Companies to Watch: Supporting Communities Through the COVID-19 Pandemic
Now five months since the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in New York, the pandemic is impacting communities of all kinds across NYC, with many of the long-term implications still yet to be seen.
The culture of innovation and adaptability that New York’s tech community embodies has inspired a rapid call to action from entrepreneurs, engineers, and creatives alike to lend a helping hand. In particular, startups being grown right here in NYC are enhancing their products and services to offer useful tools during this moment.
Here, we’re profiling startups using their resources to support New York — and the entire country. Check back here weekly for new conversations with the founders making a difference during these difficult months.
SHINE
What does your company do?
Shine cofounders and co-CEOs Marah Lidey and Naomi Hirabayashi: Shine is the leading self-care app and community. We’re on a mission to make caring for your mental and emotional health easier, more representative, and more inclusive.
Why did you found your company in NYC?
We started Shine because we needed it. We didn’t see ourselves — a Black woman and a half-Japanese woman — and our experiences represented in mainstream “wellness.” Our bodies, our skin color, our financial access, our past traumas — it all often felt otherized.
We were lucky enough to meet as coworkers, and the support we found in each other changed everything. We came to understand that our experiences with stress, anxiety, and other mental health challenges all had a unique intersection with our identity and our past experiences — and that we needed daily support that recognized that. And we knew we had to help more people cope, process, and heal on a daily basis in a way that worked for them.
What brought you to New York?
ML: The idea of being exposed to a city and way of life that would challenge and shape me like no other place could — and an internship with MTV Networks.
When the outbreak began, not only did companies have to very quickly figure out how to close down operations and shift their workforces to remote, but employees had to very quickly adapt to work from home. That certainly can be stressful. What sort of wellness trends have you seen come up in those transitions?
ML: One of the most hopeful trends we’ve seen is that a side effect of the collective anxiety around the pandemic is that Shine members have found themselves opening up more to friends and family about their mental health. The pandemic is actually destigmatizing the conversation around mental health.
Since the pandemic began, 52% of people said they’re talking about their mental health more with others, citing the fact that knowing “other people are also struggling” is the top reason why. There’s also a strong correlation between Shine members who are talking about their mental health and those who are turning to self-compassion to navigate this pandemic. 73% of Shine members said they are feeling more grateful since the pandemic began — with food, shelter, family, and healthcare and essential workers taking the top spots for what people are most appreciative about.
When the pandemic hit, you iterated some core Shine features to launch VirusAnxiety.com. Why is it important to address anxiety and self-care specifically in the context of COVID-19? What’s different about this moment?
NH: The shift in culture we’re experiencing, as a result of a global pandemic, and the global uprising against systemic racism, has resulted in feelings of uncertainty, anger, and heaviness that we’ve never experienced before as a collective. What we need right now is mental health content that addresses what’s happening in the world, and offers timely, accessible, and specific support on how to take care of yourself.
From the launch of VirusAnxiety.com, to the launch of The Daily Shine podcast, a podcast meets meditation that helps you struggle less with stress and anxiety, to launching meditations specific to Black wellbeing — we are directly confronting what’s happening in the world to better meet the needs of the times, and the experiences of our members. What we’ve heard from our community is that they feel more seen and supported because of the timeliness of our content — versus evergreen meditation content that doesn’t reflect what’s happening in the world.
When we think of a resource like Shine, we do think of those meditation apps and other mindfulness platforms, but Shine is also about creating a self-care community. How are you keeping people connected while everyone remains isolated for the foreseeable future
NH: A core way the Shine community stays connected is through the Daily Discussion feature in-app — think of it as the space where our users digitally congregate to share advice, insights, and reflections in response to The Daily Shine theme of the day. Where The Daily Shine is what we refer to as the daily secular sermon, the Daily Discussion is like the breakout group where people can share personally what they’re going through, offer support to each other through post engagement, and to help our community feel less alone in what they’re struggling with.
What will be the most dramatic change you think workers should expect in their professional lives when they’re able to return to the office?
ML: As much as some folks may be hoping for a return to normalcy, I don’t believe that we will ever go back to it as a culture. And that can be a really great thing. It will mean more flexibility in work hours and location. It will (it should) mean less tolerance for racism and exclusionary workplace practices and policies. It will mean more of a focus on impact-driven work — because we also know that consumers are tired of anything less.
And it will mean more opportunities to get creative as an employee, as a manager, and as a leader about the place our businesses have in a world that has dramatically shifted as the result of a pandemic, a global uprising to systemic racism, and whatever else is to come before in-person office culture re-enters the public conversation.
Are there any projects Shine put on hold when the outbreak began? What are you most looking forward to devoting more time to when the pandemic ends?
NH: The pandemic, the fight for Black lives by fighting for Black mental health, and adjusting to working fully remote has made us hyper-aware of our limited mental and emotional energy each day. The result is, as a team, we’re focused on what will drive the most impact each day with the hours we have to support the mental health of our community, especially Shine’s Black members who are dealing with compounding grief and trauma.
In terms of what we’re looking forward to devoting more time to when the pandemic ends — honestly, it’s hard to think about that right now. This time has taught us an important lesson in presence and plans — right now we’re focused on how we can support our community in this incredibly intense time socially, how we can fight the injustices that are impacting our community right now, and how we can find ways to take care of ourselves each day to stay in it for the long-haul.
Where do you get your favorite pizza slice?
NH: 99 cent pizza all the way!
ML: Artichoke!
Where do you get your favorite bagel?
NH: Bergen Bagels.
ML: +1 to Bergen!
What is the best New York waterfront?
NH: Looking at the Brooklyn Bridge from Brooklyn Heights or DUMBO – I love that view. Feels like you’re taking in a deep breath in of the city and all the energy it brings.
ML: I’ve always loved South Street Seaport. The stone streets and the docked boats always gave a romantic view of New York by the water, to me. Plus, in my early 20s, I lived at the Frying Pan.
What’s the best place in New York for a coffee or lunch meeting (remember in-person meetings)?
ML: We were both big fans of LPQ, and often would meet there before work (at our old jobs) to mastermind about what Shine could be. The one in Flatiron had a great hidden balcony in the back that paired well with their amazing rosé happy hour special and New York summer nights.
NH: In-person meetings feel like a long time ago but my favorite was Paper Coffee on 29th Street near our office.
What’s your favorite remote work office hack?
ML: Cooking breaks! In the beginning of the pandemic, I gravitated toward making scrambled eggs a lot for lunch. I don’t even really like eggs that much, but the slow hum of stirring them offered a much-needed slow down to my day. Now I just cook whatever’s around. But it is such a perk to have access to my kitchen, a place of peace for me, to break up my work day.
NH: When I need some time to work through something in the evening, I’ll put a movie on, pour some wine, and do work at my in-home set up. It feels like a nice balance of catching up on work, but in a chill, relaxing kind of way. For a more personal hack or new routine, now that I don’t have the commute in the morning, I have more time with my two year old, so we have a breakfast date every morning, and that’s been really joy-inducing.
What’s one new thing your team is doing to stay connected while everyone works from afar?
ML: We’ve kept our most important tradition of “weekly reflection” at the end of every week where we share one thing we’re proud of (a lot of times it’s people shouting out other team members for great work they’ve done), one learning from the week, and your focus for the week ahead. As a team that’s dedicated to supporting our community in taking care of their emotional and mental health, it’s really important that we practice what we preach. Being intentional about reflection time, honoring our progress, and keeping the most meaningful traditions of our office culture while we’re remote has been key.
All illustrations by Elly Rodgers
New York, New York, USA skyline: by Sean Pavone/Shutterstock.com