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From Beauty Trends to Biotech Analytics: Lakshmi’s Non-Traditional Path After Mac Health Sci
Interview with Lakshmi Sriram: MBiotech at UofT, Analytics and Portfolio Optimization Intern at Roche, Cosmetics & Skincare Industry Intern

Message from Sachi
Happy April everyone! Welcome to spring 🌸
The past two weeks have been filled with a lot of “wow, look how far I’ve come” moments. Two days ago, it was the Instagram takeover with the Skoll Centre for the Skoll World Forum hosted in Oxford this week. Two weekends ago, it was graduating with the Impact Labs programme (which gave me the opportunity to do the Skoll World Forum!). I hope you have those moments of “wow, look how far you’ve come” too 💌
Good luck to those studying for final exams & assessments this month - you got this!
This week, I invited one of my friends from McMaster, Lakshmi, to share her story. Lakshmi has been a long-time reader of Invite Health and I’m excited to share her story with you all today!
What you’ll learn from Lakshmi:
What it’s like to pursue the Master’s in Biotechnology program at University of Toronto & being a Analytics and Portfolio Optimization Intern at Roche
Finding internships in the cosmetics and beauty industry with a health sciences background
Tips for breaking into the biotech industry, including how to leverage LinkedIn as a student
Co-founding and leading a brand new university cultural club
Enjoy today’s read,
Sachi 💌
From Beauty Trends to Biotech Analytics: Lakshmi’s Non-Traditional Path After Mac Health Sci
Headshot of Lakshmi
First off, tell us about your journey so far. Where do you study, what inspired you to pursue this, and what’s next? What else do you like to do outside of studying?
Hi everyone! My name is Lakshmi Sriram (she/her) and I am currently a Masters of Biotechnology student at the University of Toronto in the Biopharmaceutical stream. Prior to starting my Master’s last June, I graduated in April from the Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours) program at McMaster University, where I was fortunate enough to harness the interdisciplinary nature of the program to explore tons of different interests, one key interest being the world of business. What most people find surprising is that I was always stuck between science and business in highschool, they both excited me! Whether it be learning about different reactions in biochemistry or participating in business case competitions, I often found myself confused on where I would take my future.
During my journey with Health Sci, I realized that I didn’t need to choose. I partook in a variety of different extracurriculars alongside taking electives that I was really interested in, and definitely helped shape my journey. For instance, working and shadowing in a cancer immunology lab helped me realize my interest in molecular biology and therapeutics in general. This was further reinforced by taking key courses like Immunology and Virology in 3rd year, Radioisotopes in Medicine (highly recommend this!) in 3rd year as well and Neuroimmunology in 4th year. Outside of science, I always had an interest and passion in skincare, cosmetics and makeup. While I struggled initially with finding work in the space, I joined a non profit organization called DermaDreams, aiming to educate individuals about skin diseases, skin health and skincare. I leveraged this experience to land internships with SHAYDE Beauty, Pothos Beauty, and Soma Ayurvedic and Sahajan Skincare, all skincare brands which I will talk more about later in this interview!
When I reached the end of undergrad and decided where to take my journey next, the MBiotech program stood out to me as a perfect blend of my passions of science and business, and here I am now! After entering the program in June of 2024, I completed a summer term and fall term, and am currently on my 12 month co-op term as an Analytics and Portfolio Optimization Intern in the Product Development division at Roche. So far I have been loving every bit of it so far, but more to come on that later!
Leadership and being part of teams has always been an interest of mine regardless of the phase of education I have been in, and I currently serve as a design lead for the UofT Institute of Management and Innovation Review as well as on the Women’s Council at Roche. As someone who has always been passionate about their culture, I also co-founded a club during my undergrad, shoutout McMaster South Indian Student’s Association, and served as the Vice-President and President coordinating over 15+ events per year and expanding cultural awareness across the campus. Wanting to continue this type of leadership, after starting my Master’s I became a Senior Advisor for the University of Toronto Mississauga South Indian Student’s Association.
Outside of school and academics, I love to practice various art forms. I’ve been a Bharatanatyam (an indian classical dance form) dancer for the last 16 years and still love to learn and perform to this day. I enjoy playing the piano and flute and also learning new instruments like the ukulele. Ever since prioritizing health and wellness, I have also liked experimenting with new recipes and attending group fitness classes, especially at the Roche office gym. I also love to travel and visit new places - so far I’ve had the opportunity to visit New York, Curacao and San Diego in 2025! If anyone is ever in San Diego I highly recommend checking out the Self Realization Fellowship Hermitage & Meditation Gardens in Encinitas, shown below!
One of my favorite places in San Diego!
Tell us about your experience as a Clinical Operation Analytics Intern at Roche
Sure! My role is an Analytics and Portfolio Optimization intern within Clinical Operations and Global Product Development at Roche and it is a paid internship. This strategic role requires a mix of data analytics, patient and clinical trial landscape insights as well as business intelligence capabilities. We are responsible for key core responsibilities to provide insight for clinical trial teams that are conducting late stage Phase II and III trials. This could actually be a number of things! For example, a key task that I partake in is landscape analysis prior to initiating a clinical trial. Landscape analysis often involves compiling information about the disease overview, background, epidemiology, patient segmentation, current standard of care, examining the patient experience map, performing study benchmarking for both internal and external trials. Another request we often conduct is enrollment forecasting, to predict the duration of enrollment that could be influenced by various factors, and data-driven country and site selection for various trials. To do these analytics requests, we analyze large data sets and extract insights from them using tools like Excel, SQL and Tableau, and then present it to various stakeholders across the organization. I gravitated towards this role as it was a perfect blend of data analytics, clinical research and consulting!
Since I just began this role a little while ago, I have now completed my onboarding process and am already supporting requests for some really cool trials that Roche is conducting. I think the best part of the internship so far has been meeting individuals from across the organization in a variety of fields whether it be clinical trial operations, regulatory, marketing or even commercial operations! Everyone is incredibly helpful and down for a quick coffee chat to get to know each other better. I also work on a global team which has been an incredible experience as I am working with people across Roche offices in Switzerland, San Francisco, England and more! It is also a more strategic and technical role, which has been challenging with all the new disease-specific learnings and technology, but also extremely rewarding at the same time! Overall, I am incredibly excited for the rest of the year and the opportunity to contribute strategically to Roche’s pipeline.
In terms of acquiring this internship, as part of the MBiotech program, students are required to complete an 8 or 12-month paid internship in the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical sector. We begin applying to our positions in September of the fall term and utilize a MBiotech specific co-op portal. This portal has a myriad of jobs that range from medical affairs to marketing to clinical trial operations to data management, so there truly is something for everyone! We apply with our resumes and cover letters and then it's a waiting game till we hear about interviews. The interview period usually takes place for two weeks and we interview at all the different roles we were selected for. After this interview process, the companies will rank us as candidates and we will rank our choices of positions, thereby allowing the algorithm to match us with our placement. I was very fortunate to receive 7 Rank #1 matches out of the 11 jobs I interviewed for and ultimately decided to pursue this specific internship at Roche as it allowed me to combine my passion for clinical research with data analytics!
What advice do you have for students (especially high school + undergrads) who want to pursue biotech and pharma, or get relevant work experience, especially if they don’t have any experience yet?
Honestly, cracking into biotech or pharma can be pretty tough, I totally get it! But don’t let that intimidate you. The first thing I’d say is that ANY experience is valuable experience. Even if you don’t have direct industry exposure yet, there are so many translatable skills you might already have. Whether it’s from school projects, internships, or even unrelated jobs, skills like problem-solving, communication, and teamwork all count. Outside of soft skills like communication, collaboration and problem-solving, some technical skills that have been the most useful to me have been data analysis using R, Python and SQL and learning the ins and outs of Excel.
Another big tip that I have is to really learn about the industry. There is so much to learn about every single aspect about it, whether it be in clinical operations, medical operations, marketing, market access; the list takes the time to really learn about the industry. Read articles, follow companies, and get familiar with the specific area you want to break into. For instance, follow companies that you are interested in on Linkedin and look out for their updates. This can also help you find some leaders to network with! Other resources I like using are websites like FiercePharma and the Wall Street Journal’s Biotech section. There’s a lot to explore, so the more you understand the landscape, the better prepared you’ll be.
But with anything there’s only so much you can get from reading articles and company websites, so the biggest tip that I have for anyone is network, network, network! It’s never too early to start building those connections. Reach out to people, have coffee chats, and keep in touch. For me, this meant reaching out to students and alumni from the Master’s programs I was interested in, the fields I was interested in more. By doing this from 1st year onwards, I have slowly built and grown my Linkedin network to over 1500+ individuals in various stages of their education, careers and lives! Coffee chats were also super useful to me in this regard. Scheduling 2-3 coffee chats per month, and closer to deadlines for job applications or other positions, helped me land conversations with partners at consulting firms, CEO’s of beauty brands and venture capitalists. Whether or not it is specifically related to you, and whether or not it will help you “land” a job immediately or not, learning from and meeting many people is always beneficial, whether direct or indirect. A part of the corporate world in general, and biotech as well, is relationship driven and tools like LinkedIn are amazing for that.
A key section that people often overlook is the “About” section on Linkedin. This is a one stop shop for someone to learn more about you, your background, career interests and more. Ensure that it is well written and encapsulates who you are. Here is mine for a sample:
A sample “About” section that I have written for my Linkedin profile.
It is so important to ensure that you have a complete profile! Many science students don’t see a need for Linkedin, and thus very rarely include their volunteer experiences, certificates, languages they know and more. Ensure your profile is complete with all your experience, and relevant bullet points under each title you have held so people have a comprehensive idea of your different experiences. Utilize your Linkedin to follow pages that you like or are inspired by, whether that be individuals in the field you want to pursue, companies that are doing work that you are interested in or even organizations, nonprofits for startups! Engage with these groups and individuals who are posting by commenting and making yourself visible. People are generally happy to connect with students who are interested in their career path, so don’t shy away from connecting with professionals in the fields you are interested in. Always ensure you attach a note to your connection and briefly introduce yourself and outline the purpose of the connection. The downside is that you are limited by characters, but I’ve included a sample message that I usually send, and you can edit it as you need!
“Hi! My name is Lakshmi and I’m currently an MBiotech student interested in pursuing clinical data analytics. I’d love to connect with you and learn more about your career journey, and any insights you have. Thanks!”
After receiving the connection, I’d reach out to schedule a coffee chat, which could lead to mentorship or more. Ensure to come prepared to a coffee chat with specific questions. This resource is one of my favorites to refer to when beginning to have these chats.
Lastly, while it is important to think about the educational pathway you’d take to get there. Planning helps, but remember there’s no one-size-fits-all path in biotech or pharma. People come into these industries from all kinds of backgrounds; medicine, engineering, business and the list goes on, so definitely stay flexible and open to opportunities that might not look like the “perfect fit” at first. I found that I often felt discouraged since I felt like I wasn’t coming from the ideal background for the field, but after entering industry myself, I see that no one’s path is super linear and that having “unique” backgrounds makes you even more valuable as an individual.
Tell us about your experience as a MBiotech student at the University of Toronto. Can you talk about what the application process/timeline was like, what the program format was like, and some highlights from the course? Did you apply to any other grad schools?
Sure! For me personally, I knew that I wanted to enter the MBiotech program during my 3rd year at McMaster. It is a 24 month, course-based professional degree program offered through the Institute for Management & Innovation at the University of Toronto Mississauga. The program incorporates both science and business courses, to resemble a Science MBA, with 8 to 12 months of work experience in industry. The carefully selected combination of courses, coupled with relevant industry experience and a strong focus on teamwork, really does provide graduates with an interdisciplinary educational experience. At the same time, I also had interest in some other programs as well, and as such during my cycle in 4th year, I applied to 5 programs: Master of Public Health at UBC, Master of EHealth at McMaster, Global Health at McMaster, Master of Biomedical Discovery and Commercialization at McMaster, Master of Health Informatics at UofT and MBiotech at UofT as well. I was fortunate enough to receive acceptances from all of these programs except for eHealth where I received an interview invite, but declined the interview as I had already received my MBiotech acceptance offer.
The application process consisted of 2 stages. The first stage involved submitting a cover letter and resume. If selected, applicants moved on to the second stage, which was an interview with the program director. This interview assessed both scientific knowledge based on our research and coursework experiences, and included typical business-related questions that one would see in any other interview. After the interview, we received our admission decisions within a couple of weeks! If you want to know more about the process and any tips I have for next year, feel free to reach out for further details!
The program itself spans two years and begins in the summer. The summer term is quite intensive, focusing on lab work in a 9-to-5 format where students collaborate closely in teams of six and work together on a couple of molecular biology/protein chemistry related projects. As someone who had minimal lab experience, it was definitely a bit of an adjustment at first, but I was lucky to have an incredibly supportive team and definitely learned a lot during this period. We also take 1-2 classes during the summer term to supplement our learnings in the lab. One of the highlights of the summer was our annual Institute of Management and Innovation Boat Cruise through downtown Toronto, which was a great opportunity to meet more graduate students. Another highlight was the networking dinner where our cohort got to meet and have dinner with established leaders in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry and put our networking skills to the test!
After a much needed break, the fall term of MBiotech begins, and shifts to a focus on coursework, offering a mix of biotechnology/science and business classes. This semester is also heavily team based but in this case we began working with a new team. During this semester is when we begin applying for our co-op jobs with our resumes and cover letters, so it can also get a little busy! Starting in January, students begin their internship, which lasts until December, which is the stage of the program that I am in right now! In the final semester, students complete one or two remaining courses before graduating.
For me, one of the highlights of the program is definitely the strong emphasis on developing team-building and presentation skills. Although I had built these skills during my undergrad years, coming into grad school was a completely different boat, and I was challenged in different ways. Overall though, after completing two semesters of the program I can say that I have learned a lot academically, but on a personal and professional level as well.
My friends and myself at the annual IMI boat cruise! It’s so insane looking back and thinking this was just a few weeks into starting the program!
My fall term team and I after our final biopartnering presentation! We took this picture RIGHT after presenting for nearly an hour about our go-to-market strategy for a novel COVID diagnostic test, considering all of the other competition in the market. It was definitely challenging, given the decreasing need for new diagnostics but we created a unique value proposition of implementing this point of care test in remote communities. This further inspired my passion for ensuring equitable access to diagnostic technologies, something I’m looking to pursue in the near future.
This was a picture taken on the first day of MBiotech orientation with my summer team. We soon ditched the business casual for lab coats, and spent the entire summer together working on our lab projects and various presentations together, and definitely learned a lot in the process.
What types of experiential learning opportunities did you have in undergrad that you think were the most pivotal in getting you to where you are today?
Overall, I am so grateful for my 4 years at McMaster Health Sci, since I was able to engage in so many incredible learning opportunities that were so pivotal in shaping my journey. So much so that it is difficult to pinpoint just one experience that had the most impact! Here are some that stand out as particularly transformative.
I guess the first one to talk about right off the bat was actually in high school! I was always conflicted between science and business, and didn’t really know what extracurriculars to pursue. On one side I was part of the Science Fair and Biology club, but after attending a DECA, formerly known as Distributive Education Clubs of America, an organization helping to prepare leaders for entrepreneurship and business careers in hospitality, marketing, management and more - it felt like I had found another passion of mine. When I first joined DECA as a member in grade 10, I didn’t really know what to expect and had little success at the Provincial competitions. However, I knew I wanted to become an exec of the club and set my sights on making it to Internationals, known as ICDC (International Career Development Conference), one day. Flash forward to the next year where I became the secretary of the club and also rigorously prepared for the case studies and exams, feeling more confident leading up to the competitions. After placing and winning awards at regionals, I went on to Provincials where I didn’t win many awards, but luckily scraped into making it to Internationals, and that too because someone else backed out of their position! Attending Internationals was a dream in and of itself as it took place in Orlando, Florida where I got to spend a week with my team networking, preparing for our competition, representing DECA Ontario going to all the theme parks and having tons of fun. At Internationals I was very fortunate to win awards for the Top 10 Case Study, Top 10 Exam, Top 10 Overall and came just short of winning an ICDC plaque, as I placed 4th overall at the competition. In my final year of high school I took on the role of Head of Training for the club, and transformed our training materials, preparatory work and ran numerous seminars and sessions to prepare the club. While I wasn’t able to attend Internationals in my 4th year due to the pandemic, joining DECA in Grade 10 changed the trajectory of my high school experience and my career, as the invaluable lessons of public speaking, organization, teamwork and problem solving still remain with me today. All this to say, it is never too early to start trying things and figuring out your passions!
This was taken on one of the initial ceremony days in Orlando, Florida at the International DECA Competition where we spent a week practicing our case studies, completing exams and soaking in the sun at Disneyland. It was a great opportunity to bond with other Ontario DECA members and celebrate the journey it took us to make it to finals!
In terms of my undergraduate degree, one of the most influential experiences was my involvement in internships within the skincare and cosmetics industry. I remember being so interested in skincare and makeup from highschool onwards, and wanting to make more of an impact in the field. But I was always held back thinking that I’m just a first year science student, why would anyone want to work with me? This was when I had to go above and beyond and market myself as the intern any company would want to hire. I began taking up part time roles doing copywriting and writing for a Vancouver based blog called Excuse my Thoughts. Once I had built that experience up, I began applying and cold calling to different startup skincare and cosmetic companies in North America. I primarily used Instagram and email for reaching out to companies, and the key was definitely persistence! It is so important to ensure you always follow up on your emails and messages. Throughout this process I was able to land internships at SHAYDE Beauty, Pothos Beauty, and Soma Ayurvedic.
While these were unpaid, they introduced me, an 18 year old at that time, to the inner workings of beauty startups. These roles taught me the fundamentals of marketing, copywriting, and strategic operations—skills I hadn't been exposed to in my traditional academic coursework. They also ignited my passion for the cosmetic and skincare world and helped me leverage my scientific background in this innovative industry. In Pothos, we were working on building out an inclusive, e-commerce platform that would be a one stop shop for BIPOC owned beauty brands. I was specifically in charge of our marketing, website building and connecting us with partnerships with beauty brands across America. I then honed these skills in my internships at SHAYDE Beauty and Soma Ayurvedic, where I got to engage in copywriting and social media marketing. At Soma Ayurvedic, I was solely responsible for all the email marketing messaging, content and structure, and even had my writing feature in many of their campaigns and articles!
With these experiences under my belt, the next year, I managed to secure a paid internship with Sahajan Skincare, and was even fortunate enough to return again as an intern for a second summer. This role was particularly transformative because it deepened my understanding of the business side of skincare and highlighted the critical role that data-driven decision-making plays in guiding strategic growth and marketing. While my role now as an Analytics Intern at Roche is slightly different, the same principles apply; analyze the data, extract insights, make recommendations and take action on them! At Sahajan, I was specifically responsible for growing our social media platforms, TikTok, Instagram and Linkedin and assisting with other operational tasks for the business. Another key contribution that I was incredibly proud of was assisting with the launch of the brand into Sephora Canada. As a long time dream of mine to work with a retailer like Sephora, it was definitely a pinch me moment to be part of it. Additionally, it was through this internship that I met my mentor, Lisa Mattam, a former biotech executive and current CEO and founder. Her mentorship was, and still is, invaluable as she demonstrated that career paths don’t have to be linear and that there are multiple ways to blend scientific knowledge with entrepreneurial ambition.
I also discovered my passion for women empowerment through this internship, as I contributed to Sahajan’s first ever AccelerateHer initiative. This was an early-stage accelerator targeted specifically for women founders to gain the much-needed guidance, support and insight to grow their business. I was able to learn from so many founders and it really sparked my passion for entrepreneurship and championing for more female representation.
This is a photo of my team and I at our end of the summer Sahajan event where we hosted numerous influencers and changemakers within the GTA for a dinner and celebrated the launch of our products in JW Marriott hotels globally. It was an incredible moment seeing Ayurvedic skincare and South Asian culture in general being celebrated and embraced!
In addition to internships and coursework, co-founding and serving as the Vice President and later the President of the McMaster South Indian Student Association was one of the most challenging yet rewarding experiences of my undergraduate career. Seeing an unmet need for South Indian representation on campus, my peers and I began the club during my 2nd year. Starting a club from scratch taught me invaluable lessons about leadership, team dynamics, and strategic growth. After transitioning from a Vice President role in 3rd year to the President in 4th year, I was determined to expand our reach further. During that year, we managed to grow the club’s Instagram following from 600 to nearly 4,000 and hosted over 15 events. With skilled marketing, we created video content that reached over a million views on various platforms and collaborated with different student organizations across campus, helping me refine my networking skills and build relationships. Leading a team through various challenges and milestones not only solidified my passion for leadership but also sparked my interest in entrepreneurship, as I realized how fulfilling it is to build something from the ground up and watch it flourish.
Pictured above is the 2023-2024 McMaster SISA Executive team that I had the pleasure of leading. Our team consisted of incredibly passionate individuals who took on additional roles ranging from promo and marketing to sponsorships and finance!
This picture was taken during Sangamam, a pivotal and first-of-its-kind large event that our club hosted to highlight and showcase the different cultures of Southern India, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Each state had its own station with activities, information cards and region-specific food. The event was a huge hit with record attendance and it made me immensely proud to be able to share my culture with the McMaster community!
Lastly, completing my thesis project with St. Joseph’s Healthcare under the supervision of Dr. Moin Khan was another pivotal experience. I was conducting research on the impact of Vitamin D and post-surgical outcomes like pain, range of motion and more. This research project taught me essential skills in time management, scientific writing, and critical analysis. It also provided me with a deeper understanding of clinical research, particularly in reading and interpreting clinical trials and other types of scientific studies. The rigorous nature of the project helped me develop a strong foundation in research methodologies, data interpretation and analytics, which are skills that I use in my internship right now.
As you can tell, I love talking about all of these experiences as I truly believe they were instrumental in guiding me to where I am today in my career. They provided me with a diverse skill set, technical skills in both science and business, and a deeper understanding of biotechnology, data-driven insights and entrepreneurship - all paths I am excited to explore in the future. While I don’t know exactly what the future looks like for me, I foresee myself continuing a career in data analytics and biopharmaceutical strategy, pursuing leadership opportunities on the side and maybe even hope to get into entrepreneurship one day!
Where can students go if they want to learn more about your experiences?
I LOVE meeting new people and am always eager to help out students! I usually frequently have coffee chats on Friday evenings with students interested in Health Sci at Mac, grad school programs, the biotech and cosmetic industry and more! I’m also looking into creating a platform for students who are trying to navigate having passions for both science and business. Please feel free to add me on Linkedin or shoot me an email at [email protected] and we can either chat via text or set up a time to call!
Is there any final advice or resources that you would like to share with Invite Health readers?
My biggest piece of advice is try different things, and don’t say no to opportunities that you think aren’t suited towards “your discipline”. As students in the health/life sciences, we often limit ourselves to things that would fit the ideal science resume, and often are afraid to try something new. If you are interested in something, even if it is outside your realm, try it out! You never know where it can lead you!
It’s also never too early or late to try different things - just because you’re in high school or early in your uni years doesn’t mean that these experiences won’t be relevant in a couple of years. I still cherish my highschool and early undergrad experiences dearly, and they truly shaped me into who I am today. And on the flip side, it is never too late to pursue a passion or try out an experience that you have always been wanting to. All that matters is that you try and put yourself out there, regardless of when or how you do it.
My final biggest piece of advice is to embrace that a career journey or pathway does not need to be linear. As you navigate through Linkedin and meet and network with individuals, you will realize that everyone has had such dynamic and different journey’s, and have learned so much along the way. In undergrad we tend to restrict our thinking to what careers look like, but the biggest tip I have is to not put so much pressure on yourself to figure it all out immediately and have the most linear, straightforward path! Explore things along the way, embrace new opportunities, work hard and the rest will figure itself out!
Jobs, Opportunities & Resources 💻️
Most of these resources are reposted on Invite Health’s LinkedIn page.
RESEARCH TRAINEE at Healthy Babies Healthy Children | City of Toronto
Job Board - SCWIST (Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology)
The T-CAIREM Buzz Newsletter
Nucleate Evolved Technology | AI Hackathon
The Walrus Editorial Fellowship for BIPOC Journalists | The Walrus
About Invite Health 💌
I started Invite Health for my younger self who was trying to figure out what to do with my health sci degree that wasn’t a career in medicine.
Today, I’d say this quote is the primary reason I continue to build Invite Health:
“Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not”
The mission of Invite Health is to close this talent-opportunity gap for students in the life and health sciences.
Since 2022, we’re the leading resource for students figuring out what to do with a life sci / health sci degree. I interview students pursuing diverse careers in healthcare, and how they got there - no gatekeeping here. Every newsletter is rich with resources and insights.
Our main channel is this newsletter, and I occasionally share resources on social media (LinkedIn and Instagram).
You can read more about why I built Invite Health here
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How I Built Invite Health - BTS 🌼
I’m building a series where I share strategies on how I built Invite Health. In two years, I’ve grown Invite Health organically to 1,600+ subscribers (meaning, I’ve spent $0), building it sustainably as a solo student founder throughout undergrad and my Master’s.
Be Intentional with Social Media Use
As of today, Invite Health has over 1.4k+ LinkedIn followers, 32 Twitter followers, and 304 Instagram followers.
When you’re building an organization or company, sometimes choosing fewer social media platforms is a better strategy than spreading out across every platform. Doing few platforms well > doing many platforms poorly.
When I started Invite Health, I initially created a LinkedIn and Twitter/X page. After a few months, I realized Twitter was not a great social media investment for Invite Health: my tweets took longer time to write (because of character limit), I was not gaining followers quickly, and the page had low engagement.
I created an Instagram page for Invite Health at the start of 2024, and was able to make reels that got thousands of views. However, I think creating for Instagram is difficult to sustain because creating graphics requires more work than just writing a post (which I would do on LinkedIn). I still use Instagram (I have a few posts to catch up on), but do not make it my priority as much as LinkedIn is.
LinkedIn is my top platform for Invite Health. It’s where I have the most followers, and am able to receive messages when people have questions or comments about Invite Health. Plus, I find it beneficial for my professional network as well, as I have a mix of connections that span high school, undergrad, grad students, plus industry and academic professionals. It’s much easier to sustain posting on LinkedIn too, since it’s easy to add links and photos, and I can also repost opportunities easily (which then help me fill up my opportunities section)!
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