Larissa Licha, Co-Founder and CEO, Joyn

Larissa is the Co-Founder and CEO of Joyn, a community-based mental health app built for the workplace. Previously, Larissa has worked in product leadership positions and successfully launched two business units with a focus on bringing differentiated and accessible products to underserved businesses. Larissa's own experiences, passion for mental health and ensuring its accessibility drove her to found Joyn. In her personal time, Larissa enjoys exercise, baking, practising self-care through yoga and meditation, and long hikes in nature.

What is your favourite social media platform, and why?

I actually stopped using all social media over ten years ago. Mainly to not spend my time on platforms that don't serve me. I know that, at this point, social media has changed a lot, but I haven't felt the desire to re-explore. I do use LinkedIn to foster business connections and make new ones while staying in the loop on industries I'm interested in.

“Saying no opens the door to saying yes to other things. Sometimes no feels like an end all be all, but really, it often is an opportunity to get us where we really should be going.”

Larissa Licha

Larissa Licha, LinkedIn

Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.

I'm the Co-Founder and CEO of Joyn and founded Joyn last year with my amazing Co-Founder, Kendra Wilkins. We both have had a long-standing desire to build stronger communities surrounding mental health to help normalize mental health conversations and support each other on our journeys. Both Kendra and I experienced our own challenges with mental health and struggled to navigate it in the workplace, whether it came to opening up about it or navigating benefits. But once we took the leap to speak to our mental health, we quickly learned that we opened the door for others to do the same, and we learned so much from those experiences, which is why we founded Joyn.

What do you like about your career or area of focus?

I really love building products that make a difference. Whether it's to serve small businesses in helping them grow, making something inaccessible accessible and affordable, or whether it is to build strong communities that make a meaningful change in our day-to-day. I've been fortunate to have had the ability to focus on these areas throughout my career.

What is the best advice you have ever received?

"Your thoughts don't define you". Whether these are thoughts related to imposter syndrome, or thoughts stemming from my anxiety, I've learned that thoughts are just thoughts; they aren't me, they don't define me, and I am in control of letting them go.

What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?

It's really about having a daily positive impact on someone's life. Sometimes we underestimate how the little things we can do on a daily basis can have a meaningful trickle effect. Whether it's hearing someone out, greeting them as they pass you, wishing them a nice day, lending a helping hand, and so on. A lot of good we can do to others, and their lives come for free. I am dedicated to being conscious of how I bring myself to my environment every day.

What are you proud of in your life so far?

I've been fortunate to have had people in my life that opened doors for me and seeing how much that impacted the opportunities I was given. I am proud to have learned from that and opened doors for others to get access to jobs they desire, mentorship opportunities, fair pay, or simply ensure they have a seat at the table. I'm proud to be in a position and have the awareness that it is in my power to uplift others as people have done for me.

What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?

I really like meeting people in the context of a common goal. As part of Joyn, I was fortunate to be part of the MindShare Partners community, which is a group of individuals that head up employee resource groups focused on mental health. Through this community, I've met some of the most passionate and dedicated people and even made some lifelong friends.

What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?

Resilience. I had a challenging and untraditional upbringing, but one aspect this taught me was resilience and how no matter how bad the situation, it'll get you where you need to be. It also taught me patience with me, the situation, and others. And lastly, it taught me gratitude for the quiet moments, the simple things in life, the people I care about, and my health.

What do you wish you had known when you started out?

That it's okay to be bold, I think as women, we often undersell ourselves, demand less, and often silence ourselves. But it's okay to demand our worth and speak our truth. I've always looked to other women and how they carried themselves and admired those that were outspoken and assertive; what I didn't realize, sometimes you're the women other women look to. You're actively shaping the culture and laying the path for women and how they navigate their careers, and I want to be on a path where I can be myself and succeed and pave that path for others.

Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?

Shared learning. Continuous learning is extremely important, whether that's from people in a related field or not. Having people share their experiences, challenges, opportunities, and how they've overcome obstacles or took advantage of the opportunities helped me learn new ways to navigate my career and sometimes life.

Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?

I am extremely committed to self-care and ensuring I stay balanced. I exercise daily, do daily yoga and meditation before and after work, ensure I have a healthy meal and get enough sleep. I also care a lot about fostering my community and try to volunteer as much as I can and participate in neighbourhood initiatives. I also like hobbies that challenge me creatively, like pottery, painting or playing the piano.

Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you managed it?

The pandemic really was the pivotal point that encouraged us to finally found Joyn. We saw the need clearer than ever for the Joyn platform, and we were ready to be an agent of change when it comes to normalizing mental health. The pandemic has challenged all of us when it comes to our mental health, even those that have had prior toolkits that worked for them. We also had to adapt to the new normal and grief what we've lost, while certain communities faced additional challenges such as racial trauma. More than ever, there was a need for community, creating space, and having the ability to talk about and address our mental health.

Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?

I've been fortunate to have had several mentors in my career that helped me navigate my career path. They often were the ones that pushed me to take on new roles or new areas and exposed me to functions I've otherwise not have had an opportunity to tap into. They often were the ones seeing what I didn't see in myself. One of my mentors actually told me six years ago that one day I'll be a CEO, and I really just sort of laughed at that comment, but here I am, being a CEO. I'm also currently mentoring two women that are looking to either grow into leadership positions or change their career trajectory. I think it's important to give back where we can and helping others navigate their careers.

What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?

Don't give up. Founding a company is tough, especially as a woman. Once you get to the stage of fundraising, you get a lot of no's, and you start doubting yourself and your idea, and that's normal. To me, the founding of Joyn has been a crazy rollercoaster of ups and downs, but it's important to not lose sight of why you're doing what you're doing and removing your personal self from some of the rejections you may experience. It's hard to not make the success of your company your identity; you're definitely part of making the company successful, but having healthy boundaries and, ideally, a great co-founder that's supportive is crucial.

What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?

Self-doubt. I think we get in our way a lot, especially the narrative we tell ourselves. We often underestimate ourselves or have an extremely skewed perception of who we should be, who we are, or where we should be.

Is there a phrase, quote or a saying that you really like?

Saying no opens the door to saying yes to other things. Sometimes no feels like an end all be all, but really, it often is an opportunity to get us where we really should be going.

What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?

I'm less bought into companies or brands as a whole, but more so people behind those companies or brands. Whether that's women such as Whitney Wolfe, Ursula Burns, or Kamala Harris that pave the path for girls and women or those that re-defined industries, cooperations, or countries, such as Jane Goodall, Abby Wambach, or Malala, it's the individuals that bring change to companies, brands, and institutions that I really look up to.

How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience/readership?

Success, to me, can be a convoluted term and often misleads us to keep thriving for more. Success to me is being happy with the now rather than looking for the next thing. Our mindset has to shift from "if that happens, then I'll be successful" to "Is how I bring myself to the world today successful?". Success to me isn't money, cars, or recognition; it has gratitude every day, fostering connections, making memories that matter, and the ability to be true to myself.