Join us in this heartfelt episode as we explore the transformative journey of Pooja Vig, from venture capital investor to a beacon of health and nutrition.
Discover how a personal quest for fertility solutions led Pooja to the world of functional medicine, igniting a passion that would redefine her career and impact the lives of many.
Are you ready to be inspired by the power of heart-led business practices in the realm of nutrition and wellness?
Tune in now!
Insights from this Episode:
Pooja shares her profound insights on the shift from a broad-based clinic to a specialized focus on women’s health and perimenopause, demonstrating the profound impact of specialization in addressing specific health needs.
“Heart-led business is not just a philosophy; it’s a practice.” – Pooja Vig
Learn how Pooja’s dedication to understanding the intricate relationship between nutrition and health has transformed her life and empowered her to guide others on their path to wellness.
About Pooja Vig:
🌿 Clinic Director and Co-Founder, The Nutrition Clinic
Functional Medicine Nutritionist (BSc Hons, Microbiology)
Dr. Kalish Functional Medicine Mentorship
Certificate of Nutrition and Metabolic Medicine (University of Bridgeport)
AFMCP Graduate (The Institute of Functional Medicine)
Pooja’s quest? Empowerment through understanding. She dared to ask: “What if we could decode our genes, harmonize our environment, and curate lifestyle choices for optimal health?”
Her journey from self-experimentation (aka biohacking) to transforming lives is awe-inspiring. Low energy? Immunity woes? Wonky digestion? Pooja’s got answers. And now, with The Nutrition Clinic, she’s helping others script their own health success stories—one client at a time.
Join Pooja’s Inner Circle:
- 🌐 Explore more about Pooja’s work at The Nutrition Clinic.
- 🌟Connect with Pooja through a proven path to supercharge your metabolism, elevate your energy, and reclaim your health! Ready to feel great again? Dive into the step-by-step blueprint that promises metabolic magic and renewed vitality. 🚀💚
- 🔗 Explore The Perimenopause Blueprint
Coming Soon:
Dr. Linell King Unleashes True Wealth! Get ready to dive into the heart of health with Dr. Linell King, MD—a functional medicine maverick, community educator, and lifestyle mentor. His mission? To rewrite the wellness playbook and empower you with vitality. 🌿💫
Uncover the Conversation’s Treasure: Delve into the full transcript and unearth the wisdom within!
0:01
Welcome to the Heart Led Business Show, where compassion meets commerce and leaders lead with love. Join your host, Tom Jacobs, as he delves into the insightful conversations with visionary business leaders who defy the status quo, putting humanity first and profit second. From heartfelt strategies to inspiring stories, this podcast is your compass in the world of conscious capitalism. So buckle up and let’s go. Let your heart guide your business journey.
Tom: 0:42
Welcome widget, weavers and wisdom seekers prepare for a pulse raising podcast with the captivating co-founding director of the nutrition clinic, Pooja Vig. She’s a foodie fortune teller. Making magic with microscopic understandings and mammoth passion for functional medicine. We’re diving deep into the DNA of our heart led health Haven. The nutrition clinic located in Singapore. So buckle up. Tune in and digest the delicious details of her brain boosting biohacking journey. Pooja welcome to the show today.
Pooja: 1:18
Thank you so much for that. That incredible introduction. Thank you so much for having me on this.
Tom: 1:24
Well, I’m really excited to talk to you a little bit more about nutrition. That’s one of my little hobbies. I love talking and geeking out on nutrition, but more importantly, how you’re leading your clinic as a heart led business. So if you could just describe to me what your definition of a heart light led business is.
Pooja: 1:47
So for me, and this is kind of from my perspective for me, heart led means it is really what drives you to run a business, what drives you to wake up every morning and do the work that you do. It’s been a passion first that then grew into a business. I became interested in the space of nutrition, lifestyle, and what, you know, what it can do for you. When at the age of 35, I was told I can’t get pregnant. So I was put on IVF route, didn’t like the way that felt to me. And there was this voice in my head. There was the sense that. I’m supposed to be doing something different. At that time I was working I was working in VC. I was investing in biotech startups. It was a great job from a travel fun, young person. You know, I enjoyed it on a level, but it didn’t connect. It didn’t feel like this is what I was meant to do. And when I quit that job to figure out what’s going on with my hormones, it didn’t, I look back now and I think, gosh, that was really brave and courageous. I don’t know where that voice came from, but there was a voice that said, You’re meant to do something different and this is a problem you have and just jump in. I don’t even think I thought it through like that. It just, I just jumped in. So I quit my job. I researched everything I could. I went back to my roots and I researched everything I could around the space of fertility. The chemicals that impact fertility, the nutrients that are needed, the lifestyle that’s needed. This stuff wasn’t available easily. It wasn’t available online in, you know, the kind of courses we have today. I ordered books. I got in touch with researchers out of the UK who were doing this as a project. And I put myself on a series of protocols. And at 38, I got pregnant and at 38, when, you know, I, I also realized it was, absolutely amazing that, that I know what I was set out to do, what I set out to do work. But what I also realized at 38, I felt so much healthier than I did at 28. Something had shifted deeply in order for that to happen. And that’s really where, where this work comes from. It’s that sense of connection. So for me, heart led is well, what’s the connection? What’s the why? Why do you do what you do? And similarly, when I work with a client, why are they feeling that way? Why, why are they not getting the results they want? So for me, it’s always about, I’m always asking why. So why was I in that job? What do I want to do? You know, it’s, it’s always back to those same core questions that lead the direction that I go in. And It’s not even something I’d really thought about till you just asked me that question. I think it’s just been very intuitive. And I guess that is heart led when it just feels like this is the right thing to do. And I’ve not sat down and made a plan to do this, but this is what’s going to drive my next decision.
Tom: 4:24
It seems like everybody that I’ve been interviewing, that’s the very similar, almost exact same scenario. They were in a situation that just, it wasn’t their calling and now they’re in their calling. You’re in your calling. And I bet if we saw pictures of you back in your twenties when you’re working in VC versus pictures of you today, I bet there’s a, a big difference. Is there like, in terms of just your overall aura or just spirit?
Pooja: 4:56
Yeah, I just wake up feeling really happy and excited about what I’m doing. I’m always reading about this stuff. I’m signing, even today I had to stop myself from signing up for a new course. I’m like, where’s the time Pooja, but I want to know more. And I didn’t feel that way then I wasn’t excited. And I think, I think that that excitement is not something that you can. Always plan to have a, you know, predict, but I think if you’re paying attention, the voice is within, and I know that sounds like something everybody’s heard at some point, but it’s when you experience it, that it becomes very real.
Tom: 5:29
And, you know, the old saying to have if you do what you love, you’re never going to work a day in your life. Does that, does that resonate with you? Absolutely, absolutely! I think for me
Pooja: 5:39
there isn’t the separation between work and me. So, and that is fantastic, but it’s also perhaps a problem because I sometimes need to create that sense of, okay. Work has ended. You don’t need to keep studying about this and that because there, there isn’t that separation. And this is what I kind of do for fun. I read up about this for fun. So that, that absolutely is very true.
Tom: 6:02
That’s great. So there’s got to be challenges though, when you’re following a passion, but there’s business things that you have to do, you have to market, you have to sell, you have to do accounting work and you know, all the non passion stuff, like how you balance that? And what surprises have come up from, you know, being a heart led business versus a profit led business.
Pooja: 6:27
So, you know, I would trace this back to when the business started. You know, as I said, this was a passion I had. I had a passion. I had an interest. I had this sense of, I need to do this because I need to figure out what’s happening with me. I did not do that thinking I would set up the nutrition clinic. I did that as biohacking, as figuring things out for myself. And then I realized I could never go back to the world. I was, I was a part of earlier. I had to do something within this space. But it. You know, just because you know what you want to do and within a certain space, it doesn’t mean it’s all going to just magically happen. I was very, very lucky because I set up the Nutrition Clinic with a very close friend who came in as a co founder. And that’s, you know, that’s another part of being a heart led business is the people who get involved with the business. I think we’ve never had to sit down and talk about The values, you know, why are we doing this? But it was very obvious to us as this was about doing something that showcases the power of nutrition. It was also about a business that was started by mom, two moms with very young kids where we needed that sense of balance and we needed to be able to manage. Being a mom and running a business. And so without her in this, in the nutrition clinic, there would not have been the nutrition clinic, not in the, in the form I know it today. There might’ve been a different version of it. It might’ve remained more of a personal interest. It may not have become a business. So part of that is the reality of the people, of the resources. You need to turn this idea into a business and and there’s no running away from that. You need that. And I was. extremely fortunate that this incredible person came into my life and we set it up together. It also made it a lot of fun to have a good friend set up a business with you. And so even the team I have today, I think we’re all driven. You know, we, we don’t typically sit down and discuss as a passion, as a profit, but we’re all driven by the same goal, which is for me, the goal is everybody who engages with me, who comes in as a client, they have to get their results. I am obsessed with their transformation. We have a system that is end to end, that is systematic, where we track their progress on a regular basis, because I’m as invested as the client is in their results. And I think that’s, you know, another way in which it’s heart led because ultimately that’s what matters. Somebody’s coming to you and engaging with you because they, they’re on their journey. And if I can help them on that journey, then I’ve done my job. If I’ve just shared my knowledge and it doesn’t change something for them, it’s just nice to know that I don’t feel like I’ve done my job.
Tom: 9:09
Oh, that’s cool. That’s resonate so deeply with me as well. For me, that’s the heart led business is someone that puts the client first and the results of the client comes. or that that’s why they’re coming to you in the first place is to get that result. And that’s what drives the business forward. And of course there is always kind of the business side as well. So I want to go back to what you said about having bringing a co founder and a partner into the business. Is there a separation between the two of you in terms of somebody is doing Kind of that marketing sales, kind of the businessy stuff and somebody else is doing the customer facing more of the actual delivery things. How does that work for you guys?
Pooja: 9:51
When we started the business, we both were both actively involved and we did sort of share the work and looked at where the strengths are and, and did that. Today, she’s not actively involved in the business. But yes, that was very much how we started out. We brought in different strengths and that’s, that kind of created that framework because there were certain things that she was able to do that, that really were not in my, in my wheelhouse at all. And and I’m very happy to say there’s certain things I do well, and there’s certain things I don’t do well. And and so yes, absolutely. You do need that. It’s probably tempting to try and do everything, especially when you’re starting out. But it’s a very slippery slope in my, in my opinion, because the burnt out entrepreneur is a real thing. And the burnt out practitioner is also a real thing. So you have to be careful with that, that, that you are able to separate, not just work and life, but also really own what you do well, what you’re willing to stretch into and the areas that may not be accessible, at least at this stage.
Tom: 10:50
How long have you been in business now?
Pooja: 10:52
Oh gosh. 12 years, 12
Tom: 10:54
Awesome. Well, congratulations. So you’ve made it past that, that 10 year mark, which is usually when, you know, you have the first three years or two years is half the businesses fail. And then by 10 years, it’s like 95 percent of the businesses not necessarily fail, just, they don’t, keep that entrepreneur kind of engaged in it. So that’s really, that’s really great. You know, 12 years is, amazing. Yeah. I sold my fitness business nine and a half years into it. So, I kind of fit that profile. That’s great. So what have you had to learn in on the business side that was just kind of surprising that maybe it was something that you really liked doing it almost became another passion other than the nutrition side?
Pooja: 11:40
I think marketing is something I’ve grown to grown to enjoy. It’s not something that comes naturally, and I still need a team of people to help me, but it’s not something I find. I found it challenging to do videos and to get right upfront and say, this is me. That’s just been personally a stretch for me to do. I’m really glad I’ve had a group of people, you know, behind me say, Pooja, you need to get out there. You need to do just more videos and make your voice heard. Because I and initially I was standing behind kind of the brand and there’s the nutrition clinic and then there’s Pooja, but now I think there is, I’m more comfortable with that and I think that’s just jumping in and lots of editing and then you kind of get comfortable with it and used to it. I, I quite enjoy that. It is time consuming, so I have to you know, get people to help me with that because I’m not, I’m not going to be the most efficient when it comes to editing videos and the rest of it. But I really do like that. The other thing that I’ve done over the years is gone from a generalist practice to a more niche practice. And that’s partly driven by my own interest, but also driven by business decisions. Because I think the kind of world we are living in, there is more information out there, particularly nutrition. And Just speaking about nutrition in a general way, I feel it’s already there, and it’s there in volume, and unless you’re able to cut through that you just become another voice, just saying more of the same. So, what drives that for me is, is the training, is the reason I, I do all the, all this education. It’s when I started out, when we started out, it was more about sharing with people the power of nutrition. And a lot of that was experience based, just, you know, introducing them to the kind of superfoods that now have become very easily accessible. Today, my work is very much focused on how can we get information about you that will take you from point A to point B. So it is more around. getting these incredible tests that we have access to where we can read the gut microbiome, food sensitivities, your deficiencies, how you’re responding to stress you know, all of that can be measured. So that’s this whole world of biohacking that’s just grown massively and it will continue to grow, right? So like a continuous blood sugar monitor has now become really, really important. Really, most people who are interested in this have access to it and have tried and experimented with it. I think that’s fantastic. But I think all these data points also need to be processed and made some sense of, and then they need to be translated into actionable items. I think we do that really well. We take these data points, whether it’s from a medical or non medical. test, whether it’s from a biohacking tool that you have at home, and then the functional test that we have access to, we then collate all of that and turn it into a process. And that has required focusing more, niching more, and saying, you know what, if you’re interested in this, come to me. If you’re interested in something that’s different, I don’t need to be I don’t need to be the nutritionist for everybody. I need to be the kind of nutritionist or functional medicine nutritionist that I can do well, and that’s been the learning for me. I think when I started out, there was the sense of. Well, I want to do this and this and this, and now it’s no, this is what I do really well. And I’m going to continue expanding on that and making that better and finding the people who want that. And I don’t need to meet everybody’s needs. I need to meet the need of that person. And I think that’s been a huge shift for me personally to, to think that way and to market that way.
Tom: 15:10
Okay. No, that, that totally makes sense. You know, when, you know, the, the riches are in the niches or niches, which doesn’t
Pooja: 15:18
Absolutely.
Tom: 15:20
So how did you come up with that what happened in the business that you were like, I don’t want to be a generalist anymore. I really need to niche down and, and serve this particular population. I
Pooja: 15:31
think in part it was what I was just experiencing myself. I’m focused a lot more on women’s health on the perimenopause community. So women in their forties and beyond, I started noticing that a lot of my clients who were coming in in that age group were dealing with really different symptoms. It wasn’t, you know, if you, if you think about gut health or you think about. Sleep. There are certain symptoms that, that kind of are on repeat, but in perimenopause, there can be as many as 80 different symptoms that come under the perimenopause kind of space. And so it’s really confusing for a woman in her 40s to think, well, What just happened and why did it happen? And I feel like if I can just help them understand, this is part of a shift that is real, and you’re not imagining it. And if I can do something to help them make that transition easier, then that just felt really exciting to me. And the interesting thing is for the 80 symptoms or more, what I do, the system I use works equally. I don’t need to change my system for, based on your symptoms. It’s that root cause work where if you fix things on a root cause level, that one switch will turn on many lights, right? You don’t need a separate switch for each one.
Tom: 16:46
Oh, that’s yeah.
Pooja: 16:47
So that’s been a huge shift.
Tom: 16:49
Cool. And then once you, once you niche down and you’re very focused on this particular solving this particular problem, what happened with the business? Like. In terms of just numbers and just, you know, number of people that to help.
Pooja: 17:05
Great. But I think it’s, it’s I think the marketing of it is a lot more fun. I think it’s, it’s a lot more fun to niche and to talk about it. It feels more satisfying. It feels like, and I also think this, this group of women, the community of 40 and above are looking for that sense of connection and, and community. You reach a certain point in your life where you’re really crushed between the generations, right? You’ve got older parents, you’ve got younger or teenage kids. Work gets demanding. There’s more responsibility. I think that person is actually looking for support, but she doesn’t always know it. She’s kind of, suffering in silence for a little bit. And I think once you connect on that level of this is what may be happening and I can really help you with these symptoms, it’s huge. And it’s huge because. I know what she’s going through. I’ve gone through it myself and I know what I can do. So there’s, there’s so much joy in that and saying, you know, I get this and I can do this and I, I don’t need to, I will still see people outside of that community. So if somebody brings their kids in, I will see them. I, I do work with young kids with eczema, for example. They don’t fit into that category. It’s often the moms who see me and then bring their kids in. And sometimes they send their husbands in as well. For, for for this work, but just being able to be really focused and precise is really powerful, I think. And, and I think the customers are looking for that. I know as a customer myself, if I’m looking for a trainer, for example, I want that focus and precision. I want a trainer who will work with women at a certain age. You know, I, I want that. I don’t want the generalist. And I think we’re all, you know, we’re all looking for that. So yes, it’s, it’s been, it’s been very good for the business to, to do that.
Tom: 18:44
Yeah. When you look at it, like the traditional medical model, you go see the generalist first and they always prescribe you to go to a specialist. So if there’s a special problem, so it totally makes sense to niche down. I’m, I’m really glad that. You know, you found that and it found success in it as, as well. And you’re, you’re absolutely nailed it right on the head as well, that the marketing gets so much easier when you have a very specific target that you’re going after, because now you can speak their language.
Pooja: 19:15
Yes, exactly. Exactly.
Tom: 19:18
Cool. Awesome. Well, I would love to let the listeners know a little bit more about how they can get ahold of you and, and some of the special work that you do as well. So why don’t you tell, tell everybody where they can get ahold of you.
Pooja: 19:31
So we have obviously a website. It’s thenutritionclinic.com.sg. We’re very active on Instagram. Message me on Instagram and I’ll definitely reply. And you can also book a 10 minute time to chat with me and to see if what I do is a good fit for you. But yeah, find us on social, go to our website, message me. Happy to help.
Tom: 19:50
Excellent. And you can work with people worldwide. I assume.
Pooja: 19:54
Yeah. One of the things that happened during COVID is of course, like everybody, we pivoted. So most people see me on zoom and the work I do works really well on, on zoom. In fact, I find now that I’m encouraging people, even in Singapore to see me on zoom, because there’s so much information to share that just having like this whiteboard where I can annotate things is much easier to explain and because we’re looking at sort of the, pathways in the body, you know, just explaining that in a more, almost like a classroom style world makes it, makes it much easier. And you can get a recording. So that’s really good. You can listen to that again and again and see if you’ve missed anything. So I find the, the Zoom option works really well for people who are in Singapore. I do open up face to face appointments typically just for that first appointment. Some people feel the need for that. We do that just once a week
Tom: 20:45
And they don’t have to fight traffic in Singapore with with the Zoom.
Pooja: 20:49
So much easier.
Tom: 20:51
Raise their cortisol levels and just
Pooja: 20:54
Absolutely. Yeah, exactly.
Tom: 20:56
awesome. Well, Pooja, thank you so much for being on the show today and sharing your story of being a heart led business and the challenges and the, the rewards of, of doing that as well. And I certainly appreciate your time today.
Pooja: 21:09
Thank you so much for this. It was really good speaking to you. And thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my story.
Tom: 21:16
Awesome. And just a message to the listeners please go ahead and share this episode with your friends and family that could use this type of help and advice. And also don’t forget to rate and review the podcast that does help us get the message out to more heart led business owners that need that support and need that ear to know that they’re not alone in what they’re doing and what they do actually matters. Thanks for tuning in to the Heartled Business Show.
21:46
You’ve been listening to the Heart Led Business Show, hosted by Tom Jacobs. Join us next time for another inspiring journey into the heart of business.
