The Savvy Boss with Katy Whalen Co-Founder of Joi Women’s Wellness

The Savvy Boss is a column in partnership with BossTalks where we sit down for a morning coffee chat with some of the savviest lady bosses from around the globe.


Her long journey through infertility, miscarriages, IVF, and finally giving birth to her little boy left Katy Whalen feeling fatigued, hormonal, overweight and struggling with brain fog.

She searched for a holistic solution that would help her feel like “herself” again. That’s when she learned about hormone optimization and peptide therapies. The only problem? They were so hard to come by!

After both she and her husband began to experience amazing results with both peptides and hormones, she knew they had to share them with women everywhere.

Joi Women’s Wellness was born. We sat down with Katy to learn all about her journey to create Joi Women’s Wellness.

What were the biggest challenges you had to overcome at the beginning of your career journey?

In the beginning and still to this day, I find it challenging that I am responsible for parts of the business in which I have no expertise or experience. I started Joi because I believe these therapies will help other women, not because I knew anything about healthcare regulations and back-end software processing. 

One of my biggest challenges is having to understand areas of industry that are completely foreign to me. I’m thankful to have my husband as a business partner to help me figure these things out but some of our biggest fights and some of my worst anxiety has come from having to make big decisions and put processes in place with things I didn’t fully understand.

Founding and the day-to-day running of a company is stressful, but the only person you can complain to is staring at you in the mirror. Especially in the beginning, when you are the HR department, tech support, accounting, finance, marketing manager and head of operations.

What’s one thing you’ve done (good or bad) in your life where you look back and say, “I can’t believe I actually did that?  

When I was in my early 30’s I took a U-turn in my career from sales and marketing into Wall Street. My salary was slashed in half, I had to pass a licensing exam (with a fail rate of 45%) on stocks and bonds and at the time I didn’t know the definition of a bond.

But the biggest challenge? Being a woman in a man’s world. A very macho man’s world. I had never experienced such big egos from men that act like babies. And there are no social graces. I had to fight hard to earn respect and to earn my place.

I am very proud of the struggles I overcame and the success I had in such a tough environment. That time in my life taught me a lot of valuable lessons and the biggest was believing in myself.

Did you have any mentors?  Do you believe they are important when starting a business or in the business world?

I have many.  My first was Robyn O’Brien after I read her book The Unhealthy Truth. She was in finance, I believe, but then went on a crusade to find out why the simple foods she was feeding her children were causing them harm.

After Robyn, I got really enamored with Vani Hari aka the Food Babe.  She started off in consulting but got into fighting the food industry as well. Both women have admirable passion and bravery. I try to curate my Instagram feed with brave women who are doing hard things and lifting others up.

What entrepreneurial hacks have you developed to stay focused and productive in your day-to-day? 

Self-care. I must take care of myself in order to push hard. I need sleep, I need good nutrition for fuel, and I need time for workouts. With two small children and a demanding business, I feel immense time pressure. 

I am not sure if there is a way to ‘balance it all’ but I know to function at my highest I need to have time to take care of myself. It all directly impacts my mental health. I can’t take care of my kids and my company without all the parts of me feeling well.

What are three tips you can give to someone who wants to get into the wellness space? 

Have plenty of passion, be authentically you, and build a solid like-minded community.

How do you define success? 

Pushing myself to do things out of my comfort zone. Things that scare me. I’m not a naturally confident person so putting myself out there is a success for me. 

Being able to spend money on food. Quality is important to me. I can go to Whole Foods and buy the organic foods I desire. Sadly, I know that isn’t a luxury everyone has but it’s something that makes me feel successful.  

Having happy kids and a healthy marriage. 

What do you want to leave as a legacy?  

Inspiration to my kiddos. Inspiration to be unapologetically themselves, have confidence, take risks and be kind.

What is your definition of a Savvy Boss?

A Savvy Boss is someone who isn’t afraid to make decisions, pivot direction when necessary, see the vision and opportunities, and build the infrastructure to get there.

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