One Sneak Peek Into Revolutionising Mental Care

Mental health has been a huge topic lately.

Celebrities, non-profits and even politicians have been talking about it.

The common recommendation for those who suffer from mental stress seems to be therapy, and if required, medication.

Western medication, specifically.

Yet, I seldom hear of people using Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to alleviate mental stress.

Enter Sean Tan, Business Administration graduate from the National University of Singapore.

He is a social impact enthusiast and most importantly, founder and CEO of health drink startup, Boost Vitalitea.

Since 7 years ago, he has started several social entrepreneurship projects, allowing him to discover and try out different business models.

His latest venture is Boost Vitalitea, where he leverages the power of TCM for mental health management through a caffeine-free milk tea that relieves stress and allows for better sleep.

Thus far, 800 bottles of the beverage have been sold despite minimal marketing efforts.

Sean aspires to promote the usage of TCM in modern health management through the popularisation of Vitalitea.

What I learnt from our short conversation together:

1. Solve problems around you.

Sean asked me, “Did you know that 1 in 3 students in Singapore have symptoms of mental illness? The major cause is stress, which is a silent killer.

We did a research on students in NUS. Many people who are burdened by stress just listen to music and exercise. Ironically, these are the people with the highest stress levels, yet they do not think it is a huge issue. “

The people who need the most help are not seeking it. Why?

“Because they think everyone faces the same issues!”

He exclaimed. Indeed, as a fellow student in the same university, I can attest to it. When I was suffering from immense stress, I chose to dismiss it as a normal occurrence rather than something that required urgent attention.

Many of my friends often complain about stress as well. And that is why I personally think Sean is very astute in his observations, when he decided to target the issue of mental stress amongst youths our age.

2. You have to work with others. No man is an island in entrepreneurship.

“I am not doing this alone. One of my co-founders is studying biomedical science, with a focus in neuroscience, while the other is studying food science.

We have a mentor who specialises in food science and has been working in the industry for 14 years. The TCM store that we work with has also been extremely supportive of us.

Connections wise, Social Collider and NUS Hangar have also been great help in linking us up with potential clients. We are very grateful to these people.”

3. Just do it. Don’t overthink.

“Entrepreneurship is action-based. It’s not a school project where you just need to come up with a pitch deck.

Never just sit at home and not act on your ideas.

When I was in my first year in university, I started a marketing agency for F & B businesses, which taught me some patterns to look out for in business.

In Singapore, the opportunity cost is very low for prospective entrepreneurs. The government is very supportive of startups.”

So, just do it.

Connect with Sean here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tshien/

And that is all for today’s One Sneak Peek Into.

Stay tuned for more insights from our interview series as we continue to explore the stories of trailblazers breaking barriers and redefining success.