How I Built This with Guy Raz

Noom: Saeju Jeong

Aug 8, 2022

Saeju Jeong, CEO of Noom, shares his inspiring journey from a struggling immigrant with $5,000 to leading a wellness app valued at over $10 billion. He discusses transforming a failed stationary bike idea into Noom by embracing change and resilience. Saeju reflects on his father's influence, the shift from a freemium model to a subscription service, and the significance of personalized support in health management. He emphasizes the delicate balance of hard work and luck in building a billion-dollar company.

01:10:27

Episode guests

Saeju Jeong

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

2min

Transforming Failures into a Wellness Revolution

4min

Pressure and Passion: A Journey through Music and Academia

11min

Embracing Change: A Journey of Resilience

16min

From Concept to Creation: The Work Smart Labs Journey

5min

From Struggle to Success: The Evolution of Noom

4min

From Fitness App to Holistic Wellness

18min

Navigating Change and Resilience in Business

4min

Evolving Noom: From Freemium to Subscription

9min

10.

Balancing Hard Work and Luck in Building a Billion-Dollar Company

4min

When Saeju Jeong moved from South Korea to the U.S. in his mid-20's, he barely knew anyone, didn't speak much English, and had only $5,000 in savings. Today, he's the CEO of Noom, one of the most popular weight loss/wellness apps in the U.S. Inspired by his late father—a doctor who criticized the profession for treating people only after they got sick—Saeju and his co-founder built their first fitness product in 2007. Several pivots later, they arrived at Noom, an app that carefully tracks what you eat, how you sleep and when you're stressed out. Noom has hinted it may go public this year—if so, the valuation could be as high as $10 billion.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts

Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.