, Daniel Wjuniski, CEO and founder, strives to deliver the most relevant health-related information for Brazilians. Minha Vida attracts nearly 20 million visits per month. As the environment shifts, Wjuniski and his team continually seek to deliver on its mission to provide relevant health information and content for its audience.
Minha Vida maintains a strong hold as the source for health-related information as demonstrated by its ability replicate success and drive growth over the past several years. Wjuniski shared some impressive figures about Minha Vida’s traffic such as a 40% audience increase from 2012 to 2013 and an expected audience jump of 30% in 2014 from 2013. Wjuniski also addressed the surge in mobile growth which has accounted for 30% of site visits. Another figure that Wjuniski shared is that nearly 50% of health-related Google searches in Brazil direct towards Minha Vida’s website. While much of the traffic to Minha Vida is organic, the company has negotiated partnerships with sites such as Yahoo and MSN to provide health information and content written in Portuguese to wider audiences. In addition to Minha Vida, Wjuniski and his company offer Dieta e Saúde, a weight-loss app. Wjuniski believes that the Minha Vida platform has the possibility to attract 50 million unique visitors per month in 5 years.
Wjuniski has applied the ethos of emphasizing the consumers’ needs first. This mandate certainly has aided Minha Vida’s popularity among Brazilians searching for health information. He said Minha Vida strives to present “the information the user wants at the time the user wants it”. Currently, Minha Vida relies upon over 200 medical professionals to produce content on a weekly basis. Wjuniski envisions even greater interaction and participation with Minha Vida’s users through a ‘Q and A’ platform.
Wjuniski also credited the Dieta e Saúde app as an interactive and motivational tool for Brazilians to lose weight. Wjuniski said the Dieta e Saúde app has been one of the most downloaded health apps in Brazil, and he thoroughly believes that “technology can help people lose weight in a better way”. As a testament to this belief, Wjuniski invites users of the Dieta e Saúde app to share their success stories with Minha Vida employees. The Minha Vida office televisions also project these success stories in order to affirm that Minha Vida and the Dieta e Saúde app have improved people’s health and well being.
The external success of Minha Vida can be attributed to the employees of Minha Vida. Wjuniski understands that the Minha Vida employees “treat the job as a mission, not just a job”. He said his employees must understand the company’s values and core mission. Wjuniski found himself questioning how to maintain the energy and excitement during rapid growth. In order to protect the culture, employees asked Wjuniski to create a committee to emphasize the importance of the company’s culture and values. Wjuniski also emphasized the crucial importance of maintaining a culture and value system during setbacks. Wjuniski said, “We will keep trying new things, keep failing, and this is the way entrepreneurship works”. Recently, an online scheduling tool disappointed, but Wjuniski and his team shifted their focus towards developing an interactive ‘Q and A’ platform for its users.
In order to assist with difficult decisions and strategy, Wjuniski has assembled a team of trusted advisors and associates who provide guidance and expertise. After Intel made an investment in Minha Vida, Wjuniski established an official board which encouraged good practices and processes such as addressing key performance indicators (KPIs). After the investment, Wjuniski was also able to dedicate resources to HR and better financial structure processes. Also, Minha Vida received mentorship from Endeavor, an organization dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship. Wjuniski admitted the role as CEO is sometimes a lonely one, and he credited the organization for providing the greatest mentors he could ever imagine. He appreciated the truthful and transparent feedback from people who faced similar challenges involving planning and strategy.
Under Wjuniski’s leadership, Minha Vida has evolved and adapted in order to meet the priorities and expectations of its users. The company attracts a large audience to its website, offers the Dieta e Saúde app, and focuses on new areas to explore such as a ‘Q and A’ platform. Wjuniski also hinted about the potential of wearable devices and combining those devices with technology and tracking capabilities in order to provide personalized feedback. Wjuniski and the Minha Vida team relentlessly aim to provide the best health information, so Brazilians may make better decisions that result in improved health and wellness.
