Overcoming Self-Doubt: From Korean Fish Town to U.S. Digital Healthcare Leader

As an immigrant entrepreneur, I've learned that perseverance and self-awareness are key to overcoming self-doubt and achieving success in building a company like Noom, which has become the largest consumer-led digital healthcare company in the United States.

1. Saeju Jeong, co-founder and CEO of Noom, discusses his journey as an immigrant entrepreneur.
2. One of the hardest things he had to overcome was self-doubt.
3. Noom is a consumer-led health care company that focuses on behavior change to help users master exercise, diet, stress management, and sleep.
4. In 2021, Noom raised $540 million in capital led by Silver Lake and became the largest consumer-led digital healthcare company in the United States.
5. Jeong was raised in Yeosu, South Korea, and his father was a medical doctor.
6. He initially wanted to become a doctor but ended up studying electro engineering in college.
7. Jeong's first business was a Heavy Metal Record label Distribution company, which he started because of his love for heavy metal music.
8. His first business taught him that he cannot build a business based just on his passion.
9. He also learned that the Total Access Market for heavy metal listeners in South Korea was small.
10. Jeong came to the United States, specifically New York City, to start a business where the problem and opportunities were bigger.
11. He chose New York City because it was far from South Korea, and he thought it would be harder to compromise with the Korean community if things did not work out.
12. Jeong's co-founder, Artem Petakov, is from Ukraine and met Jeong through a mutual friend.
13. Petakov was a tech lead at Google Maps and had never thought about becoming an entrepreneur until Jeong convinced him to join him in starting Noom.
14. In the beginning, they raised capital from angel investors, including Googlers, Artem's friends, and Jeong's family and friends in Korea.
15. They initially built a fitness-driven product, but it took two years to build and did not have good product-market fit.
16. Jeong and Petakov spent two years constantly talking about how they could make a bigger impact in healthcare.
17. Jeong had to rebuild his network and learn everything as an immigrant with fresh eyes.
18. Noom's first prototype was a stationary bike, similar to Peloton, but it took too long to build, and they couldn't raise capital for it.
19. They eventually built an application because they didn't have money to buy any hardware.
20. Their first fitness-driven product, Cardio trainer, was a mega hit and achieved 5 million users within six months.
21. Noom's current version is a behavior change approach led by passionate health coaches that provide services for mastering four pillars of diet, exercise, stress management, and sleep.
22. Jeong wants to build a company that lasts more than a century and is inspired by Jim Collins' book "Good to Great," which features companies that have existed for over 100 years.
23. Jeong believes that self-doubt is one of the hardest things for immigrant entrepreneurs to overcome, but he managed it by working with supportive people and building healthy habits.
24. As Noom has grown, Jeong's role has evolved from being involved in every aspect of the company to delegating work and hiring experts to operate each department based on the company mission.

Source: EO via YouTube

❓ What do you think? What is the most significant factor in overcoming self-doubt and building resilience as an entrepreneur, particularly when facing challenges that test one's emotional barrier? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!