Become Happier in just 5 minutes with Happy Things feat Talia Soen, Co-founder & CEO of Happy Things

Speaker A: When we treat happiness as a skill and when we create that habit of practicing happiness, five minutes a day is really enough. If we do one thing every day to cultivate that skill, to cultivate our happiness, the impact eventually will become very, very big.

Speaker B: Welcome to our series entitled the I AM podcast, a podcast about innovation, business and most importantly, people. In this series, we'll be talking to founders, executives and various experts about their vision, challeng best practices and lessons learned throughout their journey. Let's get started. Hello and what's um up, everyone? It has been a while. This is Stella Raya, your host on I AM podcast for startups where we feature startup founders and entrepreneurs and they talk about the journey, their latest innovation, and some life lessons. Okay, I am so excited. Ah, what a nice way to cap off this this year with this episode. A good reminder. Um, today I have the pleasure of chatting with a co founder and the CEO of Happy Things, Talia Soen. Hey, Talia.

Speaker A: Hi. How are you?

Speaker B: I am happy. Okay. Today I'm sure I'm good. Yes. Intentionally happy. Right. How about you? How are you?

Speaker A: Good, I'm good. Yeah. It's been a difficult time the last few weeks, but we're doing good.

Speaker B: Yes. Oh, wow. Um, that's why somehow I love this episode because, yes, it has been crazy. Right? And, um, it's a good reminder that we can practice it or. Okay, let me ask you this question. What made you happy today? What's one thing or three things that made you smile today?

Speaker A: Um, well, that's actually, that's one of the activities on our app. So that's something really good to like, practice on. I wouldn't say it has to be on a daily basis, but yes, you know, every few days or on a weekly basis to kind of stop and see, you know, what you're grateful for or what made you happy during the last few days. Um, so, yeah, so we do. I'm in Tel Aviv at the moment. We do have, you know, like, beautiful weather. Not, you know, I mean, typical for Tel Aviv, but, you know, it's sunny outside, it's kind of nice. Um, my dog has been really cute this morning. And, um, my husband, who's, you know, really supportive and always makes. Not always, but most of the times makes me smile.

Speaker B: Wow, I love that. And me, well, what, uh, things made me smile. Okay. Participating in, um, a volunteer activity, like giving gifts because we have Christmas, so it's around the corner, so we're like, giving gifts for kids. And, uh, a friend went from a vacation and she Gave me something food. So happy. Okay, so, yes, give us a brief background. Like when you go to, um, tech accelerator programs or, um, conferences, how do you usually introduce yourself?

Speaker A: Um, so I actually tend to introduce the company more than I introduce myself, but I will, um, give a brief background about myself as well. Um, so like you mentioned, I'm Talia. I am the co founder and CEO of Happy Things, which is a personal happiness assistant, um, a mobile app that helps people practice happiness in just five minutes a day. Um, and Happy Things really is a good combination of my two greatest passions. So technology on one side and psychology on the other. Um, on the technology side, I have been working in tech since 2009. Um, I started in customer success roles and then moved to product management, um, focusing mainly on, um, mobile apps and consumer products. And on the psychology side, it's something that has always interested me. I have a degree in psychology. I was a yoga teacher for a while, and I hold various certifications in coaching and fitness and nutrition. So it's kind of like combining these two things to create this product.

Speaker B: Wow, Nice combination. I actually saw, like, I was, I was checking out your, um, LinkedIn profile and I actually saw that yoga video and, um, yeah, that's nice. I mean, exercise is not just for the body, right? For the mind. So you created Happy Things. I want to know, like, take us, um, on that moment that you told yourself, I need to build happy things. I mean, were you unhappy? Were you stressed?

Speaker A: Yeah. So Happy Things really is the product of my own journey. And I say it all the time because I spent most of my life feeling that I wasn't happy enough and constantly searching for ways to live a happier life. And that's also what fueled my interest in this field. This is what drove me to study psychology and to become a yoga teacher and take all those courses. Um, because I was on a journey of my own to find my happiness and I really tried so many different things, um, and probably every app that is out there. Um, um, and then a few years ago, I came across, um, the field of positive psychology, specifically in the form of, of a book. Nevermind. But I, I started learning more about positive psychology, which is a field in psychology that is also known as the science of happiness. And, uh, basically most fields in psychology study the negative or the sick people, the pathologies like mental health issues and, and diseases like, um, um, you know, schizophrenia or even lighter things like anxiety or depression. And positive psychology focuses on the, on the good, on the people who are happy, the people who are successful. The people who are flourishing and tries to understand what can we learn from these people that we can then apply to the general population and help the general population live a happier life. And, you know, it kind of clicked with me because what they found through thousands of studies is that happiness isn't, you know, something external that happens to us. It's not a reward for our achievements. Right. There's this way of thinking that I'll work really hard, I'll be successful, and then I'll be happy. So it doesn't work like that. Um, and, you know, there's also this way of thought of some people are just happy and some people are just unhappy. Maybe I'm just unhappy. So, no.

Speaker B: Um.

Speaker A: And what positive psychology shows us is that happiness is much more of a skill, something that we can learn, something that we can practice on a daily basis and really cultivate in our everyday life through really simple daily activities that don't require that much effort. It's just creating that habit, um, and doing it on a regular basis, and that's really difficult for a lot of people. And that's what I found. Like, I found this whole, you know, this whole concept, this whole field of positive psychology. And I was so excited. I was like, okay, so I'll just do this and this and this and again, very simple things. But, you know, life gets so busy, and it's really easy to let these things slip and not really focus on them. Um, and I was like, okay, there needs to be an app or a tool that helps people practice this skill on a daily basis. Just like, you know, we can practice French with Duolingo, or we can practice, you know, other skills with other apps that are out there. But no other app was looking at happiness as a skill and helping people build that habit and teaching them about it as well.

Speaker B: I love that. Oh, you said happiness is not external. It's something we can cultivate. It's something like we can practice. It's not dependent on the outside, but wow, okay. I always hear that, and I always see that Happy Things approaches happiness as a skill. So can you share with us, uh, uh, what can we find in your app? What functionalities or features?

Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. So, like I said, it's based on thousands of studies in the field of positive psychology. And basically what our app does is translate those studies into a wide variety of very simple daily activities that cover all areas of life. So these activities can be anything from listen to a song that brings up a happy memory, give someone a compliment, or like we did earlier Right. Think of three good things that happened today or three things that smiled, that made us smile. Um, and the idea is that when we treat happiness as a skill and when we create that habit of practicing happiness, five minutes a day is really enough. If we do one thing every day to cultivate that skill, to cultivate our happiness, the impact eventually will become very, very big. Um, and we kind of like to think about it as duolingo, but for happiness. So, you know, these bite sized activities but on a daily basis is what really creates the biggest impact. Eventually instead of, you know, not doing anything for a year and then having like, uh, you know, a week or two weeks retreat, you know, somewhere nice, which is good. I'm not saying don't do it. I'm just saying doing these little bite sized activities every day will have a much bigger impact eventually. So the idea of the app is that you go in once a day, you get one activity, like I said, from a very wide variety of activities, um, in a lot of different relationship building can be mental, well, being personal, um, growth, stress relief, a lot of different topics, a lot of different activities. And each activity also, ah, comes with examples and information on why that is good for you, for the people who kind of want to understand a bit more. And after you complete that activity, you can rate it, you can add it to your favorites, you can write about it, upload images. So you can also really create your own um, happiness journal so you can revisit your past happy moments. And there are badges and stuff like that to kind of make it fun and a bit gamified and to keep people motivated.

Speaker B: Wow. Okay, so you said, uh, we can treat it as our personal journal. Like, okay, yesterday, these are the things I did. And that keeps a record. And then the next day, like that, and then you can share it with other users. Can they see what you do or what?

Speaker A: So at the moment, no, at the moment it's a personal experience. But we are planning, uh, in the future to add like, um, either groups where you can practice with your friends or to m. Make it to have some sort of like social aspect to it so you can see what other people are doing. People can maybe add activities that, you know, help them. Um, so that will be added in the future. But at the moment it is more of like a personal practice.

Speaker B: Yeah. Interesting. Like, okay, what song did you listen to today? Maybe I can also give it a listen.

Speaker A: Exactly.

Speaker B: Okay. Uh, yes. Uh, how do you make it personalized? So example, I log in, I download your app. How can you make that experience very customized.

Speaker A: Yeah, that's actually, uh, exactly what we're working on right now. So up until now, we were kind of in this, uh, data collection mode. So the app was kind of general, um, and you would just get activities at kind of random, um, and we do collect, uh, information about the users, like gender, age stuff, preferences, happiness scores, stuff like that. And we've collected enough data, um, now that we've built our first database recommendation model. So basically which we're right now implementing, it will be out in the next few weeks. It's very exciting. So instead of getting a random activity, you will get, uh, an activity that is what our model thinks would be best for you right now. So that would be our first step. And of course, to see that that works and the recommendations make sense and that people, you know, that it has a bigger impact. And then on top of that, what we're planning to do is to also start, um, integrating with a lot of different, um, data sources, like wearable devices, sleep tracking apps, the health kit on your phone, stuff like that, to collect a lot of different information. Like, you know, if, if we can know where you are and what weather it is, you know, today. So for me, it will say, hey, it's a beautiful day outside. Take your coffee break outside. But if it's raining or snowing, you know, maybe it will adjust to that. Uh, if we know how you've been sleeping, if we know your level of physical activity, if we know, um, things about, uh, women for hormonal levels, stuff like that, we'll be able to create really personalized happiness plans. And on top of that, to really ping you at the right moment and say, hey, we noticed you're maybe a bit stressed or today you're tired. So here's the right activity for you. Here. Take five minutes. Do this. You'll feel better. Um, so that's where we're aiming to be.

Speaker B: Wow, I love that. Like, there's really a personal happiness assistant.

Speaker A: Exactly, exactly. That's, you know, how we define ourselves as a personal happiness assistant. Um, and the goal is to really have this companion that kind of goes through life with you and changes as you change. So, you know, on some days you're feeling down, on some days you're feeling better. Some years will be, you know, know, months or years or periods of your life will be more difficult, some will be better. It doesn't make sense to give you the same experience every day, Effy.

Speaker B: Yeah, I love that. Yes, yes. And us women, right? Yeah, you're right. We undergo a lot of different stuff. You know, period pains, emotional stuff, everything.

Speaker A: I wonder.

Speaker B: Um, so before it was for the general public, but now it's like specialized for women.

Speaker A: So that's where we're starting to head with the app because there are a few things that we've noticed that kind of, uh, steered us in that direction. One, um, is the fact that about 85% of our users are women. M um, so it makes sense to look at what women need because they're the majority of our users. And, and when we started looking at different personalization factors for women, you know, like you said, hormones and what we go through every day or through different, you know, changes of our lives, we can't ignore that, we can't disregard it. It has such a big impact on our bodies and on our mental health as well. Um, so it became something that we realized had such a big impact and we have to address it. Um, on top of that we're a team of women, so we experience all that. You know, at the moment we're, you know, we're interviewing some men to join. But yeah, we're two female founders and all of our advisors are currently women. Um, so it's really something that, that we experience, you know, for ourselves and we understand that generic solutions just simply aren't good enough because they don't address the unique needs of women. And how, you know, our bodies and what we go through on a physical level also impacts our emotions and our mood and our mental well being. Um, and on top of that there seems to be a very, a growing need and a growing interest. So if looking at trends of what women are looking at on TikTok, for example, so if you're going and you're looking at, you know, women's wellness or cycle thinking or hormonal imbalance, things like that, the trends are insane. They're just going up, uh, over the last few years. So women are constantly searching for ways to learn more about their bodies and improve their well being. But on the other side, only 4% of funding is directed to women focused solutions in the sphere of like behavioral and mental, um, and mental well being tools. So there's really a very big gap in the market and obviously it's something that we are very passionate about as well. So it's just like the perfect storm. It was just, okay, this is what we need to focus on right now.

Speaker B: Okay. M. I love that like women, um, are more into their well being. But do you know or do you have any data like before, um, 15% men, right. 85% women. How do they interact with your app? I mean, do they always love listening to songs or do you see any trend,

Speaker A: um, so we haven't actually, um, well, not recently anyway, looked at the differences between the men. Like the men and the women, there are differences, especially in what they mark in the beginning as their goals. Because when you sign up for the app, you can say what's important to you. So we have a few things which are, uh, improving mood, reducing stress and anxiety, improving relationships, um, improving self esteem, and coping better with negative events. So it's really interesting to see how different population groups, um, rate those things. And things like improve self esteem are categorically higher among women. But then also when you look at different age groups, you know, it's really interesting to see how the different age groups rate these different goals. So for example, with our younger groups, like teenagers and you know, 2025, um, improving self esteem is, is usually rated higher than the older age groups, but things like improving relationships would be higher in the 25 to 40 age group. So it's really interesting to see how the different demographics and the different age groups, um, have different goals coming into the app.

Speaker B: Wow. Yes. So that's very interesting. And right now, how many users are there?

Speaker A: So we made the switch from like an open beta, um, to a, ah, paid subscription model last year. Um, We've reached over 1200 paying users in this time period. Um, most of our users are of course in the United States, which is our target market. Like I said, 85% women in all age groups.

Speaker B: All age groups. Okay. So, uh, all you women out there, so download this app and participate. Your insights are valuable.

Speaker A: Men still use it. Men can still use it. They should, they should. Just when, you know, moving forward for women, there would be different types of, you know, of personal, personalized activities.

Speaker B: Oh yeah. Okay. So, uh, what are. Okay, you said 4, only 4% funding like that.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: This is obviously a challenge. So, uh, how are you dealing with this?

Speaker A: Um, so in general, when thinking about the challenges that we face as a startup, um, we're in a kind of situation where there's a lot of market education that is still required. Um, and especially when talking about something like happiness, um, some people even have problem with the premise that happiness is a skill that can be learned and can be practiced. So a lot of times, you know, the conversation becomes like a somewhat philosophical discussion about what is happiness. And you know, that's a challenge obviously, because if you have a startup that is, you know, helping companies Increase their sales or something like that. No one challenges your premise. No one challenges the fact that it is something that you can solve. Um, so. So with happiness, a lot of times you kind of need to be in an extra step sales mode and to even convince people that this is a big problem, but that we have tools to solve it. Um, and with a lot of other things that, um, you know, that were kind of this crazy concept, like, you know, Uber or Airbnb, sometimes, um, you know, people don't understand the magnitude of the problem and the magnitude of the solution until it's already there. So that's like an added challenge on top of the regular challenges of having a startup.

Speaker B: Yes. I always hear from founders, like, um, life of a startup founder, it's, um, a roller coaster, right?

Speaker A: Yep, it sure is.

Speaker B: Uh, how about your co founder? Okay. Who's also a woman? So how do you guys, like, um, during the low days, super low days, do you browse the app and, like, uh, what, have a party?

Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. It's actually funny because I started Happy Things as a single founder, so I started it on my own. And then, um, I met Noah, um, and she, you know, joined at first as, like, a marketing consultant. Um, and then, you know, we saw that we were working really well together. I felt like she really got it, and I offered her to join as a co. As a co founder as well.

Speaker B: So.

Speaker A: And Noah actually comes from the exact, like, opposite perspective that I have because or I had of, you know, searching for ways to improve your happiness and exploring it and being on this journey. So she never thought about that. She was like, you know, it was, uh, it wasn't something that she, like, ever really considered or put effort into. And for her, joining Happy Things was really about the challenge of how can we make happiness something that is accessible, like a teachable concept? How can we reach millions of people in the world with something that is, um, kind of groundbreaking? Right. You can practice happiness as a skill. Um, and since she joined the company, she kind of, like, she transformed. She was like, wow, this actually works. I'm, like, a big fan of this whole theory right now. Um, and yeah, it's actually funny because a lot of times, obviously, we balance each other out, but, you know, last week we were both sick, so we were both kind of, like, down. And we were like, okay, at least we match. You know, these are down days. Next week will be better. But, yeah, we, you know, we also do a lot of, like, other things together. We, like, go to yoga together, and we go to shows together. So we've become really good friends on top of co founders.

Speaker B: Oh, I love what you said. Like, okay, uh, at first she's not a believer, but now she's an advocate. What worked for her? What are some simple stuff that made her change her mind?

Speaker A: I think just the more she, um, got acquainted with this theory, with the simplicity of it, with the content that we offer. You know, she does, she does all our marketing, so she, a lot of times like would film herself doing activities and by doing that she realized like how good they were and how they actually work. Um, so I think our goal with Happy Things is to reach two types of population. Like one is the people who are more like me or who, who are already familiar with this, who are looking for the ways, who are looking for the tools that would help them on their journey. But then there's the other type, like the Noah type, um, which are the more skeptic, maybe cynical. Um, and for them it would be really interesting to have like that aha, ah, moment of like, wow, this actually works.

Speaker B: Yeah. How about your, your users? There are other apps out there, right? Mental health apps. Um, where are they from? Um, are they first time users or do they switch apps?

Speaker A: So what we've seen from a lot of our users is that they've actually switched. Uh, so, um, a lot of them are people who tried, like me, a lot of different apps, um, a lot of meditation apps. You know, um, companies like Calm and Headspace did a really good job at like kind of making wellness equals meditation. So if you want a wellness app, you know, the, the first thing you would think about is meditation. So a lot of people try meditation. Um, and meditation is a great tool. It's just one tool. And it's also not right for everyone and not right all the time. Um, so a lot of people like tried Calm Headspace apps like those and found that it just didn't really work for them as well as other things. Because meditation is also something that you kind of need to plan for, right? It's 15, 20 minutes. You need to be in a quiet place, like in a dark room. Um, and most of our users are very like busy on the go. Women, so students, you know, young professionals, mothers, they don't necessarily have that, you know, 15, 20 minutes every day that they need to plan for. And Happy Things really offers, um, a five, like five minutes a day experience that you can do when you're on the bus on the way to work, um, waiting for your coffee at the coffee shop or even just like, you know, in front of the tv, you know, just browsing different things on your phone. Um, so it's a much more like, um, low commitment. But what we're seeing is that, that is really what works. We have a really high retention rate. Our users use the app on average, five times a week. Um, and part of that, like, part of the. Almost every day. Yeah. Um, so what, like, what makes it work is the fact that it is so simple.

Speaker B: Yes, yes. Like, low, um, investment, but high return. Like, it's exactly. You'll feel good in just five minutes. So just doing simple stuff. You're right. Like, sometimes we think happiness is just there, but sometimes you really need to be intentional about it. Right, so exactly where are you now in your journey and what's the road ahead? A while ago you mentioned some of the plans. Uh, are you, Are you fundraising? Um, what's up?

Speaker A: Um, yeah, so, you know, like, we spoke about, we're at the, at a very interesting place in our journey because we're, we're focusing on, like, we're starting with this new focus on women, um, understanding what is required for that and how it kind of changes our, our plans. Um, but it's super interesting and like I said, we feel like it's a huge opportunity and there's a huge need for it. So we're really excited and passionate, even though, you know, it's. It's a lot of hard work. Um, and yes, we are fundraising. It is a very difficult time to be fundraising. Um, but again, like, with this new focus, with this new target market that we have in mind, we really feel like we're onto something big. Like, we could really impact, you know, so many people and, you know, help them live and so many women and help them live happier lives. So it's really motivating, even though it's really hard still.

Speaker B: Yes. Uh, I encountered some founders who said, oh, I've encountered a lot of no's. If I did not, it means my pipeline is lacking. I need to do more.

Speaker A: Right. Yeah, it's a very difficult time to be fundraising. A lot of, um, investors and VCs are kind of taking a step back, kind of waiting to see what happens and waiting to see that other VCs are going back to investments. Um, so, yeah, it is a very difficult time. Um, it makes the work of the founder and mainly the CEO, um, much harder because you do need a much bigger pipeline. If before you could have 100 investors on your pipeline and get 10, 20, 30 calls, that should have been enough. But now, um, investors are much more hesitant. They also, you know, they want to invest at later stages. They want to see more results before that, before they invest. So, yeah, it is definitely a difficult time to be fundraising.

Speaker B: Okay. But yes, uh, with positivity and good things right in our headspace.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: So, yeah, anything is possible. So, yes, it's a difficult time. It's a crazy time. Especially in Israel. It's not yet, I mean, done, Um, a lot of things happening. So, yeah, as a startup founder in a pre seed mode. Pre seed stage. Right.

Speaker A: So precede seed. Yeah, we're kind of the preceded.

Speaker B: Okay. Uh, any advice or anything you want to say and use, uh, what, I mean, use your voice to share a message. What's that?

Speaker A: Yeah, so I think my message is mainly for the women out there who want to be founders. Um, and the message is really just do it. Obviously it's not easy, but, you know, go ahead and try and put yourself out there and do it. I've wanted to start my own company since I was 12 and it took me about 20 years to actually step out of my comfort zone and actually do it. Um, and women in general tend to take less risks and feel less confident about, like, taking that step and, and starting their own companies. A lot of imposter syndrome and all that. Um, but studies actually show that companies that are running by women actually perform better. Um, and that's true for any diverse team. So we really need more diverse founders. We need their different voices and their different ideas and their different perspectives because eventually that's what really drives change. Um, and you know, on a personal note, for me, this journey really has been like no other. Like what I've learned in the last few years, um, as a startup founder, no other job would have taught me. Um, and it's crazy to think about, you know, me today and me a few years ago and, and the personal development that I went through, uh, by doing this. So my message really is if this is something that you're passionate about, if this is something that, you know, you feel like is in you and you want to, like, explore it, then just do it.

Speaker B: Just do it. That's it. Yeah, period. Just do it.

Speaker A: Like, be smart about it. You know, talk to people, get the right advisors, you know, get the team and stuff. But, but, yeah, but, but do it. Like I was, what held me back for so long was, you know, imposter syndrome and fear, a fear of failure, fear of, of, you know, of stepping out of my comfort zone. Um, but I am, you know, so happy that I did it. And really, it's been like nothing else.

Speaker B: M. Wow. And I, uh, love the. The name Happy things from the name alone. Right. You know, okay. Yeah, I'm gonna be happy.

Speaker A: Okay.

Speaker B: So for those who want to know more about this personal happiness Assistant, or to collaborate or partner with you, how can they reach you?

Speaker A: Um, so either on LinkedIn. So it's just Talia. So. And I'm guessing the name will appear here in the description. Um, you can always shoot me an email. So it's taliappythings app. Um, yeah, those would be the best two ways.

Speaker B: Thank you.

Speaker A: And of course, visit our website. You know, download the app.

Speaker B: Yes, download the app. It's a very nice way to start off the year. I mean, the new year. Right? Be intentional with being happy with just chunks of little chunks of things. Um, thank you very much and all the best, we are going to follow your journey. Talia. Hi, Noah. And I'll look for your profile, see what you've been doing there to make me everyone happy with just five minutes. Right? Thank you very much and all the best.

Speaker A: Thank you. Thank you.

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