#awinewith Lexy McDonald
Transcript
Danielle Lewis (00:07):
Oh my God. Lexi, so good to have you on Spark tv. Welcome.
Lexy McDonald (00:13):
Oh, I'm so excited to be here. Thank you for having me.
Danielle Lewis (00:15):
This is going to be good because for everyone listening in, we've already been gas bagging for 15 minutes and we've only just met each other. So
Lexy McDonald (00:24):
Be a good one. Common ground. Yeah, exactly.
Danielle Lewis (00:27):
Exactly. So let's kick off by telling everyone who you are and what you do.
Lexy McDonald (00:32):
Amazing. So I am Lexi McDonald, I'm 21, and I'm the founder of a mental health and wellness app called Her Help.
Danielle Lewis (00:38):
So Good. Now what does her help do? I read your grant application and I was like, oh my God. Yeah. So here's the thing you just told me about, like, oh my God, you're so impressed. What we're doing is so amazing. I'm like, no, what you are doing is so amazing. So let's tell everyone what her help actually is.
Lexy McDonald (00:57):
So thank you, first off. That is so beautiful for you to say that. I think you're incredible. So her Help is a mental health and wellness app designed to just encourage people through whatever daily challenges they have. Life can be really hard, and I realized leaving school that I was like, there's no handbook for life. What food should I be eating? How should I be moving my body if my boyfriend cheats on me? How do I navigate that? Well, yeah, how do we navigate a stressful day? And there's so many things and people are always saying, oh, just get help. And I was like, okay, but where do I go? What do I do? So there was so many questions. So I was like, I just really wanted to create a place where people could go for connection as well as help just through life.
Danielle Lewis (01:37):
So good. Because a whole bunch of different things, different resources like exercise and meditations and things to read, and there's so much jam packed in there. It is so good.
Lexy McDonald (01:49):
Oh, thank you. Yeah, I was like, what does anyone, and constantly evolving too, I've been able to see people be like, oh, we'd love fertility help. And I'm like, perfect. Let's put fertility help. We'll
Danielle Lewis (01:58):
Figure that
Lexy McDonald (01:59):
Out. I'm like, you tell me. It's always like, what is your problem? Because for me, at 21 Fertility's not something that I've had to ever experience or struggle with as of yet, but I'm like, okay, but it's not just my journey, it's everyone else's. So adapting to that's been really fun.
Danielle Lewis (02:16):
I love that so much. I think there's two sides of things here. Firstly, the tech piece, an app, and then secondly the content. So much content in there. So since we're on content, let's talk about that. How have you then got, okay, so take Fertility as the example, and you haven't personally experienced that. How have you gone about creating all of these resources?
Lexy McDonald (02:39):
Yeah, great question. So I have over a hundred experts on the app because obviously I couldn't, yeah, I'm not qualified. Mom's like, you should do a workout video. I'm like, mom, no one wants to see uncle lanky, uncoordinated girl do a workout. I'll just do it behind the scenes very quickly that if I wanted to get help and I wanted to give advice that it couldn't be me giving all that advice. So I was working two part-time jobs to fund getting experts on board to provide content for the app. So fertility, you go to Instagram, you're like fertility coaches, or you go to clinics and you talk to people and be like, show me your qualification first, and then let's talk about how we can make this happen. That's
Danielle Lewis (03:23):
So cool. And were people really open to working with you like that, or did you have to go through lots of people? Was it harder at the beginning, harder at the end? What's the vibe?
Lexy McDonald (03:34):
Yes. I don't think it gets easier. I think it's because at the start I was very picky as well. Obviously if there's experts, then they're a reflection of us as an app. So being able to be like, okay, these are the people that I can, you go through hundreds of Instagram profiles or websites to be like, okay, I like this person's values. These relate to our vibe. And then even having interviews, phone calls and being like, okay, maybe not, maybe this doesn't work. And then there's a huge process. I think now it's gotten, it's a different level now. So there's people that will reach out to me and be like, every day we get people being like, this is what I do. I'd love to put myself on the app. But there's still that huge vetting process of being like, okay, I love that you love our vision, and that's so exciting and so amazing, but I've also got to make sure that you fit the vibe as well and you're winging it.
Danielle Lewis (04:29):
Exactly, exactly. Oh, that's so cool. And then what about from a tech point of view? So are you a closet software engineer or did you have someone else build it or what's the go?
Lexy McDonald (04:42):
Great question. So I started her help four years ago, so I created the first version of her help in my bedroom at 17. So yeah, so I was just struggling growing up. I was bullied growing up, really struggled with that community as well. Teenagers stuff, teenage girls can be so many, I
Danielle Lewis (04:59):
Dunno if we get any better, but
Lexy McDonald (05:00):
Anyway, and then you grow up and you're like, oh, it's still the same. But I was like, when you're going through something, sometimes all you need is that community around you to be like, Hey, I've been through this. It's okay. And being from a small town in regional wa, sometimes the things that you are going through, other people are, especially in the entrepreneur tech space, as you kind of evolve into that, you're like, oh, where are other am female? I was like, I'd love to connect people from all over the globe to things. Just be like, Hey, it's okay. I get this. And create a community outside of maybe your geographical location, but as well just making help accessible. So I was there being like, okay, this is a cool idea. I'd love this. So hopped onto YouTube whilst procrastinating doing my exams and my year 12 exam study. And I was like, how'd you make an app on YouTube? And then was like, okay, perfect. Let's follow these steps. And it took me six months, but I launched the first app on the app store within six months.
Danielle Lewis (05:57):
You did it, you Googled it, hold up, hold up. So you're telling me you Googled how to build an app, you watched YouTube tutorials, you spent six months and you bloody launched it yourself.
Lexy McDonald (06:08):
And I didn't tell anyone I was doing because it was so bizarre. I'm not a techie person. I have nerdy brothers, but I'm not a techie person at all. So to even say to my mom and dad, oh, I'm making an app, just sounded so ridiculous that I didn't want to say I was doing that until I could actually prove that I could. So within that six months, I got an app up, the app store sent me a message and we're like, congratulations that your app will be on the in 20. Oh my God. I was like, oh my goodness, I've got to tell people now ringing Nana and ringing my best friends, being like, oh, I've done this thing and then post it to Facebook. So yeah, it was very much a big learning journey at the start.
Danielle Lewis (06:48):
Oh, I'm just so impressed because so often I hear people say, I've got this great idea, but it's going to cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars or even tens of thousands or thousands of dollars to build an app. And I'm like, there's so many things you can do now off the shelf by Yes, it takes longer. Yes, it's really annoying. You've got to do it after your full-time job in front of the TV while you're eating dinner, trying to code stuff. And yes, it's really hard, but I love that you can if you want to do it yourself.
Lexy McDonald (07:19):
I say that's like with everything as a business owner, especially when you're running the show on your own, there are so many things. Marketing, I'm not an expert in marketing. I could easily be like, oh, I don't know how to do that. That's not my department and I can't afford someone to pay to do that. What do I do? But we're so lucky to have access to the internet and there's thousands of people that have been in our position that have managed to work through that. And being able to tap into those resources is really powerful. And if you cared that much, and for me, I was like, I just want this so bad, but search for hours and try to make something happen.
Danielle Lewis (07:52):
Oh my God, that is so awesome. How was that process for you? Did you love it? Did you hate it, or were you just obsessed with getting it done?
Lexy McDonald (08:02):
Coding isn't my new passion at all, probably. I didn't love the actual coding part, but I love watching something come together. I love watching slowly but surely, me being like, oh, let's add in this little part and then let's do this little bit. And being able to create something that I just envisioned in my head to then be a reality. That was really cool.
Danielle Lewis (08:25):
That is so cool. I love that. For my other business scrunch, we're launching this new membership feature and it has this forum in it, and I'm DIYing this forum, and it's so funny. I was sitting there last night just googling it and doing free trials and all these things. I was like, oh, I remember this excitement that you have when you're doing something new and you don't have any idea what you're doing and you're learning and you're trying to put all the puzzle pieces together. There's something wrong with us, business owner, entrepreneur types that we just love that.
Lexy McDonald (08:57):
Love that. Yeah, love the unknown. And then those are the great days. And then you have days where you're like, I just dunno why I
Danielle Lewis (09:02):
Give.
Lexy McDonald (09:05):
Yeah. So it's a rollercoaster, but those highs are definitely worth it. Yeah. Yeah,
Danielle Lewis (09:09):
I love that. Okay, so fast forward six months, we've got an app. It's live in the app store. So then what's the process then? What did you do?
Lexy McDonald (09:20):
I literally posted it just to Facebook. I was like, okay, cool. Let's tell my friends and family. I've literally only friends with my friends and family on Facebook and just kind of posted it and because no one knew that's what I was doing. I think that was such a shock that I feel like school's really cool because you're around 200 kids your age anyway that kind of are following. I couldn't imagine the same response if I was to launch it now outside of school, they're all off doing their own thing. But kind of being in that environment really helped because all my friends and people I went to school with were sharing it and being like, what the heck? What are you doing? I didn't know you were doing this. And then that skyrocketed and had a really cool, very unexpected launch. By three o'clock on launch day, I was at my local radio station giving an interview about the app and just
Danielle Lewis (10:08):
Oh wow.
Lexy McDonald (10:09):
And that was so far out of anything, was a very shy person. Loved just so then being like, oh, stepping outside of that comfort zone was crazy. And the uptake on that was insane. So within six months after launch, I had 10,000 people using the app, which was just really cool. Yeah. Oh my
Danielle Lewis (10:29):
God, that is incredible. That is so incredible. And so posting it on Facebook, tapping into your communities, obviously getting radio, any other strategies you used to get so many downloads and users in such a short period.
Lexy McDonald (10:46):
So it wasn't obviously just that one day. There was definitely a huge follow up. There was lots of me posting all the time, and I think just being really authentic with my story. I was a 17 year old that was sat in her room just being like, this is my vision and this is my dream and this is why it's an issue. And I think even now when you're looking at marketing, it's very important to tap into relating to someone and being real. You're not just this brand. There's a story and there's a passion behind what it is. And tapping into that has obviously helped me push through that.
Danielle Lewis (11:17):
That is so good. And have you since jumped on Instagram and TikTok and all of the things?
Lexy McDonald (11:23):
Yeah, and it's a constant journey. There's things that you go, oh, this wouldn't go well. And then you're like, oh, it's got 200 views. And then you go, oh, this won't. And then it gets more. And it's this weird world to navigate, that's for sure.
Danielle Lewis (11:36):
I know marketing's insane. It's just like we all think we're experts and we're trying to do all the things, and then it's just like, well, I have no idea why that big thing worked.
Lexy McDonald (11:46):
That doesn't relate to anything.
Danielle Lewis (11:51):
No exactly's business in general. You've just got to try things. You've just got to be willing to jump on a TikTok idea or do a radio interview or do this or do that. You've just got to constantly be doing things and testing things to try and figure out what the formula is or what works for your business.
Lexy McDonald (12:11):
Yeah, I love that. So important and so many different ways.
Danielle Lewis (12:16):
Yeah. Well, and that's kind of the thing too. I sometimes find people come to me and they're like, I'm not getting any new sales. I dunno what to do. And I'm like, well, what have you tried? And they're like, well, I post on Instagram every day. I'm like, well, there is so much out there that you could be doing. It's so funny. We live in this Instagram world where I feel like people think that's the only sales strategy, but there's just so much out there. It's crazy,
Lexy McDonald (12:43):
So much. And I think people can get really disheartened by the success of other, you walk with someone who, especially on TikTok, I'm on small business TikTok, and the amount of girls are like, wow, this one TikTok blew up and changed my life. And then you create the same and it's like, oh, that didn't do anything for me. Why did
Danielle Lewis (13:00):
My life change?
Lexy McDonald (13:02):
I don't feel like anything's changing yet. I don't have a
Danielle Lewis (13:05):
Billion dollars in my bank. Where did I go wrong?
Lexy McDonald (13:09):
Yeah. Why does this not work for me? So I think when you're seeing this glamorized idea of virality of social media, it can be really easy to be like, oh, why aren't I there? And a lot of the time it's that slow building blocks that lead to that rather than that one video.
Danielle Lewis (13:25):
It's so true. And that is kind of the thing. We see the headlines even to, I raised 10 million worth of venture capital, or my TikTok went viral. We just see the headlines and the outcomes, but it's like we don't actually see the 10 years of work that might've gone
Lexy McDonald (13:42):
Into
Danielle Lewis (13:44):
All the boring stuff
Lexy McDonald (13:47):
For that one moment
Danielle Lewis (13:48):
On your iPhone dancing.
Lexy McDonald (13:51):
Yeah, definitely. I love that.
Danielle Lewis (13:54):
So over this journey, have there been any big learning curves? So anything that you didn't expect to come up running a business?
Lexy McDonald (14:04):
Of course it's been smooth sailing. Do you want huge ones
Danielle Lewis (14:10):
Today? Give me some huge ones.
Lexy McDonald (14:14):
Well, one of the biggest, and maybe the one that I referenced most is that, so 17, I got six, 10,000 users. Within that six months, I had five girls messaging me telling me they wouldn't be alive without the platform. It had helped them that much.
Danielle Lewis (14:29):
Oh my God.
Lexy McDonald (14:30):
Which is crazy for a 17 year old to get a message like that from someone that they don't know. And I was like, okay, there's a need for this. I need to make this better and everything I want it to be. So obviously the app that I made in my bedroom was basic. It wasn't Facebook. You go into this, like you said, when you have a business idea, you're like, this is exactly, it's going to be. And the first product launch, the MVP was a very compromised version of that. It was not anything like I imagined it, but it was the function and clearly it was the meaning behind it that had that reach. So I was like, I need to make this then what I want it to be. What's the next step is I want to make an app that I'm really proud of. So when I'm screaming it from the rooftops, it's something that people go on and go, oh, this is a great idea. But very basic, they can go, oh, I actually really love this app. So that was a huge business thing. Be like, okay, let's make an app I'm really proud of. So I designed screen by screen, button by button. When I finished school, exactly how I wanted the new app to look fully sorted and sent it to an app development company here in Perth and got quoted $2.2 million to create the app I wanted,
Danielle Lewis (15:43):
Oh my God's.
Lexy McDonald (15:46):
That was my reaction. And the first thing is I was working at a fish and chip shop part-time at the time, and I was like, great. It would only
Danielle Lewis (15:53):
Take me 100 years to
Lexy McDonald (15:55):
Years. The math, I was surveying mom and dad. I was like, so how long do you think it would take you to say, doing the bank loan, like your Bank West Business Loan Estimator? It's like 30 a day, much. How long will it take? Yes. So that was a huge, yeah. And along the journey, there's all different things that push you in directions and go, ah, what am I doing? This is too hard.
Danielle Lewis (16:25):
Totally, totally. I guess not only the outward customer facing app and all of the content and the customers that you're actually helping, but then there's the backend. They're running a business as well. That presents plenty of challenges I'm sure as well.
Lexy McDonald (16:41):
Totally, yes. Even no one can give you about insurance or tax or lawyers or things
Danielle Lewis (16:47):
Like that. I know. Why don't we know about this stuff? I know. Why don't
Lexy McDonald (16:49):
We know about this? And especially in the mental health space, everyone's like, oh, make sure. And I'm like, I don't know.
Danielle Lewis (16:55):
Obviously
Lexy McDonald (16:56):
Very aware now, but at 17 you don't think about things like that. So
Danielle Lewis (17:01):
No, I guess you think I'm doing a good thing for people. I'm putting stuff out there to try and help people you kind of don't think of. Yeah. Wow. So how did you educate yourself? How did you go from Fish and Chip shop to Empire Builder?
Lexy McDonald (17:15):
Yeah, thank you. I love that title in my bio. You can steal that now. Quoted Empire Builder. Yeah, I guess I just had a problem that I wanted to be solved. I didn't even know what the word entrepreneur was. Being a 17 year old and still innovation, that's the title that gets thrown. Entrepreneur innovation, the two. I'm like, I didn't even know what those words meant. They were huge words. No one teaches you about that at school. So it wasn't necessarily me going into it being like, I'm going to build an empire. My first thing was like, I know what it's like to struggle and if my six months of work can help one person, that's incredible and that's all I want. And then being able to see that other people resonated with that story too, then I was like, okay, let's start building in it, but let's make this happen. Let's push for something so that more people can get help. But the app wasn't, I didn't earn anything or didn't have a capacity to earn money for the first two years of it being a thing. It was just a help thing. It was just because I cared so much. Yeah. Oh my
Danielle Lewis (18:26):
God, that is so good. And so have you monetized it now? Do you have a paid version of it?
Lexy McDonald (18:31):
Yeah, so the app now has a subscription so you can go on for free. And still exactly the same as the basic app. All the social networking, free, the community is free, all the mental health. We have cool people like anxiety therapists and all these cool people. They're all free just to make sure that people can get the support they need. I don't want to put any, but things like your recipes or your fitness videos or your yoga or a financial education that just comes under a $10 a month subscription. So still hopefully really accessible and affordable, cheapest on the market and for so much more than anything else. But yeah, you have conversations where people are like, okay, Lex, are you going to keep this sustainable? Or are you going to work at the fish and chip shop forever? So you kind of go, okay,
Danielle Lewis (19:17):
I'll introduce some paid. Yeah, but it's so good. I love how it's, so yes, there might be people who maybe can't afford to pay for something, but there are resources for them and that is covered. And then for people who are like, okay, I can kind of level up a little bit. If I'm paying for Netflix, I can also pay to look after myself. It makes a lot of sense.
Lexy McDonald (19:40):
Totally. Yes. And it makes it accessible. The amount of conversations I have with so many people being like, it's either me sitting here just stressed out of my brain, not sure what I'm doing, or it's paying $300 for a therapy session or speaking to someone, and that's terrifying. And having that little bridge in between to be like, okay, you are alone, but there's something you can do here to encourage you to get further support, I think is really important.
Danielle Lewis (20:04):
Totally. I love actually looking at it from that perspective. Like, okay, here's doing nothing. Here's doing something crazy that you may not be able to afford or might be too far out of your reach right now. I love that idea of it's a bridge, smaller things that you can incorporate into your life. That's so clever. You're so clever in
Lexy McDonald (20:21):
One spot. No, because I just was like, oh, just do, there's so many things that can improve your mental health. And it's like, oh, but can they all be just in one place? I don't want to Gets expensive. If you're going to work at class and then you're trying to find healthy recipes and you're paying for a subscription for that, it just adds up very quickly. So yeah, I get
Danielle Lewis (20:40):
It. That is so cool. No, I love it. And in our day and age where we're all trying to save our pennies, having one place where we can go for all of those things is genius. I love it.
Lexy McDonald (20:51):
Oh, thank you.
Danielle Lewis (20:52):
So good. Well, I feel like you and I would talk all day if we let ourselves. So why don't we leave our amazing, smart, oh my God, I need another coffee. Our amazing Spark Women in business community with one last piece of advice. So as a female business owner, if you were giving someone who is just starting out a piece of advice, what would it be?
Lexy McDonald (21:18):
Ooh, I love this question. I usually say your age doesn't determine your ability to do anything, but that comes from very young sense. But that can also be determined with any age. I speak to dad and dad goes, oh, I dunno if I could do that. It's like, of course you, it doesn't matter if you're so progressed in your career and you're like, oh, this is something I really want to do. The only person that truly is stopping you is you. And there's always going to be hurdles, and there's always going to be things in the way, but if you care enough, you can make it happen.
Danielle Lewis (21:47):
Oh my God, Lexi, I love you. You're literally the best. Thank you so much for being on Spark TV and sharing your journey with the Spark community. You are incredible. You should be so proud of what you've built.
Lexy McDonald (22:01):
Thank you.
