[EO San Francisco] Redefining Self-Care: Helina Fan’s Mission With Redmint

Helina Fan, Founder and CEO of Redmint, began her career with a solid foundation in finance and accounting before transitioning into the world of entrepreneurship. An immigrant from China, she first experienced the entrepreneurial environment through her husband’s fast-growing real estate business. With a passion for holistic and natural health remedies, Helina pursued a doctorate in Chinese medicine, subsequently founding Redmint, a unique holistic wellness center in San Francisco. She bravely opened Redmint’s doors at the onset of the pandemic, focusing on traditional Chinese medicine as a wellness solution.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

[1:45] Helina Fan shares her cultural perspective on career stability growing up in China
[2:26] Helina’s unexpected entry into entrepreneurship
[3:11] Why Helina’s finance expertise was critical during her husband’s company growth
[3:43] How the 2008 financial crisis served as a growth catalyst for the real estate business
[5:51] Helina’s health challenges and turn toward holistic remedies
[7:39] The potential of traditional Chinese medicine beyond hospital treatments
[8:21] The drive and sacrifice behind pursuing a doctorate while starting a business
[10:38] Helina talks about opening Redmint amidst the global upheaval of the pandemic
[11:41] Adapting Redmint’s business model due to pandemic-induced constraints on products

In this episode…

How can personal health challenges inspire a revolutionary approach to self-care? What does it take to transform a passion for holistic wellness into a thriving business?

According to Helina Fan, a passionate advocate for holistic health, the key lies in creating accessible and appealing wellness solutions. She highlights the importance of blending traditional Chinese medicine with modern spa services to make holistic health more inviting. This innovative approach led her to introduce herbal lattes, a concept designed to make herbal medicine more palatable and approachable, resembling the experience of a coffee bar. Despite launching Redmint amidst the pandemic, Helina’s commitment to quality and her vision for holistic health resonated with many, resulting in rapid business growth and a loyal customer base.

In this episode of the Rising Entrepreneurs Podcast, host John Corcoran sits down with Helina Fan, Founder and CEO of Redmint, to discuss her mission to redefine self-care. They talk about her journey from corporate finance to launching Redmint, overcoming the business challenges brought on by the pandemic, and her ambitious plans for global expansion.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Quotable Moments:

“Being in the Big Four, you’re already working like 15-hour days, but jumping into entrepreneurship is even more work.”
“Everyone around me said it’s a crazy idea to open a holistic wellness center, but I went ahead based on my feeling there is a need.”
“Our herbal lattes use the concept of coffee making to create drinks that are not only delicious but offer medicinal benefits.”
“From zero members to over 500 members in just a couple of years, it shows our service is fulfilling a demand.”
“Holistic wellness centers should be in every major metropolitan city of the world because every high achiever needs it.”

Action Steps:

Explore Traditional Wellness Approaches: Helina found healing through traditional Chinese medicine; similarly, individuals can improve wellness by investigating time-tested health practices.
Embrace Entrepreneurial Opportunities: Jumping into entrepreneurship like Helina can be a means to pursue passions and address market gaps, ultimately benefiting personal growth.
Focus on Holistic Solutions: Just as Redmint integrates holistic remedies and modern aesthetics, aiming for complete wellness solutions can be more effective than quick fixes.
Seek Education for Credibility: Helina enhanced her credibility by pursuing a doctorate, showing the value of education in grounding one’s business in expertise.
Build a Supportive Network: Helina’s involvement in EO illustrates the importance of engaging with peer networks for guidance and support in uncertain business landscapes.

Sponsor for this episode…

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Episode Transcript

Intro 0:03

Welcome to the Rising Entrepreneurs Podcast where we feature top founders and entrepreneurs and their journey. Now let’s get started with the show.

John Corcoran 0:13

Alright, John Corcoran here I am the co host of the show and every week we feature top entrepreneurs and business leaders sharing their stories. We’ve had all kinds of great entrepreneurial leaders, business leaders throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. And of course, this episode is brought to you by EO San Francisco. EO San Francisco is the local San Francisco chapter of Entrepreneurs Organization, which is a global peer to peer network of more than 18,000 influential business owners across about 200 chapters in 60 plus different countries. And if you’re the founder, co founder owner or controlling shareholder of a company that generates over seven figures a year in revenues, and you want to connect with other like minded successful entrepreneurs, then eo is for you and you can learn more about what we do at eonetwork.org/sanfrancisco also brought to you by my company, Rise25, where we help b2b businesses get clients referrals, and strategic partnerships with done via podcast and content marketing and learn more about what we do at rise25.com. All right, today’s guest is Helina Fan. She’s the founder and CEO of Redmint, which is a holistic wellness center in San Francisco. We’re gonna learn all about how she founded that company, Helina. It’s a pleasure to have you here today. And you grew up in China. So you were not really exposed to the entrepreneurial culture over there. You’ve said that growing up, you know, you thought about getting a good, stable, secure job for life or working for the government or something like that. Tell us a little about what that was like growing up in that culture.

Helina Fan 1:45

Yeah. So I grew up in China, I’m an immigrant. And in the culture, you’re not, you’re not trained to be authentic. And entrepreneurs, you’re trained to have a really high high paying job and a very stable job is like the golden. We call it the golden ball. So it’s just like a secure, stable employment. That’s the goal.

John Corcoran 2:13

That’s the goal not to start a company and create something disruptive or new or different or anything like that. And you weren’t exposed to that until you came to the United States. And your husband started a real estate company.

Helina Fan 2:26

Yeah, being trained as, like , just taking a corporate path. And being an employee, I kind of landed my entrepreneurship by joining my husband’s business, very passive investments as a real estate company in San Francisco. Back in 2009, his company gone through such a expanded like such a fast growth, then I guess he was too desperate then asked for my help on the fight on building a financial system.

John Corcoran 3:00

Well, and you’d studied finance and accounting and been a CPA working in the big four. So relevant, helpful background.

Helina Fan 3:11

Yeah, he needed someone to build a financial system, and he can hire anyone fast enough. Because we go in like 50 to 100 employees every month. So yeah, so he just likes okay, well, I can handle it. Can you do it? And I’m like, okay.

John Corcoran 3:29

So crazy pace of growth.

Helina Fan 3:31

Yeah, that’s kind of landed that way.

John Corcoran 3:34

And you actually he actually hired you, or asked you to join him in 2008, around the time that Lehman Brothers was collapsing.

Helina Fan 3:43

Yeah, that’s how our, how our family, how his real estate company, kind of experience rapid growth is when the banks are selling everything. 20 or 30 cents on the dollar. We were buying them. So we were able to acquire over 1000 units every few months. And we grow from a very small mom and pop real estate company to one of the biggest San Francisco real estate owner operators within a year.

John Corcoran 4:25

Wow. Wow. What was that shift like for you going from working at a big four firm, stable job to joining a fast growing entrepreneurial organization ? Did you have to have a mindset shift for you to kind of embrace that new environment?

Helina Fan 4:47

Yeah, I mean, being in the pig being in the pig for the public accounting for you already worked like 15 hour days, and you thought that was a lot of work but then you jump into your jump into an Entrepreneurship that’s even worse. And I didn’t expect that I wouldn’t, I didn’t think that I could work anymore. A day in my life, switching from pitfour to any other company, I was working 1213 hour days and Big Four and helping with a lot of IPOs at the time. But jumping into helping my husband found his business, it’s you talking about 18, 17, though you sleep a couple hours.

John Corcoran 5:29

Yeah. Now, let’s get into talking about what inspired Redmint, which is a holistic wellness center, you actually had had a couple of kids or three kids. And notice your body going through some major changes, you had some health issues, and that started to inspire you to look into more holistic remedies. Is that right?

Helina Fan 5:51

Yeah. So I was going through helping my husband build a business, I was also getting pregnant, and having kids at the same time my first child was born in 2009. So it’s exactly at the same time as when everything is super busy. So an icon is something minor, like headaches, sleep stress. So as I going through it, I, I realized that cause solution to me is to kind of load up a lot of jobs and load up this low up that and, and I was like everybody is going to go through this every every man or woman, they’re going to have an intense work life, intense career, and having a family in their 30s. So if everybody is gonna go right onto drugs, the moment they have a little bit, they have stress in their life, and they’re going to get stuck on it forever. So I tried to look for a holistic, natural method to feel better. But my journey was pretty painful. I bounced around for two years, before I found something. So I had thought, well, everyone is going to need it, because they’re going to have high stress. And they’re going to have some minor issues and it just rebalance in the body. But there’s not an easily accessible platform for them. So I’m going to start a weapon to make it easy for everyone to find a holistic, natural, medicinal solution.

John Corcoran 7:30

Even though you’d grown up in China, you hadn’t really been exposed to traditional Chinese medicine, which is what you eventually found, correct?

Helina Fan 7:39

Yeah, TCM is not really looked at as a wellness solution, even in China it is looked at as a hospital intensive solution. But it is a grateful wellness self care path. So I mean, so I might Redmond my business, it’s all about TCM as a wellness self care solution and everyone’s life.

John Corcoran 8:03

And you didn’t just do a little Googling, it didn’t just do a little online research, you ended up with three kids going back and getting your doctorate and Chinese medicine. I can’t imagine while you’re starting this business, I can’t imagine how busy you were for a period of time.

Helina Fan 8:21

Yeah, it was a crazy time. I think we just did it because you needed to get it done. I was starting the business and I also need to gain more knowledge in TCM, what we call us and for traditional Chinese medicine. I feel like I need to gain knowledge to really craft a really good service and product offering that people would like so I went back to school and to get a doctor’s degree. And at the same time you can really delay your time getting kids so I just keep going and business keeps going.

John Corcoran 8:58

Yeah, I’m curious. This is a lot of change for you from the more traditional job stable job like you’ve been raised to your husband’s more entrepreneurial, fast growing company to going and getting your doctorate in Chinese medicine where their family members or friends who are like what’s going on Helina they feel you know what what are you doing here? Do people question what you were doing?

Helina Fan 9:22

Everyone was like are you sure this is what you want to do? It seems like a lot of work and it’s pretty soon much work and a lot of risk. But for me I just see a passion, I see a need and I went for it. No one No one around me said it is a good idea to do this. Yeah.

John Corcoran 9:44

Did you see yourself at this point when you when you’re getting your doctorate? was the goal to start a business at the same time or was where you just feel you kind of like falling your interest.

Helina Fan 9:56

I just feel like to build a business you need a little bit more credibility and a little bit of knowledge to really understand what you are offering. So that’s a kind of land into, then I should just go back to school, there’s no better way to really understand the medicine. And so you could really crap the offering to people.

John Corcoran 10:16

Okay. And now you, you decide to launch Redmint and you launched it at the most opportune time, of course, which was March of 2020. So, March 2020, right, as the global pandemic is hitting, you’re launching redmont. Whoa, what was that? Like? What’s going through your mind? What’s going through your mind?

Helina Fan 10:38

Well, I mean, we didn’t expect it, we delayed our launch to, like, September, October, thinking that this would go like the global pandemic would go away in a few months, but it’s not going away. And at the same time, my leaves aside, I, my teams are higher, my practitioners are on board, we can’t really keep waiting. And we didn’t really know when this world was going to be open. But holistic medicine and acupuncture and physical therapy was considered the central business. So they were allowed to open in, I think, the fourth of 2020. So we went ahead and opened just for herbal medicine, acupuncture and physical therapy, that’s how it started.

John Corcoran 11:25

And you actually so that the company or the vision for the business was that you would have both services and also products. And yet you had to hold off on actually doing some of the products because production was shut down because of COVID. Correct?

Helina Fan 11:41

Yeah, there’s the maps. I’m not taking any new orders or new clients, and we were new. So we launched as a purely service business, and then and just acupuncture and physical therapy and herbal medicine. Beverages company. So and then and then we’ll wait for we we should I think we shut down three times in the six, the first six months after Oprah. Because San Francisco there’s like different peaks and they shut down differently.

John Corcoran 12:13

So you’re experiencing this like rapid whiplash with your business.

Helina Fan 12:17

Yeah, but surprisingly, at five, six months, we were doing so well that our store was jam-packed full with lots of clients and we were able to open a second store the following year.

John Corcorann 12:32

And that’s amazing. And and I want to underscore because I’ve been into your facility is how much effort you put into this facility. You didn’t just open some small little facility that is beautiful. You spent, I’m sure a pretty penny, building this thing out. What was that decision like for you? You know, you didn’t have assets, like you didn’t just create a small little facility. It’s a big facility with just beautiful interior design and all that kind of stuff. Talk a little bit about that decision.

Helina Fan 13:06

Yeah. So my idea was to create some place that people would like to go to, like a mainstream spa design service, because TCM or holistic healing is doing new things to people. So to attract people to a facility that is more accessible, we just wanted to have a really calming design and people would enjoy just walking in for some of the mainstream services. We also definitely offer massage and facials that are what we call a mainstream service and pair with holistic health services.

[Continue to Page 2]

John Corcoran 13:45

And talk about you also putting a bar like a coffee bar, and maybe not a coffee bar, but like a coffee bar, because I went in once with my wife, my wife is having service done. And I got out on the laptop. I had a drink that was delicious. And sat at this bar, which is really unusual for a wellness center type of facility. So talk about that decision. It almost feels almost like a coffee shop.

Helina Fan 14:11

Yeah, so herbal medicine sounds intimidating to people. People don’t want to be drinking medicine. But a lot of oboe tunes are actually really healthy and very natural. It’s great for health. So our idea is really to have a portable process for people to like instead of calling over medicine drains. We have oboe lattes, which use the cough, the same concept of method of making coffee to make herbal drinks and mix with milk that actually tastes good and also offers better medicinal benefits than coffee.

John Corcoran 14:52

Yeah, that’s so cool. That’s an interesting idea. And you actually went from zero to about 5 million at the end of 2023. Is that right?

Helina Fan 15:00

Yeah, I mean, what we started at the end in the fall 2020. And then we open one store and we open a second store. And it still, even though the world is open in 2021, but as the economy is still very soft, people are not back to work. So we were able to get significant growth, we went from zero members to over 500 members within a couple years, where the membership base just fell. And then on a daily basis, it’s increasing. So yeah, there is a demand even though in this very soft San Francisco retail economy.

John Corcoran 15:40

Yeah. And now at the same time, your husband’s real estate business has gone through a lot of ups and downs as the real estate market has shifted? What was that for? Like for you? As you’re starting this new business? You’re doing the doctorate and your your, you know, ups and downs, open and close of your new business? While your husband’s business which you had worked in previously? was experiencing a lot of turmoil?

Helina Fan 16:08

Yeah, like when I started the business, I guess most entrepreneurs will post the same thing. Nobody around you would think it’s a good idea. No, but everybody tells you not to do it. My husband will say business, of course, when 80% Dang, in revenue within a month, because we focus on San Francisco, urban retail and urban residential. So people just leave the city of business just leave the business, they bill over 20 years, they just left. They don’t even like it. Okay, you take whatever you want in the store, we’ll just go. So as his business went down so rapidly, of course, he thinks it is a crazy idea to open a holistic wellness center. Everyone tells me that don’t do it, nobody is gonna come and the city is shut down. I guess we just, I think I just continue to go with it. I also did not know how it’s gonna go. But we, I feel responsible for the employees that I already hire. So we just at least offer ourselves and then my chance opens.

John Corcoran 17:22

Well, I’ve lived in San Francisco, or just outside of San Francisco for 21 years now. And we’ve had the great recession, we had the pandemic, and people love to beat up on San Francisco. It’s easy. It’s an easy punching bag in many cases. But you know, this has happened before where the economy around the San Francisco Bay Area has boomed and then it’s contracted, it’s boomed and then it’s contracted. And it has some amazing assets to it. It’s a beautiful, vibrant city. And, you know, I mean, I feel like it’ll come back again, it’s probably in the process of doing that now.

Helina Fan 17:59

Yeah, I think so too. Like, if we want to be around for 50 years or more, as every business one to the other goes through tough times, they gotta go Sudan terms, gravy sessions. I mean, you just have to kind of continue to stay on so you can shut down or not open or just not do any. So you continue to sell. So it is. So I just went ahead and opened it because I just think that we have a chance. We already have the launch.

John Corcoran 18:30

By the way, how did you get your early customers? did? How did you find people that would be open and interested in you know, coming in your doors that were there communities that you had already belonged to? You know, how did you get the word out?

Helina Fan 18:45

We first offer herbal medicine, beverages and we make these elbow pads for people that have COVID at the time. There was no real medicine even today, actually, there’s no medicine for COVID. The only medicine that’s out there is actually herbal medicine. And there have been great formulas published online by the Chinese government. But of course, no one here is using it. So we make those herbal packs and sounds to store and people drink it and they feel better. They have a lot less side effects. If they drink our medicine for five days, instead of doing nothing and just let a course go through it. They don’t have any after fact, like this lot of after fact, sigh problems with having COVID. So people feel better. And then they’re like, oh, then I’m going to start trying to book an appointment. And for people that haven’t slept well for five years, and they come to us if they can sleep well for five days after that. So they’re like, Oh, this is something I should try in my life.

John Corcoran 19:53

Yeah. Now I don’t know how the regulations work, but are you regulated by the FDA if you know I’m calling it medicine. Does that require you to go through some kind of regulation process? Was that difficult?

Helina Fan 20:05

No medicine, herbal medicine, it’s at least right now considered food. So it’s not it’s so it’s regulated by the California Board of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. So it’s okay to call it but it’s considered taboo.

John Corcoran 20:21

Got it. Okay. So that made it easier in terms of startup costs and everything. And then, so you joined EO San Francisco, you became a member and also a strategic alliance partner, thank you for that. Talk a little bit about that decision. You know, I imagine in the early years, you obviously had your husband to talk to but maybe you were looking for other entrepreneurs that you could talk to about kind of the highs and lows, the ups and downs of entrepreneurship.

Helina Fan 20:49

Yeah, my husband was part of YPO. And, and early on. So we were in the YPO. community for many years. And one thing about YPO is that maybe only 30% of the members are actual founders that actually take this off to themselves. A lot of them are higher CEOs, and also second or third generation CEOs. So as I am looking, as I’m building the business, I also have my own needs to want to share and talk with people that are like minded. And I feel like YPO is just different. And well, first of all, we are already in the community, we don’t need to double up. Also, my revenue is also only, like less requirement even though we have a few facts we have a family office that I’m in charge of. That would qualify for YPO. But it just feels like EO is so much more. Myself. Yeah. Oh, so because we started, I literally started from nothing. When everyone is telling me what a stupid idea it is to do that. But I went through it and it was having great traction. So a few like EO are a lot more my sub than me.

John Corcoran 22:10

Yeah. And what has that been like for you? As you’ve become a member of EO having that community to draw from to turn to through the highs and lows and everything?

Helina Fan 22:21

I’m still learning a lot of things on EO and getting the benefits. It’s been great. I would say, Yeah, I do feel I learned a lot and it does help me. We shaped my thinking as a CEO and entrepreneurship.

John Corcoran 22:37

Yeah. And what are your plans for Redmint? I know maybe adding new locations.

Helina Fan 22:44

Yeah, Redmint. My plan is always that we, as a holistic wellness center, should be in every major metropolitan city of the world. So because every city, every city with busy professionals, high achievers are needed. So my plan is to open five to five stores in the Bay Area in the next three years. And then after that we either go through a hybrid franchise or are just like a hybrid model to continue to expand beyond California.

John Corcoran 23:19

You’re going to New York or London or one of those big cities.

Helina Fan 23:22

New York, London, Paris. Boston, you know, so Washington DC. I think people in Washington DC really need help.

John Corcoran 23:33

Sure, for sure. Well, Helina, this has been great. Where can people go to learn more about you and about Redmint?

Helina Fan 23:42

Everyone could come to our store. They could also check out a lot of information and redmint.com social media channels and sign up for events or any newsletters. Yeah, that’s all there is.

John Corcoran 23:55

Yeah, coming soon to a city near you. Awesome. Thanks so much, Helina.

Helina Fan 23:59

Thank you.

Outro 24:00

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