Welcome to Talent Unseen!
In this edition of Talent Unseen, I am super excited to share the inspirational journey of Abigayle Peterson, the founder of Magnify Wellness Inc, who proved that anything is possible if you hold on to hope. Throughout her journey, she has taken a variety of jobs including product manager, public speaker, mentor, analyst, and researcher and she has also developed an app for mental health.
Launching with Love: Mental Health with Tech
According to Abigayle, “She began her Magnify Wellness journey in 2020, during a peak COVID-19 outbreak. As she prepared for a new challenge, she sent out a survey to all her peers on their feelings of loneliness to find out how they felt. The responses from the survey helped her to create a miracle and awareness for mental health issues.
She rolled away all the storms to create Magnify Wellness Inc., an app that helps people with emotional challenges. She faced many challenges and was later approved by the app store. She made a way from her concern to action with the launch of “Magnify Wellness.”
Rewriting her story: Beginning of Transformation
Abigayle discussed her turning point at Nalukai Academy, saying, “I see the goodness of Nalukai, which reminds me of the impact it had both professionally and personally.”
Professionally speaking, she was unaware of the fact that anyone could become an entrepreneur; instead, she believed that one needed a lot of money and connections, but Nalukai provided her with proof that all one needed was an idea with the potential to become a successful company.
Personally, she opened up about all of her troubles and mental struggles, where she is so scared that she could barely move. She also thought everyone would judge her, but the people at Nalukai stood with her; they did not let her fall but made her accept that her pain had a purpose.
Abigayle also shared, “Nalukai inspired me and gave hope to build Magnify Wellness Inc. She took inspiration and turned it into a tree that serves a generation of individuals.”
A mother’s support: inspiring the next generation of coders
When asked about the Girls Who Code Club, Abigayle shared, “I felt upset, and in the midst of it, there is a power that is greater: her mother, who helped her to connect with the professor and comforted her broken heart, helped chains to break and make her do what seems impossible.
She formed the Girls Who Code Club with the help of her professor, 30 students signed up for it, and individuals who really wanted to code stuck with her. She inspired me with this line that hit me hard: “There is always a way even if it feels hopeless.“
A path to Gen Z mental Health: Abigayle’s Thoughts
Abigayle expressed, “Recent rates of depression and anxiety are highest among Gen Z, and there are more reasons for it.”
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- Depression is caused by social media with numerous questions and people trying to fight their fears.
- Many young, growing individuals compare themselves with the successful people and have self-doubt, and later they realize that the comparison trap caused them to fall off their edge.
- She also shared Gen Z is very young and how they struggle making the comparisons to more accomplished, smart people.
Preventing Gen Z mental health problems
Abigayle suggested the following tip when asked about the prevention of mental health problems: “Find your passion and attach to it, and find the purpose that solidifies your identity.” She also said you have come so far, but you have got so far to go.
She said, “Purpose is what gets you out of bed and you being grounded in the purpose, which is you vs. yourself. Lack of purpose produces comparison issues. So don’t give up on yourself because I strongly believe there is a reason why it is challenging! “
One great takeaway is “Never forget your purpose and always strive, and you will definitely never compare more and change yourself.”
The self-care gap: teaching Gen Z to prioritize mental health
She shared that the social media could take the breath away with the monetization and making everyone competitive. So to pull ourselves out of that pit and be a role model to other people, working out, being kind to other people, and walking what you talk is very important.
Flood people with kindness, till your soul overflows, and treat others with respect that respects your character.
Unseen Struggles: Hurdles and Hope
As the spotlight is on the challenges she faced in building the app, Abigayle shared two main things:
1. Self-doubt: I have never developed an app before, so I am not sure if I will be able to build it. Her steadfast belief that the world has to find a solution for mental health helped her. Burning conviction is enough to overpower worry. Unspoken belief drives you in a direction that nobody else take.
2. Magnify Wellness got rejected in the app store because of the dimensions of the app, built resilience, fixed it, and was finally proud to launch in the app store.
LinkedIn Top Voice: Do Recruiters pay attention?
When asked about being LinkedIn Top Voice, Abigayle shared, “Being LinkedIn Top Voice definitely helps, and recruiters like to see people who are confident in themselves. Being Top Voice is one of the ways to change the circumstances, flee the fear inside, and make a breakthrough.
She stresses the fact that the job seekers should update their LinkedIn profiles, which makes us stand apart when the recruiter searches for the job seekers.
Showcase your value: Highlight your achievements
Abigayle shared, “There are mainly two mistakes that the job seekers make.”
- Being very desperate and writing on their profile as please refer me to any job openings and sharing the email, but all your life behave like you already have what it takes.
- Making their LinkedIn profile so sparse that it showcases that I am a student and I need a job.
- Just believe in yourself and present yourself as a confident candidate, showcasing all your projects and the volunteer work.
She also shared one of the wonderful lines for jobseekers: “Act like you already got it, because you do.“
AI Benefits: Adapting AI by creating value
*AI is the buzzword; you have to try to understand what the purpose of the product is using generative AI outside the tech bubble.”
LinkedIn for Job Search: Dominance over other platforms
Abigayle shared, “LinkedIn is the hub for social networking; job seekers should start looking for a place to showcase all their achievements in computer science and share their knowledge.
She also advised job seekers to join various online communities. The best online communities she knew were Rewrite the Code (RTC), Color Stack, and be updated with career fairs, and there is no such thing that is too far gone unless you give up the hope.
The best way to end up getting the ideal job is to search for various career fairs online. There are many startup founders looking for jobs and getting job offers in startups. She also gave a testimony that one of her mentees got a job in a startup in California.
A mistake that job seekers make is “self-limitation.” Don’t limit yourself. You are going to join and apply everything you can. Make realistic goals to find a job at a startup and go from there and start a new stretch goal and join 2 new communities.
Advice to students: Time Management
Not getting the job does not mean you failed, but there is another path that you have not learned about that is waiting for you. You must have the courage to walk in the path of failure. She inspired me by saying, “If you got a goal, then you gonna make it happen.”
Find the things that make up the goal, the grand goal, and make those little things happen a little bit by bit and day by day. Another thing you need to realize is that you can’t be good at everything! She shared that her priority is “Influence and Inspire people on LinkedIn. She was never a perfect student, but still graduated with a Computer Science degree in the honors college and as a National Science Foundation scholar!”
Next steps of Magnify Wellness:
She created the app by herself named Magnify Wellness. The next steps of Magnify Wellness are
- One goal is to have as many chapter clubs as possible to fill out interactive journals on mental health. She wants to see many people start chapter clubs.
- Help them to be inspiring leaders someday.
- Embrace your flaws and your good works, acknowledge you are not perfect, and try your best.
- Separate self-worth from the success of business and understand that self worth is not derived from the success of your business but is derived from the love that God has for you!
- It does not matter how you are; if you have an idea, then you should work on that idea.
One word about your startup journey: Listen
One word about your product: Belonging
Piece of Advice: You have survived 100% of all of your hardest days; if you have another bad day, remind yourself that you have already gone through many and you could get through this.
Learnings from Abigayle Peterson’s Conversation:
In this section, I would like to discuss the learnings from my talk with Abigayle Peterson with the students. My favorite quote is “Act like you already got it, because you do.” She proved the whole world what a women can do playing multiple roles and fulfilling her purpose and inspiring many generations. So do all you can and go find your purpose.
Stay tuned as we continue to uncover more stories from diverse startup founders. Until the next edition of the Talent Unseen blog, keep striving for your dreams and exploring the endless possibilities that await.