Jai handles all commercial operations of AshaPops. His past roles include corporate strategy and divestment of AIG’s aircraft leasing division, fundraising for select startups in the US & India, and launching a tech marketplace (HouseStay) which provides month-to-month corporate housing for traveling professionals. Jai graduated with honors from Northeastern University with a degree in Industrial Engineering. Outside his professional life, Jai is a private pilot with a passion for aviation, travel and languages.

 
What inspired your team to create this company?
AshaPops is founded by Mother & Son duo, Asha & Jai to bring Plant-Based Superfoods to the US that Asha grew up eating, starting with Popped Water Lily Seeds. Asha enjoyed snacking on these pearls of nature with their delicious crunch since she was a little girl. She started eating them again in the summer of 2017 because the Magnesium in AshaPops helped her relax and sleep better. When friends & family loved her AshaPops, they felt that she must bring it to others in the LA community and encouraged Asha & Jai to start in farmers’ markets. AshaPops are packed with Plant Protein, Antioxidants and B Vitamins. Asha & Jai feel blessed to share this guilt-free superfood snack with their AshaPops fam here in the US.

What distinguishes your company and product in the market?
Our AshaPops Popped Water Lily Seeds are a delicious better-for-you snacking alternative to snacks like Popcorn, Chips or Puffs. Given they are allergen-free (Corn-Free, Gluten-Free, Soy-Free, Dairy-Free), they’re safe for consumption for those with allergen sensitivities. At 100 calories per bag, they’re a Vegan & Paleo-friendly, low-calorie superfood and a good source of Magnesium, Antioxidants & B Vitamins. We handmake our AshaPops with love in small batches here in California and use Non-GMO Project Verified high quality ingredients only.

Celine Tien

Celine Tien is the founder and CEO of Flowly. Celine got her start in VR as the director and writer of Pippa’s Pan 盼, one of the world’s first immersive Virtual Reality hybrid live-action films. Pippa’s Pan 盼 was selected for the 2017 Festival de Cannes VR Library Showcase, making Celine the youngest director at Cannes with the youngest team. The VR film experience also won 3rd place at the 2017 AT&T VR/AR Challenge at the AT&T Developer’s Summit.

Previously, Celine worked in feature development at Oriental DreamWorks in Shanghai and DreamWorks Animation in Los Angeles. She also founded a non-profit education-based organization: Zoom for Kids!

Before graduating from Yale University, Celine was an actor and model in Hollywood.

Narae Kim

Narae Kim is CCO of Flowly. Originally from Seoul, Korea, Narae is a visual designer and a media artist. Narae is an award-winning spatial designer and multimedia artist, specializing in projection mapping and digital drawing.

Her recent works include Tutelarius: 360 Full Dome multi media performance at Vortex Dome LA, Wanderer: an animation for projection mapping that was awarded 1st prize at LUMA Projection Arts Festivlal NY. As the Art Director of “Pippa’s Pan 盼,” she has been invited to speak and showcase at Cannes Festival, Busan International Festival, and the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show.

Narae holds a MFA from the California Institute of the Arts, a BFA in Space Design, and a BA in Psychology from Ewha University, Seoul, Korea.

What inspired you/your team to create this company?
I grew up around pancreatic cancer patients, who experience extreme pain. Later, when I was developing animation and interactive content at DreamWorks, I realized there had been decades of research applying VR and biofeedback tech for pain management. Our whole team felt connected to this literal pain point and dove in.

What distinguishes your company and product in the market?
We’re helping you manage your physical and mental health through data. Our app teaches biofeedback for relaxation training, and allows you to actually track your progress through the various bio data points we collect from you and analyze for you. We’re also the only platform focused on addressing pain through a bio-psycho-social approach.

James Li is the CEO of Mighty Health. Previously, he co-founded Encore Alert, a marketing intelligence platform that worked with brands like IDEO, Denver Broncos, and the American Cancer Society, which he led to an acquisition by Meltwater in 2016. In college, he wrote speeches for then-Vice President Joe Biden and was named Georgetown Entrepreneur of the Year.

Dr. Bernard Chang is the Chief Medical Officer of Mighty Health. As the Vice Chair of Research at Columbia University Medical Center, he is one of our nation’s top researchers on the intersection of cardiovascular disease and psychology, and was the youngest ever ED doctor to receive a top-tier NIH grant. He currently sits on the alumni board at Stanford School of Medicine (where he obtained his MD).

What inspired you/your team to create this company?
Growing up (especially in an Asian family), we can often think of our parents as invincible–they look after you and take care of you, and you usually don’t worry too much about them.

But a few years ago, my dad was suddenly rushed to the hospital for emergency open heart surgery. Though he luckily survived, it was quite the wakeup call—he had to change his lifestyle habits immediately, or else he’d have to deal with painful, worsening chronic issues for the rest of his life.

These changes—exercise, nutrition, sleep, and reducing stress—are hard as is, but even more so for folks over 50: most wellness apps are designed for motivated millennials, making them feel less relatable to older adults. They don’t take into account evolving health needs, joint issues, or technical limitations. And because the over 50 population is at higher risk of COVID complications, they’re mostly stuck at home and won’t be able to return to gyms for the foreseeable future.

We’re building Mighty Health to help this population, often overlooked in the tech world, live their best, healthiest lives.

What distinguishes your company and product in the market?
We’re the first digital wellness platform designed specifically for people over 50:

1) Coaching: Each member has a personal accountability coach keeping them motivated through SMS, providing a real human relationship.

2) Content: Workout videos that are easy on the joints, a personalized nutrition plan and grocery list designed by cardiologists, lessons written by physicians on how to improve chronic conditions

3) Celebrations: Family members can receive texts about each member’s achievements. Our app is simple to set up and use, accommodating large and high contrast text, large tap areas, and older devices.