YOUR BUSINESS SUMMER 2018 - 89

Entrepreneurs

"I like creating
something out
of nothing!"
Tamara Rajah, 35, is the founder
and CEO of Live Better With, the
ﬁrst e-commerce site dedicated to
making day-to-day life better for
people with long-term conditions
What was the
inspiration behind
your business?
Working in the
healthcare sector, I
became frustrated that while patients
with conditions such as cancer
were receiving great medical care
they didn't know about products
that could help soothe their sideeﬀects, or where to buy them.
I realised there was a burning need
among the patient population, and
understanding exactly what people
wanted became my starting point. Our
products are curated by how someone
feels. Patients just click on how they're
feeling and discover everything that
other people have found helpful.
What were you doing before you
set up by yourself? I worked in the
healthcare sector for 10 years, focusing
on long-term condition planning in
the UK and the US. Patients would
recommend products and tell me
what had worked for them, and each
time I'd jot it down in my notebook.
It highlighted the need for having
one place where patients could buy
products that oﬀered relief from their
symptoms. It was an idea that stood to
make everyday living a little bit better
for the millions of people living with
cancer and possibly other long-term
health conditions all over the world.
Did you always want to run your
own business? I'd been involved in
three smaller, part-time ventures, so
I think owning my own business was
always part of my make-up! I do like

creating something out of nothing,
with all the chaos that brings - the
inevitable ups and downs. That's
what gets me up in the morning!

to hire people with the right level of
ambition, and I know the type of team
and culture I want to build. Getting the
right people is crucial to your success.

Where did you ﬁnd funding? It
took £350,000 to start my business
- and I was lucky enough to get
things oﬀ the ground with a mixture
of my own savings and idea-stage
funding from Forward Partners. We've
since raised an incredible £8.2m.

What advice would you give to
someone considering starting up
a business? Ask as many questions as
possible and learn from others. Think
of it as a portfolio of support, and have
mentors in team-building, fundraising,
platform-building and HR. It's also
crucial to know your audience. Do
lots of customer research, ask open
questions and look at the need. Accept
you'll get things wrong, but mistakes
are how you learn and move forward.

What has been the biggest
challenge so far? For me, it has been
navigating a heartfelt social mission.
We have a strong purpose to help the
long-term sick, but we're a for-proﬁt
company so we can reach people
faster and sooner. There are always
trade-oﬀs between proﬁt and purpose
- we just take each one in turn.
Another challenge is to get all the
foundations in place and not grow
too fast. I'm constantly learning and
that's what I ﬁnd so awesome.
What has been your biggest
success? The fact that we've helped
45,000 people around the world. We
opened the UK's ﬁrst cancer store
in London's Guy's Hospital, have
the world's ﬁrst cancer support map
online - a directory of cancer services
- and have just launched one for the
menopause. Among all the chaos,
we've also starting making our own
products, but we still have miles to go!
Looking back, is there anything
you would have done diﬀerently?
I now have a much better sense of how

Is it possible to achieve a work/
life balance? It isn't necessarily about
the amount of hours you work; it's more
about weighing up if you're getting
those things done that you want outside
of work and spending enough time with
the people who matter. Inevitably, there
are sacriﬁces - you just have to make
sure they're worth making for what
you're trying to achieve. I'm currently
frustrated by the state of my wardrobe,
but I wouldn't have it any other way!
Where would you like to be in
ﬁve years' time? My next mission is
to reach as many people in the world
as possible and make their life that
little bit better. If every patient in the
world with every single long-term
condition could know about us and
access us, then mission accomplished!
Visit livebetterwith.com and
livebetterwithmenopause.com

,
Tamara s three business survival qualities
POSITIVITY You need a solution-focused mindset.
RESILIENCE You must accept that there will be ups and downs, and
that you'll have to navigate your way through that. You need a clear way
to distinguish between the big and little deals.
PERSEVERANCE You must keep on going, no matter what - and
always keep your big goal in mind!

89
http://www.livebetterwith.com http://www.livebetterwithmenopause.com
YOUR BUSINESS SUMMER 2018

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