Self-Care Meets Science - My journey to blossom

For 5+ years, I struggled with unhealthy levels of stress and burnout. I tried out a ton of different self-care tips, apps, and practices like meditation, self-help books, 'unplugging' with extended work leave, yoga... you name it.

Some stuff kinda helped, some stuff didn't. Only one thing made a huge impact that actually stuck: I worked with a career coach during a training program.

For those unfamiliar with coaching (like I was), here's some context: There are different types of coaches by expertise, for example by topic (e.g., interpersonal skills) or by profile (e.g., for executives or founders), but the underlying approach is the same. Here's a good description:

"Simply put, coaching is a process of uncovering new meaning and deeper awareness, and then growing and making better choices with that new information. Coaching helps people achieve clarity, focus, and results. It helps people find fulfillment in their work by establishing goals, creating a plan, providing accountability, and overcoming obstacles that may be in the way."

The good news: it actually made a difference. I felt a sense of clarity and renewed motivation that helped me make real changes that led to real impact.

The bad news: After the program ended, I checked how much it would cost me personally to keep seeing my coach. The rate was $300/hr. Yikes.

I also found out that this was pretty standard. Industry rates typically span $200-$3,000/hr, with a median rate of $500/hr. Double yikes.

Back to the good news: It doesn't have to be this way.

With the pandemic making work pressure even more acute for everyone, I decided to build a solution to democratize coaching, making it more accessible to all those who can benefit from it.

So here's what I did:

1/ Research, research, research

I studied HRM and IO psychology in grad school, so I brushed up on the latest research on coaching. There's been a ton of recent studies about how coaching works and the underlying multidisciplinary approaches (cognitive science, adult development, applied psychology, etc.) behind it.

There are nuances to coaching, but all forms share standardized approaches based on evoking reflective thinking to shift perception and promote improved outcomes. The frameworks used by certified coaches have been proven to increase performance, productivity, emotional well-being, resilience, and more.

2/ Started to build a free "virtual coach" app

Based on the research, it was clear that many aspects of coaching could be virtualized.

Since coaching is a process to inspire breakthroughs within clients, it essentially boils down to asking the right questions. (To give an oversimplified example: if you were coaching someone struggling with being overly self-critical, you'd ask them what they'd say if their best friend was in the same situation, to help reframe their negative self-talk.)

So, I recruited a few coaches as advisors to help transform these frameworks into personalized, interactive flows that people could access depending on their goals or day-to-day challenges.

3/ Made live 1:1 coaching more accessible

Virtualized coaching is the most scalable solution for the majority of challenges or goals encountered daily, but sometimes you need more hands on support. That's where 1:1 sessions with a real coach can be super valuable.

But, spending $500 to chat with a coach for an hour is not fair to the many folks that need it.

So, we made changes to the traditional coaching model: First, we automated back-office ops for coaches (those pricey rates include a ton of activities outside of just the actual time spent during the session). Second, our app covers certain aspects of coaching (e.g., self-discovery) and lets people quantify & measure impact / progress (solving a big pain-point for coaches today).

This translates to high quality 1:1 coaching that's affordable, with a monthly subscription under $50 for monthly sessions.

TLDR:

I built Blossom to transform research-backed coaching techniques into an app that helps people improve their well-being and productivity. Blossom is a virtual coach in your pocket, a perfect pairing of self-care and science. In just a few minutes a day, you can build deeper self-awareness and professional growth. Over time, you can track and compound your growth with stats and insights about your activities and reflections, or tap an expert coach for a 1:1 session on demand.

The coolest part? It really works. Since our beta launch, our avg. user well-being improvement rate is +42% after 1 month of use.

Feel free to check it out if you're interested, and let me know what you think! Would love to hear your feedback.

Link: https://blossom.team/

-AJ