What do you have planned for the next six months?

Haha, it seems to me that 2020 is the record holder for failing all plans. However, the plan is to open a new division in Verv, start another new project also in the niche related to a healthy lifestyle, and finally learn how to do a handstand again. I'm not going to talk about things that I'm not so sure about, like traveling and studying, which has already been postponed many times.

How can our readers connect with you? 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liubovpashkovskaya

Twitter: https://twitter.com/verv_inc

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/verv