I found myself in the travel industry through necessity, as a self-proclaimed “fearful flyer,” psychologist, and entrepreneur. Getting here has been an adventure. My educational and professional career started out in clinical psychology. I had always been drawn to psychology and driven to help people cultivate more joy. Growing up I never dreamed of traveling. Although I had flown as a young child, I would not fly again until my mid 20s when I had the opportunity to attend a summer program at New York University.

I went on to complete my doctorate and launched a successful career in the mental health field, ultimately working my way up to executive roles. I continued to fly for conferences, and in graduate school once ran into a professor while holding my “flight companion” — a stuffed turtle. Due to my fear of flying I met many people on flights, including a writer for the WWE and a salesperson for little Debbie Snack cakes. I met numerous pilots and flight attendants over the years. The in-flight crews were the real heroes of the sky and my talks with them were a helpful distraction. However, I always felt the need for something else to help my anxiety, but nothing worked for me.

Starting AirBear

Through my psychology practice I started advising for startups in Silicon Valley and became fascinated with how technology can be leveraged to improve mental health and well-being. I continued to fly, often for business, and on a short flight to a conference it came to me like a lightning flash: AirBear, a wellness technology company bringing joy back to travel, integrating the latest in wellness technology and content (meditation, biofeedback, wearables) to improve the passenger experience. I had created programs at world-renowned technology and healthcare companies and traveled the globe. AirBear was the culmination of experiences, bridging health and travel. At AirBear, we plan to change the face of travel by making it stress free.

Highlights and Challenges as a Founder

I made the leap from traditional healthcare to the startup landscape. Being from Silicon Valley helped. I immersed myself in the culture, going to “startup houses,” pitch events, roundtables, and mixers. You name it … I was there. But at times I felt out of place, often the only woman in the room and usually the only psychologist. I was having difficulty finding people to bring on this journey. At one pitch event I ran into a friend who said if I was looking for a co-founder he had the perfect person. He was right. Ultimately I found a humble and brilliant technical co-founder, Arthur Chen. Arthur has brought his calm demeanor as well as our mascot, “Bear,” a Samoyed to round out the executive team. Finding a co-founder that understood and shared in the company’s vision was crucial for success. Not only does Arthur have the technical skills, but he wants to create intelligent products that help people.

As we started to build out AirBear in the winter of 2019, three short months later the world shut down. As the planet went through turbulent times, I too was quickly learning the challenges of entrepreneurship during a global pandemic. My talks early in 2020 with Arthur helped keep me grounded. Although I had led health departments and post-doctoral training programs, AirBear was a new frontier, pitching wellness and travel together, receiving feedback, learning what worked and what didn’t work.

Hopes for the Future

So many of us miss traveling, including myself — missing family gatherings, business trips, adventure, and making new memories. There were times I thought of giving up on AirBear. But one trait I’ve worked to develop over the years is tenacity, overcoming in the face of extreme challenges. I know the world can benefit from AirBear now more than ever. The stress of flying increased during the pandemic. In fact, 2021 was recorded as one of the most violent years on record for incidents against cabin crew. We’re excited about 2022 and are planning different pilots and continuing to foster our connections with airlines and airports. Our high-level vision is to make mental health mainstream, taking it out of the office, out of the clinical environment, and making it accessible to all in everyday living. What better place to start than travel. Travel connects us all.