Tell us about your business and what you do?

Storia is a journaling app that bridges the gap between individual introspection and the human need for community. It’s a tool to organise your thoughts into themed journals, and you can discover journals created by friends or with like-minded individuals.

In today’s world of 24/7 connectivity, it is much harder to build and nurture relationships. Studies show that having meaningful relationships is critical to improved mental health. Despite being connected online all the time, we're actually living in the loneliest era ever in human history. Studies show that having meaningful relationships is critical to improved mental health. The current ways we connect on social media won't help us feel better. What makes us happy is feeling like we belong and having people who understand us.

People join Storia to explore and express different parts of their identity without the pressure to fit in a box and to find meaningful connections over their ideas, hopes, and aspirations. Our mission is to improve lives by creating trusted spaces where people belong.

What are you hoping to see and share at the Nurture Network event?

I’m honoured to be invited to speak. Amazing things happen when women come together. I’m looking forward to Naga Munchetty’s keynote on speaking truth to power. My friend Jas Schembri-Stothart, who co-founded Luna app, the world’s first digital health companion for teens, is sharing her founder journey, which always inspires me. 

How has the business evolved since its launch? When was this?

We’re in private beta, and it’s been a pretty exciting few months; we’ve built the core experience, a tool to organise your thoughts, and we have seen our users create hundreds of journals, everything from gratitude to travel with thousands of entries on the platform. Interestingly, 83.3% of them have never used a journaling app before!

Now, we’re building our new feature, ‘The Shelf’, a discovery point for new people and conversations. We tend to think we’re alone in our journeys, but our personal narratives can inspire others, and it's a human truth that when we share our story, we spark a connection, so by allowing people to share their entries, we hope to unlock some magic! 

Tell us about the working culture at Storia?

Focus, execution, empathy and simplicity are at the core of how we work as a team. Our daily mindset is all about being laser-focused on being the best journaling platform in the world at one thing: bringing people together. We build with empathy for our community and their problems, and finally, we’re all about avoiding complexity and learning as quickly as possible. This allows us to be really execution orientated. 

What has been your biggest challenge so far, and how have you overcome this?

My biggest challenge so far has been the transition from being an author to becoming a tech startup founder. As an author, I was used to crafting a story, refining it, and eventually presenting a finished product to the world. It rewards perfection. Building a tech product demands a completely different mindset. You’re always a work in progress, building, shipping, learning, iterating, and continually evolving your offering.

The idea of putting something out there that wasn't 'perfect' was unsettling at first, but I overcame this challenge by creating feedback loops with our early users and involving them in the co-creation of our product; it’s empowering to know that each iteration brings us closer to our vision. 

What's in store for the future?

Everything we do is centred around one question: “What effect do we want to have on people?” The future will see us continue to build a simple, delightful product that feels human, nourishing, and inspiring. We’ll create spaces where people feel seen and heard and help our community make progress in all aspects of their lives while connecting them with like-minded people who share their experiences. 

What advice would you give to other and future founders?

Have a big and clear vision for your product and a vivid vision of the future. This will help you build for how things ought to be and not how things are now.

Only some people will initially get it, but a compelling vision will inspire the right investors, employees and customers to join you. Ultimately, it will be the thing that pulls you forward, enables you to build conviction and informs every strategic question. 

And finally, a more personal question! What's your daily routine and what are the rules you're living by?

I’ve been leaning into gratitude a lot this year and noting the little things that bring me joy, especially in times like these. I would say to my friends that I was in 'my gratitude era' at the start of the year, and they laughed at it, but now they’re joining in! Cultivating gratitude is scientifically proven to make a huge difference to our mindset. Also, being very intentional with my energy is another rule I live by.

Building a startup is like having a never-ending to-do list, and it’s impossible to do everything - so focus is the name of the game. So I wake up every day and ask myself what is the most important thing I can do to move the needle and then go from there. 

Elizabeth Uviebinene is the founder of Storia.

Click here to get your tickets for the Nurture Network ‘Lean In, Lift Up’ conference!