Stefany Nieto is a seasoned entrepreneur whose values are rooted in improving life, globally. She is Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Gwella,

a wellness company designing mushrooms for modern life. Her values have taken her around the world, re-conceptualizing ideas and creating meaningful impact, including food sovereignty in the Arctic. Deeply committed to entrepreneurial ecosystems, Stefany has continued to consult for startups and mentor women and newcomer entrepreneurs.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

I started my first company when I was 19. For a long time, I felt I was ‘too young’ to be a founder and so I took it upon myself to get the best of both worlds and worked anywhere between 2-4 jobs simultaneously. I dipped my toes in diverse sectors ranging from government, a Fortune 500 company, accelerators, consulting, teaching, and charitable endeavours. All to say, I learned that I love variety in my day-to-day life. These experiences gave me the opportunity to build a well-rounded professional background which landed me where I am today: Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer for Gwella. 

What inspired you to start your business?

I fell into entrepreneurship. Gwella is actually my third start-up! The first two were social ventures that got off the ground to help improve the standard of living and quality of life people were facing in developing communities (e.g. better drinking water and food security). Once I got the hang of building up teams and structuring operations to meet milestones, it became a personal joy. From there, I was hooked on the entrepreneurship lifestyle. I love the ability to have a say in strategy and the freedom to take action to move the action forward. For Gwella, I was inspired by my own personal love for psychedelics and their ability to improve lives. I guess that’s the commonality between all of the projects I’ve begun! 

Where is your business based?

Toronto, ON. 

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

For Gwella, while we initially knew we wanted to work with mushrooms and wellness, our first step was really to build a strong team. We asked our networks for referrals to top talent and began assembling a group of people passionate about the space and experts in their fields.

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

Talking to people! I’m an extrovert by nature and so immersing myself in target spaces while pitching on the go is my tried and true method for creating buzz for any project I'm working on.

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

When I built my first company, I hired and developed it with several close friends. While building a company with your best friends sounds like a good idea (read: fun), the day-to-day operations can become a nightmare. Managing a team with diverse personalities is a challenge on its own, but mixing in friendships leads to bringing the office home with you and that can be incredibly draining both for the company and for your own mental health. I still love being close to my teammates and co-founders but I now take precautions when building relationships to ensure mutual boundaries are in place that can preemptively save me from conflict and headaches. 

How do you stay focused?

I try to take reasonable breaks and prioritize my mental health. This works wonders when you’re struggling to balance responsibilities.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

While most companies in the psychedelics space focus on clinical applications, we create technically crafted mushroom-based products and tools that are focused on improving personal wellness. With Gwella, we’re focused on supporting health optimization. We are leveraging our expertise in building wellness solutions to elevate holistic health and wellbeing; mind, body, and spirit.

Our products guide and enable the safe and effective use of these substances in non-clinical settings.

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

Because we’ve created a product that works, tastes great, and looks beautiful, activating a budget for samples has been an incredibly useful marketing strategy. By giving people the opportunity to try our product, we’ve found they’ve come back to purchase on their own as well.  

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

Start today. Most people will wait to start working on a business idea because they’re waiting for something. Whether it’s a team, validation, the “right” time, etc, none of these will ever come at the perfect time because the perfect time doesn’t exist. By starting today I mean just starting to build out your idea, sketch that logo, tell a friend, draft a Business Model Canvas, or build a survey for your ideal customer. Get started because tomorrow may be too late.

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

App - Workflowy, it’s a great and simple to-do list app. It keeps me organized, especially when ideas are written on it mid-sleep.

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

The lean canvas, it’s a great tool for drafting new projects, companies, or ideas in general.

Who is your business role model? Why?

Sheldon Levy, because of his open-mindedness. He has this open-door policy where he will take almost any meeting that comes his way and provide insight and feedback to any topic based on his vast experience and knowledge. It’s this open-mindedness and candid feedback that helped build the work ethic I have today.

How do you balance work and life?

Pre-COVID, I used to take 3-4 days to myself every two months to travel. Today, I set aside time every week for myself, whether that’s work I need to catch up on or personal chores. Time for life outside of work is incredibly important and I still occasionally struggle with remembering!

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

Bike rides in big parks, away from city sirens.

What do you have planned for the next six months?

1. Growing Gwella / advocating for psychedelic regulation reform to provide mushroom accessibility to the masses.

2. Passing off Green Iglu to someone as passionate as I am about food security and who can grow the organization further than I ever imagined.

3. Making time for self-care.

4. Fostering the relationships that mean the most to me. Being there for them, you know?

How can our readers connect with you?

LinkedIn!