The State Of Me

 The State Of Me

The State of Me

by Dr Anthea Todd, startup founder from Sale in Gippsland

Live life on your terms!
The State of me (or TSOM) is a refreshing take on Womens Health. Empowering women to understand how to listen to their bodies, and ‘grab their health by the balls’.

 

Startup Gippsland: Dr Anthea, please tell us a bit about your startup?

Anthea Todd: Being a woman can be hard but it doesn’t have to be. Anxiety, IBS, Fatigue, Endometriosis, Heavy periods, Thyroid dysfunction, Hair loss, Headaches, Poor sleep and the burden of always ‘having to be fine’ is common but it isn’t normal. You don’t have to put up with your chronic health conditions. The 6 week Health reset program gives you everything you need to grab your health by the balls.

Startup Gippsland: How did you learn about Startup Gippsland and what was your first thought about it?

Anthea Todd: I actually heard about it from my mum. She was reading the weekly Gippsland Times newspaper the morning of the first information night in Sale. I first thought… Surely something like this wouldn’t exist in Sale, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go along and check it out! The information night was awesome, Steph one of the coordinators was so passionate and resourceful, I got to work right away with my application and new that I had to get a spot!

Startup Gippsland: Why did you want to join the program? What was the problem you were trying to solve?

Anthea Todd: I joined the program to understand how I could set up my business idea in a scalable model because I wanted to help as many women as possible who are needlessly suffering with chronic health conditions. The ones that their condition wasn’t at the later stages. The women who have little whispers of conditions and write them off as normal just because they’re so common. The ones who feel powerless because they’ve been told they’re fine but are still suffering. I want to give them a voice.

From a business perspective I wasn’t sure if I should be looking for external funding, if my product was viable, how to test and measure. How to do anything really. Looking back in the beginning I thought I knew a fair amount about business given that I have read countless books, done online courses and have parents who have run a successful business all their lives. But throughout the course I realised I in fact knew nothing. Its great to get a slap in the face sometimes 🙂

Startup Gippsland: What was your experience like in the 12 weeks of the program? 

Anthea Todd: In short, it was amazing! I would look forward to every Monday night meeting. If I was feeling a bit defeated or even if I was feeling motivated and empowered, having the guidance and connections with such a great cohort of people made the experience something I will never forget. We still all catch up now, and message each other with Ideas we know will help others and of course tote the products of others to anyone that I know needs them. It feels like I’ve gained so much knowledge and a whole new family all at the same time!

Startup Gippsland: What are the biggest benefits of you undertaking the program? Can you provide an example of how it worked for you?

Anthea Todd: I think the thought process. It has taught me to be more methodical and not get disheartened when things don’t work out. There is a system or a bit of a roadmap that I can follow to keep me on track to achieving the best result for my customers. Before starting the program I had fleshed out an idea for an online program that would be for all of the patients and people that were suffering from chronic health conditions and those that are suffering but aren’t ‘bad enough’ to become positive on a test yet.

Looking back at it now the program was nowhere near ready, and there was no differentiating factor from every other very popular online programs that already had a large market share, but throughout the program I have been able to hone my message and also the content and systems for the online program to be able to offer a 6-week complete health reset that is available all the time no matter where you live, and its personalised to each specific person’s health goals.

Startup Gippsland: Have you discovered new or different users for your product/service, compared with original expectations? Are you still pursuing your original startup idea? 

Anthea Todd: To start with ‘The State Of Me (TSOM)’ was the idea I had for a public side of a business my dad already ran called the SD Protocol. In the beginning of the program It challenged me massively. For all of the questions we had different answers and different things we wanted to do. So I actually pivoted and realised that my vision was different to the connected business and subsequently made the decision to separate them completely. The great thing is that I have found that my users are more segregated now. I found it hard and still do find it hard to segregate my users because Chronic health issues affect 1 in 2 people. But one of the biggest things I learnt in the program was ‘If you’re targeting everyone you’re targeting no one.’ So yes I am still pursuing the idea of helping educate everyone on how to grab their health by the balls, but now I feel much more organised and targeted with what I am doing. It has helped me focus my attention on the people who are feeling the problem the most. Women who feel frustrated and out of control with their health and need to be given the tools and knowledge to grab it by the balls.

Startup Gippsland: What was your biggest success after undertaking the program? Personal or professional (or both)! 

Anthea Todd: Personally- Doing that damn pitch! I have always been terrified of public speaking and I think that pitch haunted my dreams for months afterwards and it took my about a week to rehydrate after sweating so much, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I didn’t die, I actually had a lot of fun! Just knowing that I am capable of doing something like that, has made me just want to grab life with both hands. Subsequent to which I have actually decided to move overseas to London to work as a Chiropractor for 2 years whilst also running ‘The State Of Me’ online. Living overseas has always been a goal of mine and I’m excited to move the base of TSOM internationally. Professionally– I have been a lot more confident and concise in explaining what ‘The State Of Me’ is. It’s a platform that empowers women to grab their health by the balls by giving them the tools and knowledge they need. I have launched a podcast with my sister-in-law who is also a healthcare practitioner and I am launching a 6 week Health reset in Jan 2020 for all of those women who are told ‘there is nothing wrong with [them]’ but still feel symptoms like anxiety, IBS, headaches, period issues, fatigue, sleep difficulties and more. It’s about addressing those symptoms BEFORE your tests come back positive. It’s about empowering women to trust themselves, listen to their bodies, stand up for themselves and grab their health by the balls.

Startup Gippsland: what was the most important skill you’ve learnt, and a realisation you’ve had during/after the program?

Anthea Todd: I realised that you really just have to give things a go. Now, if I haven’t failed at something every week then I think I have truly failed. So every week I push myself to try something new, whether that be reaching out to someone or testing and measuring a new idea or an iteration of a current one. The worst that can happen is it doesn’t work, but when it DOES work, a whole new world opens up. I have a mind that is constantly thinking of new ideas on how to improve things or make things better, this is great but can also get a bit overwhelming.

‘The best skill I have learnt is to start with the minimum viable product, test and measure, test and measure and iterate. No one gets it perfect the first time. Just make sure you’re solving a problem for someone and make it easy for them to use your product or service.’

And some exciting news, The State Of Me has launched a podcast! Anthea, together with her Sister-in-law who is also a health practitioner, they give an entertaining, actionable approach to help women. You can listen in from Spotify, Apple podcasts or their website here. 

DR Anthea Todd podcast Startup Gippsland alumni

Watch Anthea’s Startup Gippsland Pitch

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