Julie McClure, HBA ’99, left a high-powered life in finance to make the world a healthier and happier place.
When I graduated from Ivey, I was recruited to join Morgan Stanley’s investment banking group in New York. After several years there, I returned to Toronto to work in private equity. Three years later, I went to Morgan Stanley (Canada) to become part of the institutional equities team.
In February 2008, I decided to step out of the finance world for a year to travel and to focus on my health. I had suffered from chronic migraines for 10 years and I was determined to find a solution.
During this time, I immersed myself in holistic environments, became a yoga instructor, and did a lot of research and experimentation with diets and cleanses.
The change in diet was very healing and reduced my headaches by 80 per cent — something I was never able to do with medication. This newfound health inspired me to study naturopathic medicine. In my second year of the program, I decided to combine my background in business, my personal passion for health and wellness, and my personal experience with chronic pain to create benourished. I knew how challenging it is to eat well when you are busy and I saw a real need for products that are convenient, tasty and help to optimize health, energy and vitality.
On any given day at benourished, I wear a multitude of hats, from HR, marketing, PR and branding to operations, sales, and capital raising. Running a startup, you have to make sure that the company is funded, operations are running smoothly, your customers are having a great experience, and you are driving growth.
We have a very loyal customer base, and we typically become a small part of our customers’ daily lifestyle as they begin to see results in terms of improved energy and positive changes in their appearance. The drive and inspiration behind the company is to help people live healthier lives.
When people are healthy, they are happier and they contribute more to society. As we say at benourished, “When you radiate from the inside out, you make the world a better place!”
Photo: Nation Wong
Art Direction: Greg Salmela, Aegis
