On the first Tuesday of every month, we’ll announce a new Female Founder, including a video interview of them sharing their business story. Want to be featured as a Female Founder? Contact Heather Hutchings for more details. The Female Founders Program would not be possible without our Title Sponsor, Scotiabank.
To learn a little more about the Scotiabank Women Initiative, and why they’ve chosen to sponsor this program, see the video below.
The next Female Founder we’re featuring is Neha Juwale, Founder of Bookmytherapy.
Neha Juwale is the founder of bookmytherapy, a non-profit dedicated to mental health advocacy and support. With over a decade of experience in mental health, marketing, business development and sales working for different companies, she has built a reputation for driving community-focused initiatives. Neha was awarded the KW Oktoberfest Women of the Year Award in May 2024 for her contributions to mental health in the Kitchener-Waterloo region. She is committed to expanding access to mental health services and creating impactful programs that foster wellness and connection.
To learn more about Neha and her journey as a Female Founder, watch the interview below (or read the written format).
When did you start your business?
I started Bookmytherapy last year (2023) and this is a marketplace for mental health professionals, which connects them to individuals in Ontario.
Where did this idea come from?
This comes from lived experience with mental health because I noticed that providing culturally appropriate and relevant mental health support was missing here and I was experiencing certain challenges for mental health upon immigrating to Canada and right after COVID, that is when I realized that what if there is a website that exactly addresses this and I do not have to translate to English from my native language, words making it seem like they are grammatically correct to a therapist.
What were you doing before you started your business?
I was a student here in Conestoga College and right in the middle of COVID, I was also working with Venture Lab which is an entrepreneurship collective of Conestoga College and I got trained there for Bookmytherapy as well. I am also working for a software company.
What did you study at Conestoga College?
A one-year diploma and this was into sustainable business management.
How did you get the idea for your business?
So, the first thing would be identifying a need that is not mine that is related to everyone because I did not want my personal bias to come into my business because then it is very difficult to differentiate and then separate yourself from your business and look at it from a third-party perspective.
So, that is why I got enrolled in Venture Lab which is an entrepreneurship collective of Conestoga College where I got trained into what are the legal requirements for starting a website, what are the laws when it comes to psychotherapy in Ontario, where to look for a therapist and also how to reach out to them, what should be my exact approach or tone. And the second one would be working with a developer back in India for developing the website because I am not a developer and I am not a therapist.
I had to learn the language of developers and therapists as well so that I could talk their language, so it would be easy for me to communicate with them and you know get them on board with the final objective of designing a website – that it looks like what it does right now and it gives a better user experience and gives the message that serves the community.
Were you ever interested in studying about the human brain?
Oh yeah, I have been always fascinated by how the human brain works and the dynamics of you know human relation, behaviour, thoughts, emotions and what not. So, even as a child you know I used to read a lot of books on psychology. I actually never thought of you know taking a formal degree or a course until you know I experienced certain challenges for mental health.
Did any experience in your home country play a role in starting your business?
Yeah of course, I mean and also after moving here the thing that I noticed is you know people really do not talk about mental health as if it is a taboo topic and I do not know if it is a self-sufficiency culture where you know you are supposed to solve all your problems by yourself with or without the resources you have, or is it because there is a lot of shame and stigma and you literally look down upon it, even in a conversation to tell your friend that:
“Hey, I just saw a therapist and I am seeking therapy.”
So, that made me think of why we are not talking about the most important thing, which is therapy, or and it is ok to seek help, it is ok to ask for help. Of course, the Indian context does play an important role here because one of the factors of Bookmytherapy is also to de-stigmatized seeking help for mental health.
What challenges has your business faced so far?
Website development and the second thing was therapists. So, when I speak to them, I have been lucky, I have been fortunate enough that there are 14 people on the team who trust me at a time when I told them:
“Hey, I am doing this for the community right now, I am working on getting clients, I am new to this, but I will make sure that I get clients for you, would you like to be on board?”
And they agreed, but the challenge here was that the other people that I spoke, where saying stuff like: why would they trust me? Most of them did not respond and they had a lot of questions because I used to get on a call and explain what I am doing, why I am doing this, what is my intention, do I have clients, etc. They used to think that I am currently in India and not in Canada because it was mostly on zoom call.
So, that was another challenge, but I mean it’s been going well, and it is lot of work in progress.
Tell us about the people you work with.
They are registered social workers and registered psychotherapists. I am looking to onboard a team of psychologists as well. All of them are based here in Ontario and we have one mental health coach from India who speaks Marathi as well, but he is in India, and all other people are here and I find them through competition websites, through the registered colleges and there are different ways to reach out to them.
Knowing what you know now, is there anything you would do differently?
Definitely. When I look back, I had lot of free time when I was a student you know, it is just a perspective and point of comparison. Instead of watching Netflix and Amazon prime or searching for web series, that are trending, I believe I would have like to invested my time to learn more about web development, graphic designing, marketing and how to create content.
What methods have you used to grow your business?
That is a great question. So, yes joining the Chamber of Commerce is the first method, and then second thing would be attending networking events. Now, I am collaborating with local organizations which speak different languages and getting in partnerships with them and then colleges and universities.
What methods do you use to network with other business owners?
So, that is a great question because initially when I used to go to networking events my idea was what I can get for myself and right now my idea and my approach changed to – what can I give (instead). That being said, I am looking for businesses as well for B2B collaborations, but I recently met a senior psychotherapist here who has been practicing for 18 years and I am in talks with them to onboard them as a clinical supervisor, but now it is more of how I can help?
How do you define success?
From a business perspective, success to me is when people either have that “aha moment” in therapy or when they have a deep sense of satisfaction.
So, it is mostly based on like of course mental health and there could be some hesitation for people directly talking to me, I completely agree on that, but if I in some way am able to contribute to their life, making it easier for them, then yes that is a success for me. And of course, like getting an award from KW Oktoberfest that is definitely a huge success.
How do you feel after winning the 2024 Health & Wellness Award at the KW Oktoberfest Women of the Year Awards?
I did not believe they announced my name there. So, in 2 minutes that they announced I was in a state of shock. It is a responsibility and now because they have selected Bookmytherapy and they have given me an award when there are so many other people who are at least like 15 years or 20 years in the health and wellness sector doing outstanding contribution for their community and when they selected me it feels like a responsibility that yes, now I need to be able to think about more creative ways to give back to the community. It gave me a boost you know that whatever I am doing is right and I am looking for ways to expand it so that I can contribute more and serve the community better.
What are some of the core values of your business?
Integrity is #1 because that is the determining factor for me if somebody is on board or not because I am here for Bookmytherapy and I am here to really add value to a person’s life and I do not want anyone who is you know either not keeping their information confidential or a person who mixes like personal agendas with the clients life, something like that and same goes with the client, so I want people who have integrity and that is the most important value for me because in my opinion, it’s when what would you do when nobody is looking at you and how true you are to your morals to your values, and that says more about a person’s character than anything else in my opinion.
The second thing is honesty and transparency, it is important to me because it is the way of life in my opinion. I think life would be much easier if we are like just honest and able to hold or have a conversation with whomever is important to you rather than beating around the bush or masking, or you know having sweet words when you have something else in your mind.
What qualities do you look for when hiring?
The first thing is integrity, the second thing would be about – did they experience certain challenges for mental health? All of us do at some point of time but what I am trying to test here is that if you are able to acknowledge it, accept it, if you have experienced mental health challenges in any form there is a good chance that you would feel for it and you would give more than what is expected in your KRAs and you would stand for the cause. I want everybody to work with a sense of purpose, it’s very important here.
What are some of the benefits of establishing your business in the Waterloo Region?
Access to talent. I do plan to hire them so that’s one. The second thing is this feels like a community, you know people who actually have the time to help. I think it’s the sense of community and they are like more human, if I may say so.
What inspires you?
Well, it’s from everyday life and also the passion that I have for psychology and drive that you know I would be able to be in a place to give back to the community.
What advice do you have for young entrepreneurs and professionals?
Find a mentor. Don’t be afraid just go out ask for help and learn and adapt as much as possible as fast as possible.
Do you have a mentor?
Yes, I do. When I got trained with Venture Lab, I had a coach named Nikki. She was the person who suggested my business idea because I initially went to Venture Lab with some other idea but then she talked more sense into me.
What are some of your next goals?
The first important thing is grants and fundings so that’s where I am working on and also for partnering with different local organizations to seek support and also their sponsorships because I am a non-profit organization and once I have that money – I want to invest it back into my business so that I am able to reach that goal of first expanding to different provinces and then 10 years from now to be in a position where I can open facility centers or hospitals.
Being an immigrant, what challenges do you face and what advice would you give to someone in your shoes?
I did face challenges because English is not my first language so yes there was a language barrier, but to answer your question about what advice would I give to someone who you know is immigrating to Canada with an intention to start business is the same thing, look for coaches.
The second would be LinkedIn, depending on which type of business you want to start say for example you want to start a restaurant then look for people who already have a restaurant here in Canada wherever you are going to live, say for example you are living in Waterloo, identify people who are owners in Waterloo even if they are like franchisee owners on LinkedIn, look out for them, reach out to them. Learn from them and to understand like the pros and cons of business because the idea is that where you will see yourself 5 or 10 years from now – they are already doing it so they would be speaking from their experience. That will help you understand if this route is for you or not.
Please do not just stick to one person, talk to as many people as possible and you know just ask questions, do not feel afraid because it is for you. If you do not do it who is going to do it for you, then there are like community groups here on Facebook as well, you could find people on Facebook and ask the same questions there.
Also, there are local organizations as well. It is not easy and there is a risk involved so that would be the third thing. Canada does support business, and it is a good country to start your business, go for it.
Where can we find out about your business?
I have a website which is: www.bookmytherapy.ca and my email address is neha.juwale@bookmytherapy.ca, and then you can visit us on Instagram, Facebook, and we are on YouTube.
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
