The Present Moment Project
This podcast, hosted by Jill Bershad — a psychotherapist, EMDR and hypnotherapist, Reiki master, and sound healer — is a heartfelt space for healing, growth, and connection. With a blend of authenticity and compassion, Jill invites listeners to join her in real conversations about resilience, trauma, addiction, and self-discovery. Through shared stories and gentle wisdom, she reminds us that while pain is inevitable, suffering is optional, and that we can all “grow through what we go through.” More than just a podcast, it’s a supportive community built to help listeners rediscover joy, laughter, and their most authentic selves — one present moment at a time.
The Present Moment Project
Ep. 19 - Starting Over at 45 and Building Something That Matters
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Starting over at 45, building a startup, and learning to trust yourself are at the heart of this conversation. Jill Bershad sits down with her longtime friend Nathalya to reflect on decades of friendship, raising families, navigating financial uncertainty, and finding the courage to begin again.
Nathalya shares how a personal family tragedy led her to leave a successful event planning career, return to graduate school, and eventually launch Anywhere DX, a company working to develop an at-home strep test designed to make testing and treatment more accessible. Along the way, she talks honestly about self-doubt, resilience, pitching investors, and discovering confidence she didn't know she had.
Their conversation moves naturally between memories of young motherhood, entrepreneurship, empty nesting, marriage, and the unexpected ways life keeps asking us to adapt. Rather than having all the answers, they reflect on what it means to keep moving forward, trust the process, and take chances on yourself even when the outcome isn't guaranteed.
Sometimes resilience looks less like a dramatic moment and more like making the next decision, taking the next step, and believing that growth is possible long after life has changed.
Contact Jill K. Bershad, LMHC, CAP
- Email: jill@jillbershad.com
- Website: jillbershad.com
- Instagram: @jillkbershad.lmhc
- Facebook: jillkbershad
Hi friends, I am Jill Burshad, and this is the Present Moment Project. Come with me on a journey of healing, transformation, and curiosity. I'm a licensed mental health counselor, a Reiki master, hypnotherapist, a sound healer, and an EMPR trauma therapist who also is a widow. I have learned how to move through life with grace in the aftermath of tragedy. I have learned how to use these modalities through my own healing journey. I hope you're listening, and I know this podcast will help you on your healing journey as well. It's not always easy, but you too can laugh again. I look forward to having you along this wild ride with me. So here we go. Let's get started. Hey there, friends. I am Jill Burshad with the Present Moment Project. I am here today in the studio with Remy, by the way, who's Janine's dog, and my good friend Natalia. Hi! Hey! Oh my gosh. So I was just telling Natalia that no bio is necessary. Let's just go right into what is happening here. It's so crazy, right?
SPEAKER_01It's so crazy to be here. I've known you for so long, and um, it's so surreal to be here with you, doing this with you.
SPEAKER_02So it's pretty crazy. So Natalia and I met when we lived in Boston. It was my husband Adam and myself and my older daughter Jessica, who is now 25. And we had just moved to Boston and we were in Brookline. At the park. And we were at the park by was it? I was thinking about this last night. Was it the one next to Zofdig's or the one on Kenwood? It was the one on Kenwood. That was the one that was next to my house. Yes, exactly. And you started talking to me, and we had no friends at that point. Like we had just moved. We just moved. And um, you my son was the same age. Yeah, same age. Yeah, I was the same age, who's now married. And um, and you said, Do you want to come for Shabbat? And that was the end of it. That's it. That is so typical. So typical of me. And I have to say that Natalia and Paul um became you became our family there, really. I mean and and you were ours. I mean, we became such good friends so fast. I think we went to your house like every Friday night for Shabbat and Shabbat lunch. Yeah. When I say Shabbat lunch and Shabbat, like how many courses? I don't know. Oh my gosh. It depends on the day. Natalia's like the best cook and baker. You're actually a good cook and baker. I I like to cook and I like to bake, which is unusual. It is unusual.
SPEAKER_01Yes, but I enjoy it. I enjoy it. I don't like daily meals. Like, I don't like like what's for dinner tonight. And that I don't like to do. But I like, I like the, you know, people are coming, let's make it special.
SPEAKER_02What's the most amount of people you've hosted for Shabbat? Uh 32. And there's like 16 different kinds of salads. Yes. That are also delicious, every single one of them. So anyway, so we met, and you know, like I said, you became our family. And then so I had Jessica, I think, how old is we just talked about this. How much older is Olivia? Oh, Jessica's.
SPEAKER_01And Jessica's 25. But we just talked about this. Noah is born in June, and Jessica's born in what, September? Yeah. So, you know, they were a few months apart. Right. And then Jack came after. Right.
SPEAKER_02And so then there was Jack who was born in Boston. He was. I remember that day. And then I had to, I don't remember why we were had to rush to the hospital, but I called Natalia and it was Shabbat, and you didn't answer the phone on Shabbat. And did answer the phone.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I had to keep my phone on just in case you called.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_01It was fun days.
SPEAKER_02It really was. It was an amazing time. And you know, you moved a few times through and I still remember so many like little memories like Clearflower Bakery.
SPEAKER_01Yes, that was fun.
SPEAKER_02Oh my gosh. I actually was going to ask you when I was in Boston last week if we could go to Clearflower Bakery. And I could have. I mean, there was not right, there was not enough time.
SPEAKER_01Anyway, you have to come for a long time to go through memory lane.
SPEAKER_02So this is what I want to say. When we first met, you lived in an apartment that was like about this big. It was small. It was very, very, very small. And then you moved, and I think the house was maybe a little bit bigger.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So we moved into a two-bedroom of 1,200 square feet when we and then when you met us. And that was our first place and had two kids. And then we moved into a slightly bigger place right next to Clear Flower. Right. I remember, yes. That place was tiny. It was no, it was over two floors with an extra bedroom. So we had more room. Okay. Um, but you know, every house has their own challenges. So we had our own challenges there. And then we moved to another place. I don't know if you still live there on Summit.
SPEAKER_02Up the hill? Up the hill. Oh, I remember that hill.
SPEAKER_01And that yes. And then that was like a house. It was like a small house that we moved into. And then we bought our place on Mason Terrace. Right.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So wait a minute. Is Mason Terrace the one you just made? Moved out of. No. Oh, then what that was?
SPEAKER_01That was the one we moved out of. Which one was the one up the hill? I think you had left by then. You didn't see us in that one.
SPEAKER_02But I've definitely been up that hill.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_02I think it was on when you came to visit. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so anyway, the reason that I wanted you to come here today is because I've been watching your life now for so 25 years. 25 years. 25 years. And it's changed so dramatically over the last 25 years. And I guess the reason I brought up the apartment is because I feel like I've watched you really create your life with intention. And, you know, I don't feel like you, nor we had much then. Like we were young.
SPEAKER_01We were young. You know what?
SPEAKER_02We were young. And I remember like each place you moved to was nicer, right? Yes. And now you now you built this beautiful, thank you, beautiful house in Chestnut Hill. It's just beautiful. And you know, when I think about you, Natalia, you have gone through several difficult times. Yes. And now you have created a startup.
SPEAKER_01Yes. So, you know, like like every couple, you go through all your challenges. Everybody has their challenges. I think it's just part of growing up. Um, in our particular case, we had a lot of financial difficulties along the way. Like I was working very hard, and Paul was tr was also ver working very hard, but you know, he we went through a lot of, you know, these, you know, the economy just kind of takes a hit depending on where, you know what you what you do, right? So, you know, he was working in consulting for a long time, and then there was a financial um there were there were there was a crash and so uh economic crash. So then he, you know, he lost his job and then he was looking for a job and are you talking about in 2008? Um I mean I can't rem no it was even it was right after that before that. It was before that. But there were like many ups and downs. Like I just remembered. He was part right, but he was part of like there was a dot-com area which also had a crash, and then it was uh it was a 2008 crash, and so like we actually lived through each one of these crashes, just we just didn't it was just our luck, right? And so there was a lot of and I was I was working and I you know I was working very hard, but I wasn't it wasn't easy for like I wasn't kind of making the the salaries that needed to to sustain us. So you know it was it was they were difficult times. They were definitely difficult times, but and you know, we we just kind of like pushed through it.
SPEAKER_02And throughout that, your husband had a heart attack.
SPEAKER_01Well, he didn't have a heart attack. He didn't have a heart attack, he and that was ten years ago. He didn't have a heart attack, he discovered um late, usually you you find this out of the way. I remember talking to him about it when I saw it. Yeah, it was crazy. It was sort of like this thing, you didn't like he had a kidney stone, and then during his kidney stone, we were in the hospital, and then they discovered that he had a heart murmur, he had his heart rate. And then when they looked into it, they realized that in fact he was he was born with his with a with missing a heart valve. So, like we we everybody has three valves, and he only had two. And so one of these two valves were getting very tired. And as it gets tired, you have to replace it.
SPEAKER_02So um Thank God for that kidney stone.
SPEAKER_01I know like you just never know. Like thank God for that kidney stone. It was crazy. And so then he needed to have open heart surgery. Right, right. That's what it was. Yeah, so so like you know, you just don't know with life. And that was a big recovery. That was yeah, that was a big recovery. But you know, it's funny because Paul always be like, I don't want to be a patient. So he like he really like pushed through. It was uh, you know, he's like, I'll be fine. And and the truth is that now he's like, and after that, he was like stronger than he was before because he had a very strong heart and he could do things he couldn't do before. So it was, you know, you just don't know what life throws at you. But you know what when they say, you know, whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I truly believe in it. Like, like this heart or anything else that we've done.
SPEAKER_02Oh my gosh. Right. Yeah. I say that all the time. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, but why do we need to go through all of that to be strong, right?
SPEAKER_01Well, you know, it's the you know, I people always ask me, like, how did you do it over all these years? Like, you know, I didn't have family, and yet I still raised four kids, and my husband traveled a ton uh for his work, and they're like, How'd you do it? And I was working, and I'm like, I don't know, you just do. Like, you just do it. And I you know, looking back, I'm like, how did I do it? I don't know. I just did it because you just have to, you know, as women, you just push through.
SPEAKER_02You have a lot of energy, and I told you this when I saw you last time that I was because I hadn't seen you in a while. I don't know when well, three years ago when we visited. Yeah, yeah. Wait a minute. So when did Paul open his warehouse?
SPEAKER_01No, he opened his company nine years ago. Okay. No, so his no, sorry. So his he had his heart thing um no more than 10 years ago. It was like thir 13, 14 years ago. Twelve years ago. Twelve years ago. And then he opened and then he bought a company. So after like, you know, working, not working, and then traveling, traveling, traveling constantly through his work, he's like, I can't do this anymore. I'm just gonna um I'm just gonna find my own thing. I'm gonna take everything I've learned and bought a bought of a company. And he's done a factory. It was a it's a factory, it's in packaging, yeah. And it's and he's like, I don't need anything sexy. I just need to do, I need to just apply everything that I that I've learned and everything I've kind of like taught to all my clients in all these years. And he did. I mean, I think that he's an absolute genius when it comes to business. And the way that he turned this company around, both financially and ethically, like it wasn't ethically run at the time, and the way that he just turned it around, I think that it just he's really he's done so well.
SPEAKER_02You know what I was thinking about though is that you know, we spent so much time together when everybody was struggling, right? Like we were young, uh we had just moved from Florida, we then had 9-11. Yeah, we had 9-11 right after we moved. We moved when did we move? Wait a minute. We moved in No, it was in 9-11. What? Yes was when you moved. It was right before we moved. It was 9-11 happened right after we moved. Oh, I don't remember that I don't remember. Yes. And there was just so much happening. And the point that I'm trying to make is that I remember Adam and and Paul would ha sit at the dinner table all night and talk about business because Adam, too, right? He was a businessman. And there's Paul had a much different uh demeanor, I want to say. Like you stand much taller when you feel empowered, right? And when I saw him and stayed at your house, so I really, really was like in the space. Um, I was like, wow, he's arrived. Like he I could tell, you know, before he was like, Oh, I don't know what I'm gonna do, man. Like, this isn't working out, and I don't know what I'm gonna do. And and now he's like the boss man.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I mean, I don't know that he was like, what am I gonna do?
SPEAKER_01But I think that he was a- Well, I don't know what he was saying, right? It was like 20 something years ago. But I think that he just But it was just he just like it was a different energy. It was a very tough, yeah, it was definitely definite energy a hundred percent. Um but you know, when what it you know, it's I think that what you learned from these experiences is that when you don't take when you don't have control, um you get defeated, right? When the control belongs to somebody else and you give that control to somebody else, then you can be defeated. It can be you can be defeated, right? It can be very defeating. Right. And so when when when we decided as a couple to start really taking control of what we wanted, and so he wanted to buy a company and he went and he did it, right? And what and and I also you have to also be meant to be ready to do that. I'm just gonna scary. I it wasn't scary as much as it was like it it I don't remember it being scary, I just remember it being like, okay, good, like let's do it, right? And um I wasn't scared, and I he was excited. I wasn't scared, so it was like fine, it was fine. I don't know.
SPEAKER_02The thing that I just keep going back to is how life has changed so much. And it and any it's most everybody is capable. It's just it's just what you're willing to do and what you're willing to put your you know, how much work you're willing to get in, and and uh how much uh commitment and everything else. But I don't know, I can't put it into words, you know. This podcast is about resilience, right? And it just was such a different time and like fast forward, like time what's the word? Like time jump. Yeah, the time hop. What's it called? I don't know. Oh my gosh. It's like it if you believe in yourself and you just put that one foot first, first forward, you know what I mean? And now it's like you two have such a different life, and you feel empowered, and you've started a startup, and we're gonna talk about that. Yeah, but you have to believe in yourself and you have to be willing to go outside your comfort zone. A hundred percent. It like that's a big one. It's a big one.
SPEAKER_01I mean, people people see us as like these, these, like this, um they see us as a weird case because you know, Paul went from being an employee, consultant, whatever, and buying this like factory that he knew nothing about, right? In this industry, nothing about, and he tr like completely expanded it, changed it. And it's about believing in yourself. And correct. And so, yes. And then, and then for me, like I and we can talk about this when you're ready, but you know, I was I was working, I started my company in event planning. I did event planning for 15 years, and I started in this industry knowing absolutely nothing. And then one day I was like, I'm done with this, I'm gonna start something else, and then I went to school and I started a startup. So, like you and like I said, like I I don't we don't have time to think about is this scary? Can we do it? Can we do it? Can you just do it, right? Because if you put too much thought into it, then you start doubting yourself.
SPEAKER_02But let me ask you a question because Adam was uh an entrepreneur always, yeah, and so it wasn't just um a stable paycheck every week, yeah, right? And so there were definitely times I'm like, I don't know, what do you what do you think is gonna happen? What do you think's gonna happen, especially after 2008? Right. Like that was scary, but I think I was always nervous about it because I grew up in such an abund uh sorry, a lack or scarcity mentality, which is you don't believe that more is gonna come. You know what I mean? And so how did what was your relationship? So with with money and with all of that. So because now how big is that factory? It's big. It's like a hundred thousand square feet, fifty thousand square feet, oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. It's big. Um, because he had 70 and then he just asked.
SPEAKER_02And these were people that were like, okay, we don't know what we're gonna do next, like in terms of a job, but we're right, right.
SPEAKER_01So um I you know, my philosophy has always been like, if I know, and I'm making this up, if I know I have $10, I'll live with $10. If I know I have $20, I'll live with $20. I just want to make sure that I I have that $10. No matter how low it is, like just that stability. And so that was what was scary was not knowing that when he had a job, like when or not, right? So that when when he did work or when he didn't work, that that were the scary times for me. But when but when he became an entrepreneur, I was never scared. I was like, that's it, like it's it's fine. Because you believed in him so much. I I was like, whatever he's gonna do, he's gonna do great. Like the man is so smart, he's so smart. And so the way that he can navigate, you know, like the like he's so creative financially and then in business that I'm like, it's fine. Like, whatever happens, happens, and we're gonna be fine. Did I ever expect that we'd move into the house that we have now? No, but you know, I knew that we'd have a stability that I was very I was gonna be very comfortable in. Were there ever times where you weren't sure like how you were gonna pay the rent next month? So that's the thing about money is I don't have a good relationship with it, so I don't like to deal with it.
SPEAKER_02So you just stick your head in the sand and you're like, it'll get it'll get paid somehow.
SPEAKER_01I'm like, Paul, you do it. You it was better not knowing. I don't I yeah. So I because I don't have a good relationship with money. And so I Paul Because you're a spender. I'm no I'm not a spender with it. What do you mean? But you're not a saver. I'm not a spender.
SPEAKER_02I'm not I'm like You're more a spender than a saver.
SPEAKER_01I'm not I'm not a spender, for sure not. I I just spend for the house, but I'm not a spender. I know that you look you want a good deal. Yes, but no, no, no. My point is that I I'm not I'm I'm not I I am frugal. I am frugal, but I'm I don't spend like I don't spend to spend. How much money do you spend on one Shabbat dinner? I have no idea. Yeah. It's a lot. I don't know, but what difference does it make? Because we're talking about money. Yeah. Um I I thought I my point is I've I've I've always looked to make sure that we weren't I was spending appropriately. Um nobody knew that we were struggling money-wise because I was always very open. But we we knew. You did, but like all the other guests I had, right? And so but I I spent what I could. I didn't spend over our means, is my point. Okay, good. Yeah, I didn't spend more than what we I was very, very worried of overspending. So I was always very careful. Like it looked like a lot, but it was like stuff we could afford.
SPEAKER_02I'm just so proud of both of you. And you know what the weirdest thing is? We've talked about this so many times, is you had Olivia and Noah, and I really got to know them and their personalities and everything, their little idiosyncrasies. And then you waited how many years, and you had two more. So Olivia was older, and then it was Noah, and then you waited how many years? Well, six years. And then another daughter and another son. No, another son. So Emmanuel came first. Wait, why am I confused about that?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it was Emmanuel first.
SPEAKER_02And I'll tell you why it confuses me. Because when I first saw those two younger children, I really had a hard time. No, because they looked exactly like Noah and Olivia.
SPEAKER_01It's true. It's so true. So six years later, we had Emmanuel, and then Gabrielle's a surprise. So we had her, she came 15 months later. So, like, then we had one two bank.
SPEAKER_02Do you think it was better that way? Because when we decided to have Jolie, Adam said, Well, we're gonna have to have a fourth because there's too many years. Yeah, yeah. It was five years in between Jack and Jolie, and now she needs somebody. And I was like, I don't know. Oh, and by the way, she was born in 2008. Oh, she was born in 2008.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. No, Gabrielle was born, I Gabrielle was born in in 2007.
SPEAKER_02And now I'm here to say I wish Jolie did have somebody, you know, closer to her.
SPEAKER_01It's funny you say that because I was like, I should have had a fifth. I was so young.
SPEAKER_02Oh Lord, you would have been fine with a fifth.
SPEAKER_01It's not too late.
SPEAKER_02Yes, it is. It's really not. It is moving on. I could if anybody, if I could see anybody doing it, it would be you. Although my friends Um sister had a baby at 50 on purpose. I'm I'm not gonna go there.
SPEAKER_01I had all my four kids by 34. I'm done. Oh my god. And can we say more?
SPEAKER_02Can we say what you just told me at lunch? Which was? You know. Okay. We're not gonna say it. No. Okay. Um, I didn't know that was out there. Okay, so so uh this is what I want to know. So you've had all these like ups, downs, trying new things, whatever, whatever, and then you finally make this decision. Well, I want to talk about you though. Like, when did you you decided to open up this business, this event planning business? It's fit you were there for 15 years, and then tragedy struck your family. Which we're not gonna talk about because there's people involved that it's just it's not appropriate. So, but it was a long road.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so so I was an event I was an event planner. I started in the business not knowing anything. I actually met the general manager of this beautiful um of this beautiful um event space in a parking lot, and he literally offered me a job.
SPEAKER_02I believe nothing happens by accident. Yeah. Do you?
SPEAKER_01So no. Okay. So I met him in a parking lot because I couldn't find my car in the parking lot, and he liked my personality. He's like, Are you looking for a job? I'm like, kind of, yeah. And so he hired me to work um in this beautiful event planning in events space, um, top, you know, of this beautiful building overlooking whole Boston. What was it? What building? It was at 60 states called State Room.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_01And um, and I worked there and I was very good. I learned very fast and I became very good at it. Shocking. And and then I had my one-two bang with my kids and Emmanuel Gabrielle, and then from there, um, somebody asked me, Hey, will you plan my daughter's bot mitzvah? I'm like, I don't know, I don't know how to do that. It's like, yeah, you do. You've learned all this stuff over the past five years, you can do it. And I'm like, I guess so. So that's it all kinds, that's it started sort of organically like that, where I just started planning events for people, and then it turned into a business that I was.
SPEAKER_02But that to me is such a natural fit because I've seen you host in your home. Right. It was and it's just a bigger version. Correct, correct. I mean, you're such a natural.
SPEAKER_01Right. But then 15 years after that, um, we we had a personal tragedy, and um, and I said to myself, and I was in the middle of planning all these events, and I remember I would tell my clients, I'm so sorry, I I can't I can't take you to the finish line with your kids, you know, event. And one client I'll never forget, she was in the process of having cancer treatment as we're planning for event, and she said, um, she said, You're walking me through my cancer, I'm gonna walk you through what you're going through.
SPEAKER_02Oh my god.
SPEAKER_01And I will not work with anybody else. And so I let everybody else go. And I I took her event to the finish line. It was a beautiful event, and thank God she's cancer free and she's fine. Oh, that's wonderful. And I said to myself, I said to myself, if I can, if we survive and we can see the other side of this, I will do something more meaningful with my life. Because I just felt that as you go through tragedy, you see a world very differently. And that, you know, and I look event planning was great. It was fun, it was fun, it was great, but not only that, it was very impactful. At the time for me, I was making people happy. I was like bringing joy into their lives, right? And I I just felt that you know it it fulfilled me for a certain period of time. But when but when this was happening to my family, I was like, I this is not it, it's not impactful enough. Like I want to do more. Um so I just felt that I needed to do something else. So I said, if if we could see the other side of this, then I will do something else with my life. And thank God we did. And you followed through. And I followed through, and then I started thinking, what am I gonna do next? So I was like, okay, I'm gonna not do this business thing, this event planning stuff anymore. I'm gonna do something else. And I couldn't find a job because nobody could see me as anything else. And also, believe it or not, I had insecurities about how smart I was and could I do something else? And I was like thinking, like, you know, am I smart enough to do this or that or the other thing? And so I decided, you know, if I want to completely pivot out of this and meet new people and be a new person, I'm gonna go back to school. So here I am at 45 years old. Were you nervous? As hell?
SPEAKER_02You were. I was like, See, that's what I'm talking about, going outside your comfort zone. Yeah, I was so create the life you want.
SPEAKER_01I was I was so scared, and I was like, I have not been in a classroom in what, 28 years or whatever it was at the time. And um, and I go into my first class, so I so I decided to apply to grad school, and I got into the school that I wanted at Babson, and I go into my first class, and I'm surrounded. I'm like literally the grandmother in the room. I'm surrounded with all these like young, you know, young adults, very smart, very like laser focused on their career. And and I said to myself, I'm gonna do this and not know, like I'll leave, I'll let this journey take me anywhere it wants to. Like, I'm I don't know what I'm looking for out of this.
SPEAKER_02You let go of control, which is a little shocking to me right now, by the way. As I say that, however, you completely just had faith and let go of control and believed in yourself and the organization.
SPEAKER_01I I I I don't know that I believed in myself. I was like, I'm gonna take a chance on myself.
SPEAKER_02Uh but you believed in yourself enough to take a chance on yourself.
SPEAKER_01Correct, correct. So it was funny because Paul had so much faith in me. Uh he had more faith in me than I did. My kids had more faith in me than I did. But I just want to say this like a little thing, and then we can move on. Is so I go to my first class and I have four kids at home, and um, and that and the professor is like, okay, guys, we're gonna go around the table, like around the room, and say, what do you want to get out of this class? And I took this class because it was the only one available. Like, what class? What was it? It was called thought leadership, and I had no idea what the class was about. I'm like, I gotta take a class and start. And this, it was all about being a thought leader and whatever you believed in. But I didn't know what I was like, I didn't know what I was going into. You didn't know what you wanted to lead. It was all about public speaking and writing and like being a thought leader in the world of like be a thought leader on whatever you you are and what you believe in. So you go around the class and and people are like, Yeah, I want to learn how to write better, I want to, I want to get out of my comfort zone, I want to learn how to talk in public better, I want to do this and that. And they it comes to me, and again, I have no idea what the class is about. And if I send this to Ruben, Ruben Manchai, he was my teacher, and and I said, and they come to me and I said, I just want to survive. Oh my god. I said, I I just want to survive and be able to feed my kids at the end of the day. Like that's that's my goal here. This is my first class in 28 years. I love that. I I just want to survive. And the teacher was like, this is a safe room for you to do that. And so come that first essay. We have to write that first essay. And Olivia, my eldest, we have I write my essay, and I'm like, Olivia, I'm really nervous. It took me hours to write a two-page, hours to write a two-page essay. I had so little confidence in myself. And this is pre-Chat GPT, by the way. Nothing is helping you except your head. Right. And and they didn't have encyclopedias anymore. No. So so I do my research and I write this thing on, I don't remember that first essay, and I then I sent it to Olivia, and I'm like, Olivia, can you please read through it? I'm so embarrassed.
SPEAKER_02Well, this is Olivia at this point.
SPEAKER_01She was in she was in undergrad. She was 22 years old. And I sent it to her, and I said, Can you please read this? And she read it, and then we meet for lunch, and I'm like sweating. I'm so nervous to get her feedback because I don't know what she's gonna think of my first essay. And so we sit and I'm like, okay, Olivia, how's my essay? And I thought she'd say, Mom, it's great. She's like, Mom, did you forget how to write an essay? I can kind of see her saying now. She's so good. I'm like, what do you mean? She's like, Do you not remember? There's an introduction, there's the body, the conclusion. Do you not remember? And I'm like, oh my god, how bad is it? And she's like, it needs work. Can she help? I open it and it's all redlined. Like, everything's redlined. And I'm like, all right, Natalia, get into like, get into the mindset, get your confidence back and and get right, like just just like get back into focus.
SPEAKER_02You don't see yourself like you talk about how brilliant Paul is, but you're the same way. You don't see it, do you?
SPEAKER_01I don't see it. No, I don't see it. Um, no, I think I'm smart because I didn't think I was smart enough to go to grad school, but I but I I I was. And you know, that was uh that was my first experience in school, and then you know, and then it was then it went really well.
SPEAKER_02But when you say like I wasn't worried when Paul became an entrepreneur because I he's just a brilliant businessman and he's so smart and I believed him in him, I feel the same way about you. Like you will figure it out, you know what I mean? And you are figuring it out correct. You just created a startup, yes. Yeah, so I you're right. After going back to school at 45, after sometimes maybe getting close to not paying the rent, or you know, who who knows, right?
SPEAKER_01Like it just wasn't as easy. It wasn't easy back then.
SPEAKER_02So I don't know, that to me is just very big. Wow. It's a bit it's a big wow.
SPEAKER_01It was a big wow. Let me tell you, like, I don't, I you know, I I I I I didn't realize how well I had done until I got an award for being valedictorian. I was like, I didn't know that. I was like, Me? I think you got the wrong person. And then I went to see my professor. I'm like, seriously? And he's like, no, no, no, you deserve it. And I was I was shocked. I was shocked. So amazing. So I I really like and with four kids at home, and yeah, and then COVID hit. I finished it during COVID. So everybody was home. I had four kids, two dogs.
SPEAKER_02Maybe that was a blessing to be able to finish the program during COVID.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I was like, I'm not smart enough to do this remotely. Like, I need to be in class, and you know, I I finagled my way to go to class as often as I could, and it was fun times, but I did it. And then from there, I I started my business. So tell everybody about this business. And wasn't this your project? So it was a project. So so so during grad school, it's a very typical, you know, um, it's a very typical class for MBA, is you have to come up with the business and then you apply your class into your business. So for instance, you apply you learn marketing, you have to apply marketing into this business idea that you have. You learn accounting, you apply accounting, and so on and so forth. So every class you apply into this idea that at the end of the year you present as a full business plan. That's very typical. So I'm with this group of very much younger students. Do you keep in touch with any of them? Yes.
SPEAKER_02I thought so, yeah.
SPEAKER_01One. I keep in touch with one.
SPEAKER_02And she's probably like what he 25? No, no, no.
SPEAKER_01He's like early, early 30s. Okay. Like or like late, like early 30s. He's for sure 30. And I mean, when you go to grad school, these are you know, they're older. They're not Oh right, because you it's it's the MBA, it's not undergrad. Wait, you did Babson masters at Babson? Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So um, so you come up with this business idea. So my business idea, so I'm here with like these five much younger individuals, students, and I I was like, I have a great idea. And and I said, let's do an at-home strep test.
SPEAKER_02And they're like how did that come to you?
SPEAKER_01Cause because I'll tell you, because years ago, I I went and I heard the the the founder of Waze speak, and he said, the and I'll never forget, he said, the best ideas come from the biggest pain points. So he says, I hate traffic. So I had to come up with something that avoided traffic, right? That's what that what that's how Waze started. So I was like, okay, what do I hate uh most in my life right now? And most in my life is when my kids are sick, having to go to the doctor, and the only thing they do is a strep test. Like it's either strep or it's a virus, like, and there's nothing to do for a virus. So let's test for strep. If it's not strep, then there's nothing to do. And half the time you're like having to drag other children to the doctor. You everybody comes with you because you know you can either young and you can't so um although you're having to take their snowsuits. And the snowsuits and then the car and the snow. Although at this time, keep in mind my kids are much older. I have two in college and two teenagers. No, but when they were little, what's what you have to do? Right. And then, yes, and at the time my daughter was still a teenager, so she was still getting her to stuff her herself tested for strep. So I'm like, let's do an add on the strep test. And the guys and my team was like, uh, what? And so one guy, I'm not gonna mention his name because I'll probably send this to him, but one of the guys was like, no, but great idea. Let's do a super thin condom. And I'm like, no. I didn't understand. I have the party. I'm gonna be talking about this in at home. The answer is no. So then they're like, all right, I guess strep dust it is. And so we I mean it's not a bad idea, but no. Super, super thin condoms. And I'm like, no. And I'm there to forget because and this is the guy that had the idea that I'm still very close to. So um, so at that, at that point, they're like, all right, fine, let's do a strep dust. That's what she wants to do. We're gonna have a made the idea. And I loved this idea. I was like, we, I love it. I was like, it would so change our life. And so as I'm developing it, I moonshotted. I'm like, and I want it to work like a pregnancy test, and I want it to use saliva, and it has super, it has to be super cheap so that everybody could afford it. And the more I talked about it, you are very passionate about it. The more I talked about it, the more I said, this is not for me. This is for like the barista at Starbucks, who, if her kid's sick, doesn't get paid. And so I became so passionate about it. Like I was living and breathing this idea. Now, coincidentally enough, um, at that time Olivia was in undergrad, my eldest, and she was a bioengineer, and she overheard me talk on Zoom to my classmates, and she comes into my office and she says, What are you doing? And I'm like, I'm gonna say I have I'm doing an atom strep test. She's like, Does it even work? I said, I don't know, who cares? It's a project, and she's like, Oh, you know what? I have to do a capstone project for graduating, I'll develop it for you. And so that's how it really started. Because at the end of the day, at the end of the year, I had a legitimate business plan and she had a legitimate like idea of the solution. And so when we graduated, we we basically launched it.
SPEAKER_02So what role does Olivia actually have in creating the test?
SPEAKER_01So sh it was just the it was just a it was just a preliminary um you know uh uh concept. Um it was never proven, but it it gave me the validation that this could happen.
SPEAKER_02So then what happened? So then you're graduated.
SPEAKER_01We launched the company, so I graduated, we incorporated, and we actually placed IP on whatever she had designed, and then I was like, all right, I guess I have a business I have to pursue. And so I built a team, and I kind of like am giving it all my I'm giving it everything I have. And so here we are now four and a half years later, almost five years, and I have an amazing team backing me. I have a great co-founder, I have a great person in my lab. Company is called Anywhere DX, and we are on path to developing or to mark or to you know manufacturing or to launching an at-home strep test that is as sensitive or as reliable as a lab test, but that you'll be able to buy over-the-counter tests at home. It'll be connected to telehealth so that if you're positive, you can connect to telehealth platform that will treat you and you never have to leave your house. Now, whether you live in the heat of Florida and you don't want to leave your air conditioning or in the cold of Boston and you don't want to leave and you don't want to leave the heat of your house because it's freezing out, you'll be able to do this all from home. And we are super, super passionate about it. Um, I it I live and breathe this every day. Yeah, yeah, you do. And the reason that we're here today is because I was at a conference um pitching it to a whole bunch of investors, um, and they loved it and they loved the idea. And so here I am, like I'm an entrepreneur in medical device. Now I could say I'm five years in. So anybody who says, Well, how long have you been in this in this space? And I'm like, five years.
SPEAKER_02Why I am a little curious, why would somebody invest in this business versus a different business?
SPEAKER_01I mean, you would want to invest in this business because you see the value two ways. If you are a mom, you get it, and you're like, I want this for my the future generations, whether if your kids are older, well, you're gonna have grandchildren. So for your grandchildren, right? And then um, and then if you're an investor and just a business person, I think it's a very smart idea because it's a huge market. And so what we know from the market is that you know, when something is available to the consumer, uh the market grows. So whatever the size of the market is today, something like this would exponentially grow. Because look, if you have two kids and one is sick and is needs to get tested, you will probably get another one for the next kid. And for you, and for your husband, and for everybody, and you're gonna have kits in your house that you want to keep there for the next time so you don't have to drag yourself to the pharmacy.
SPEAKER_02Well, I'm thinking about the COVID home tests.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, people bought them in in like six like eight at a time.
SPEAKER_02If you felt like you had COVID, would you want to be going out to Walgreens? No. So you would want to have them at home. I would be like, oh, please God, please God, let us have an extra one in the house somewhere.
SPEAKER_01And so, like, unlike COVID tests, the COVID test that you that you use, I don't know if you remember, it's like we it's almost like a time we want to forget. Is you know, during COVID, you had these tests that you could test at home, but if you that weren't like a hundred percent, right? But if you wanted to test and be sure you had COVID or did not have COVID, you would take a PCR. Do you remember? I do. And um, and so what we are doing is essentially the equivalent of that PCR test that's it that gives you the same reliability as PCR. So like if you're positive, you're for sure positive, and if you're negative, you're for sure negative. And so I would definitely buy those.
SPEAKER_02I would definitely want to just have some in my house. I mean, wouldn't we all? I mean, seriously, because I was also just thinking about when you said if you're living in Boston and you don't want to leave the heat of your house or you're living in Florida, you don't want to leave the air conditioning. But what about just having to drag a sick kid out, and then you might also have a baby, so you have to we were just talking about this and also have the bring the like it's just too much, right?
SPEAKER_01You remember when our kids were little and we'd take them to the to the pediatrician's office and like they were toys. And oh my god, and the mom that would say, Don't touch, yeah, don't touch the toys. So not there's no toys, but like you are surrounded by infection. Right. And so there's no I mean, the kid's surrounded by infection, but you as in the adult is also surrounded by infection. So like why are we putting ourselves what we learned from COVID is that there's no reason to put ourselves in these situations.
SPEAKER_02Is there an at-home flu test? There is an at-home flu. Because I was gonna say, once this one is on the market, you need to create one for the next illness. Well, we never have to cover the door.
SPEAKER_01Well, I'll tell you, our next illness, which by the way, you'll relate as a as a woman, is the UTI. Right now, we're dragging our asses. Sorry, we're dragging our tests. We're dragging our asses as women to the doctor's office to pee in a cup for them to put a to put the strip in a cup. It does seem a little barbaric. Like we live in more modern times. Why couldn't we pee in the cup in the comfort of our home? We're peeing on a stick for pregnancy tests. Why couldn't we pee on the severe UTI? Yeah, right? But a UTI that a UTI test that is reliable that the doctor could prescribe with.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, because when you go for the UTI, they're like, we don't even know. We have to send it away. And it'll right, they can say maybe you have it, but we have to confirm by sending it away. And then they might be prescribing the wrong antibiotic, and then you have to switch antibiotics.
SPEAKER_01Correct. So we are so our my next big thing is UTI. Like UTI hurts like hell. Like, I don't know if you ever had a UTI, but literally like you want to book it. Once in my life. I've had it twice, and both times I cried every time I went to the bathroom.
SPEAKER_02Like I remember we were in do you know smuggler's notch in Vermont? Yes. We were at Smuggler's Notch. We were in like some little area. I found some corner pharmacy to I I think I had a I don't I think maybe a doctor actually called in a prescription for me because what was I gonna do? I don't even know if they had urgent cares back then. And they definitely did not where I was. So have you ever been to Smuggler's notch. Yes, it's not a lot of things. Oh my God. It's amazing.
SPEAKER_01So, like that's so, you know, at the end of the day, you know, we all deserve to take a little bit more control. It's just simplifying your life.
SPEAKER_02And don't we all need that right now? Yeah. In so many different areas. Which is why I have an appointment after this with a VA. Me, a VA. Who would I? That is just not me. A virtual assistant. A virtual assistant. Like typically I would never, that's just not who I am, right? We all need to. We need to simplify. We just need to simplify. Right, right, right.
SPEAKER_01So I I agree. I agree. And I think that and you know what? And we're and by the way, you and I we're privileged, right? Let's be honest.
SPEAKER_02Like we can, we if we could think if we we could take off work and go and it wouldn't hurt. But what about the what you were just saying about the Briesta? Right.
SPEAKER_01Like, look, or what about you get you're saving on the copay. But deductibles are through the roof. Like I have a $6,000 deductible per person in my family, right? $6,000 deductible. And and we're still paying, I don't know, $2,600 a month. Oh my God. And for what? And then every time I go to the doctor, I'm paying out of pocket. Right. So like a simple UTI test or simple strep test is $300. Maybe you should lower your deductible. Well, that's not the point. The point is The point is that my very good friend decided that she is not getting insurance, health insurance, because it's just too costly and she's just focusing on the wellness of her kids and to make sure that they stay healthy. But it it, you know, you will encounter I've kind of thought about that.
SPEAKER_02I have kind of thought about that. Because I I don't know. I mean, I have a friend that has maybe it's I don't know what it's called, like catastrophic health insurance if you end up in the hospital. Yeah, yeah. But oh my God, it's through the roof.
SPEAKER_01It's very expensive. And and and so like you're paying for these like simple, you know, common infections. You're paying so much money, and you're thinking, okay, well, I I'm so here I am saying, you know what, for all these people, privileged and not privileged, we're gonna give them a ticket for $25 that includes a telehealth for treatment. Perfect. I love that.
SPEAKER_02How much do you think this kit is gonna cost? $25. Oh, the whole kit. The whole kit. $25, and that includes a telehealth. Wow.
SPEAKER_01That's the plan. So tell me.
SPEAKER_02That's what we're developing for. Right, right. So tell me what you need to get this on the market.
SPEAKER_01Right now we need money. We need capital to get this at the finish line.
SPEAKER_02So we We're so close.
SPEAKER_01We're we're getting there. We're like pushing. We're looking when you talk about like comfort level, like I am pushing myself in ways I never thought I could because I'm so excited.
SPEAKER_02And what has that created for you?
SPEAKER_01Confidence? Definitely confidence. Definitely confidence. You know, listen, it's hard. Being an entrepreneur in a diagnostic or biotech or you know, whatever, like in this space is very hard. The amount of rejection that you have to swallow and you have to take on your shoulder and not let it you drag you down is really, it's really hard. So what you learned from it is your resilience, right? When you talk about resilience, is you know, you just can do more than you think you can. You you can always take another rejection. Like when you think you're at the rock bottom and you've taken that rejection that really hit hard, uh you get up again and you're ready for another one. Isn't that what life's all about? Yeah. And like literally these rejections, like some of them really knock you down. Because it's not just a rejection, it's a criticism that comes behind like behind it. Like if one investor will say, um, that's not for me. Fine, you can handle. But if one says to you, you know, this, and you didn't say this right, and we don't think you're good enough for this, or however they're gonna be so sorry when this is less huge. And like I I've had very early, I had people that say, like, not in those exact words, but in the step aside, little girl, we know more than you do, and you're not you're not up for this.
SPEAKER_02I have to tell you, uh wait, I gotta just say one thing. Yeah, that just triggered me when you just said that because and I was talking about this with somebody the other day. Since Adam died, people think because I don't have a man like in the house or husband, that I'm just step aside, little girl.
SPEAKER_01And people are learning. You can't do that. No, you can't do that, and so I just feel like I just feel like, you know, fine. You want to I I'll be the underdog. I'll be the underdog and prove you wrong. I mean, I hope I prove them wrong. Look, if this business works out, everybody will be happy, and if it doesn't, then I will have grown exponentially. Yes. And and it'll like put me into a into my next thing. And the UTI. Or yeah, I mean, I hope, but it's it's about it's it's all about personal growth. It's all about seeing how far you can go in your resilience when you talk about you know what this podcast is all about. When you talk about how yeah, you gotta push yourself. You gotta push yourself, and you just can't give up. And and I and I want to believe that this is an inspiration to my kids.
SPEAKER_02Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_01See this as like, well, my mom is badass, you know.
SPEAKER_02I was just about to say that. I see you as this powerful badass, right? So don't don't give up because this is gonna be enormo well, I'm I don't even know why I just said that. I know you're not. And I do think if you keep pushing, like this is gonna happen.
SPEAKER_01That's the that's the that's the idea. And I I that's what I believe in. I believe if if I just keep doing what I have to do, and and there's always an extra, there's always an extra stone to turn, right? And you're gonna be able to do that. You're gonna find that stone. You're gonna have to I have to find that stone.
SPEAKER_02You are, and you are finding the stones along the way. And it is progressing.
SPEAKER_01And it's like, look, I'm it's it's progressing much slower than I want to, but there is a sense of validation that I get that gives me the energy to just keep pushing from people like you, from friends like that support me, from friends who want who have invested. Like I have personal friends who've invested, right? I have people in my old life, in my event planning. You know, I have I have two lives. I have my pre-Babson life and my post-Babson line. Like my pre-Babson life tell me, what are you doing? Like, what? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then my post-Babson life are the people I'm I'm in, I'm with now are like, wait, what did you do then? Like, we can't even imagine that that's what you did then. Event planning, startup for out-of-home stress tests. So, like, yeah, it's it's you know, like I'm literally in like the medical, I'm in the healthcare medical device. Like, it's like insanely crazy how I've pivoted, but you know, it's it just proves that anybody, if you want to, you can do it.
SPEAKER_02Natalia, you I know that you can do whatever you want. I do believe that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I do. I really do. Thank you. I mean, you're you're you're very smart and you're very determined, and you're not gonna stop until you make it happen. That's correct. That is who you are. Yes. That is who you are. That's so beautiful. And and just to be clear, well, first of all, I know that I'm gonna definitely invest. I've told you that. I really need to get on that. It's just like on my list of things. And you Jolie's last day of high school is tomorrow. I know, by the way.
SPEAKER_01I can't believe it. You know, wait, it being an MT Nester is is is something. I I became one just in September. So I've I've had this like once cool year to adjust. What what has it been like? It was very hard at first because I love noise. And I love noise. Not I know that a lot of parents like can't wait for this to happen, but I love noise. I love a little chaos, not too much chaos, but I love the chaos and the life. So when everybody left last September, it felt house. It felt very keep in mind also, like we had just married Noah, and then everybody left at the same time. Like it went from you know, chaos, chaos, chaos, and then beautiful wedding, and like wow, and then gone, right? And then the house went from like a hundred to zero, right? And like, and so it was that was very hard. It took me a long time to adjust. Um, Shabbat dinners were like a little sad because we were alone. But you know, we have kind of gotten in a groove now, and um, we're getting used to it. And the kids come back, they come back a lot.
SPEAKER_02So I'm Did Did you find at first like that you were bored? Was it I wasn't bored. Was it too quiet? I'm well, I know you're so so busy with the startup, but did you just find yourself sometimes like wandering around the house?
SPEAKER_01Wandering, no, but like um, you know, like making a dinner is weird to make a dinner for two when I used to make dinners for much more. You know, even when we were just three in the house, because you know, like it goes from you know, four kids to three kids to three kids to one kid. So even when I only had one left in the house, I still made dinner like as because then she would have leftovers the next day and whatever. But now, like making dinner for two, it seems so real. Like I'm not used to making such small quantities, so that is kind of weird for me. But um, but all in all, we're just getting in the groove. Like, I what I can tell you is no matter how hard things are emotionally or physically, you adjust, right? You're you're you tend you your everything, your psyche, everything just adjusts to a new normal and it just takes a little bit of time, but then every it just becomes new again and it just becomes normal again. And so now that all the kids are coming home for the summer, you know, I feel like now we have to re-read.
SPEAKER_02Not all.
SPEAKER_01Well, three, three are coming back because Olivia, who is in medical school right now, she is coming to work in the summer and will stay home for six weeks. Oh. So like it'll be great. I'll be so happy, but you have to readjust to that if you're normal, right? Oh, yeah. So like everything, it it's all about being flexible, and I think that that's what I'm very strong. Like, that's one of my big strengths is being flexible and being able to adjust very quickly. Um, especially when the kids are home, I'm just happy that they're home. So I think flexibility, right?
SPEAKER_02I think flexibility is such an important trait. Yeah. I think it is such an important trait, and I think that people who are rigid versus flexible have a much harder time.
SPEAKER_01I agree.
SPEAKER_02A much harder time. I want to say this, it's funny because you know, I I don't hide really hide much. So I was talking to my therapist yesterday. Took a long time to find the right one after Adam passed away. And um, we were talking about exactly this, which is um, because my last I mean, I want to say four years, but really for a long time. Like my house, I it's been very chaotic, like in these last four years. It's been so chaotic. And my therapist said, now don't go looking for chaos, you know, when Julie gets to college. And I said, Yeah, I don't think that's gonna happen. And you know, boredom is like not part of my No, it's not in our vocabulary, it's not in our vocabulary. Like, I don't know that I'm ever like, oh, I'm bored. Like that just I gotta find something to do. So anywho, sorry, my phone was out and it was ringing. That that was what that was about. So yeah, I don't know what it's all gonna look like. I mean, it's very different for me than it's gonna be than it's been for you because you have Paul at home and you have your kids living in New York, they come back and forth and back and forth, although you know I'm gonna have two out of three kids in New York.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So I don't I don't know. It's just gonna be so interesting.
SPEAKER_01I'll tell you, the one thing that I didn't think I would appreciate is the definitely more flexibility. Like, okay, so I have a conference, I have a conference in in my in in Florida for three days. I don't have this like, oh, I have to be home because I don't want to leave my kids at home. Like, I don't have that. I don't have that guilt that I had before. Like, Paul and I want to go for the weekend. We go for the weekend. Like, no one like Where do you go? We didn't travel. Honestly, like we could anywhere. Paul, it all comes down to me. I'm so like, I'm so focused on like everybody I like my meetings and like trying to make this work and like finding investors, and so like Paul's like, let's go for a way for the weekend. I'm like, I can't, I can't I have to do this.
SPEAKER_02Well, where do you like to go when you go?
SPEAKER_01So I have to say, I'm not a big traveler. I know you're not because I find it's so much work to pack and unpack. You go to the lot. Yeah, I go home to my parents a lot, which is Montreal. And you drive. And I drive, it's not a problem. I we we do need to travel. We're traveling a ton this summer, which is not a good time because the kids are home. But these are plans, these are things that we have to go to for events. For events. Um, but I'm hoping next year after the kids go back to school, we'll be able to do more things and and travel and travel more. But we can like we're like, I'm like, Paula, let's just go for the weekend. I we could go to Montreal, we can go to New York, we can go see the kids, it doesn't matter. So that is one thing that I have realized. I'm like, oh, there's no guilt. Because like I'm not leaving anybody behind, and I don't have that kind of guilt, which is nice.
SPEAKER_02Um what about I was talking about this with somebody the other day, and I don't remember who, but when our kids get older, it's not about the physical, it's more the mental. Like I get tired because I am there's so much to organize, not so much with my two older kids, but with Jolie still, like, okay, was this appointment made? Right. D am I gonna go with her? Is it like like it's just so much, so many things. So, do you find that like a lot of those details that you have to you still do that?
SPEAKER_01No, yes, and no. First of all, I like it because it keeps me connected. So I I don't find that to be an issue for me. About like my daughter was like, Gabrielle was like, Mom, I'm coming home. I have to do, I have to go see all these physicians, I have to do checkups, whatever. I'm like, okay, just tell me where they are, I'll call them and make them appointment. Like, I don't mind doing that. And I actually like to still know. But that's different. They're out of the house. Yeah, so like now they're now she's home. Like over the summer, she'll be home. But I just feel like I I don't mind that's that had never minded.
SPEAKER_02I mean, but it's not just about doctors' appointments, it's just about coordinating in your head. Everything Oh my god, did I call that? Did I cross that off my list yet? Oh, I have to go to the bank before this happens, but I need to do this. And it's just a lot. Well, you have Paul, which by the way, you just said to me at lunch, he does everything. Well, no, he does everything when it comes to finances.
SPEAKER_01Okay. When it comes to like or like the or the logistics of the kids and like their appointments and like you know, all that stuff, like they're the logistics of the kids, that's me. Um, Paul is finances, so like he's like mortgage, car, negotiating for this, rental, whatever. Like, that's all Paul. Um, only because I have no desire to take care of that people. Um, but if I wanted to, I I could be part of it, but I I choose not to.
SPEAKER_02And you would find the energy somewhere to do it.
SPEAKER_01Probably. Yeah, you are like a little bit. I just choose not to. I'm like, I don't want to. But like, you know, like I'm even I'm here and I'm like, okay, I need to call, I need to call Paul and make sure this is all happening.
SPEAKER_02We have two speeds, really. I think it's like a hundred or like zero. Zero. That's what it is. After I stayed with you this last time, I realized that about you. You are like a hundred or zero for sure. All right, listen, we have to, we have to end, we have to wrap up. I just want to say I am so incredibly proud of you. Thank you. That you believed enough in yourself and you just said, I'm gonna take a risk, I'm gonna go outside my comfort zone, I'm gonna do something that was never part of my wheelhouse, and I'm gonna make this happen. And now you might be the owner, likely, of an in-home stress test. And everybody else who invests, by the way, are the owners. Correct. That that's an important point.
SPEAKER_01Yes, like these investors, they are all gonna get a piece of this pie because this is gonna be very big. Yeah, yeah. And everyone who invests is going to make a lot of money. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Thank you so much, my friend. I think. Thanks for having me. It's such an honor.
SPEAKER_02My friend is how he created this. My friend, you know, like it's gonna be so fun. Yes. It's gonna be fun. Thank you, my friend. Thank you. Thank you for having me. And remember, folks, the Present Moment Project is intended for informational and inspirational purposes only. The views and opinions shared by the host and guests are their own and do not constitute medical, legal, or professional advice. Please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any medical or wellness decisions. This podcast is not a substitute for professional care, no matter how wise we may sound in this present moment.