Her mental health experiences prompted her to launch an app

Maija Russell is onto big things for 2020 (and beyond!) and they’re especially needed. Her upcoming app launch, AppreciateU, is all about living in a positive mindset through compliments and affirmations. But Maija wasn’t always living with positive self talk, nor did she have the right influences.

TAMAR: Hi, everybody, I am delighted and excited to bring Maija Russell in. I met her in a Zoom networking event a couple of months ago, and she is doing something really, really cool. Something I completely resonate with, kind of flows very well into the Common Scents Podcast, and thus I have her here. So, thank you so much for joining. Well —

MAIJA RUSSELL: Thank you so much for having me Tamar.

TAMAR: Yeah, I’d love to share where you are right now physically and what you’re doing. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

MAIJA RUSSELL: Hey, yeah, sure. I’m coming in from Orlando, Florida. Beautiful weather down here on this crazy post-election day. I’m creating an app that’s designed to help users decrease negative self-talk and increase thoughts of empowerment, happiness and self-worth. We’re going to be using fun uplifting games, playful graphics and powerful affirmations to do that. So, I’m hoping to help people retrain their brains to love themselves more to think more positively and to create a happier, healthier life for themselves.

TAMAR: That is so cool. And I have to say, when I first heard that, that it totally resonates with the lifestyle that I’m trying to embody myself. So, I love that you’re doing this. I know that you’re a little early, but I really cannot wait to see how this plays out.

MAIJA RUSSELL: Thank you. Me too. It’s definitely evolving and unfolding every day, which is really fun to see. Of course, it’s never moving as fast as we want it to be right. But I guess that’s just how life works. And trying to roll with the punches and create the marketing plan and going forward and talking to investors daily and all of that fun start up life that I’m living.

TAMAR: Yeah. So just a few words of advice here. I would just say number one, don’t wait till it’s perfect to launch. Obviously, you still are a little early, which is fair. And that’s only the recommendation.

MAIJA RUSSELL: Oh, will not let me wait it out. So, we’re going to be producing an MVP very, very soon. Have minimal viable product, that is. And they’re like, “Okay, two revisions, girl, get this out.” So like I “Okay, yeah. All right. Well, and it’ll be great.” I’m excited for the feedback from everybody when we do launch because it’ll be — Remember, like the Facebook.

TAMAR: Yeah, yep. I remember the Facebook.

MAIJA RUSSELL: Not that great. It’ll be hopefully a couple steps up from that. But I always try to think of that when I’m  — like a perfectionist nature.

TAMAR: Yeah, that perspective is really helpful. The other thing that I was gonna say is literally like, “Yeah, everything does go slow.” But it needs to go at that pace. You need to obviously feel comfortable. And yet for me personally, I thought things were going to be fine on two years ahead of where it is now. Like, “It’s totally okay. Yeah, we’ll wait.”

MAIJA RUSSELL: Yeah. It’s insane. Yeah, that’s a startup life. How is your perfume?

TAMAR: Ah, so I’m in the middle of sending samples out. I have my samples. Everything was ready. I had to change the form a little bit. So, it took a little bit of time. But now I’m getting it out and it’s funny. Yesterday, people started posting on social media about it. So that’s really exciting. I’m getting some interesting feedback, definitely not what they had expected, which is exactly what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to disrupt a marketplace so not looking for the conventional mall-like fragrances. I’m trying to create new ones. I’m excited about it. We’ll see what happens. I am having my boxes for the retail products being designed and finalized hopefully this week if not next, and then we’re very close to coming to the end and we’re gonna see what’s going to happen. I mean, kept coming to the end in terms of finalizing products. Ah, it is scary. But yeah, and then I have to figure out what happens next because I’m trying to do things I completely still have from a bootstrapped perspective.

MAIJA RUSSELL: IR