Lorena Sumich is the CEO and co-founder of KIXXFIT, a new health and fitness app that has recently just launched in Australia.
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1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?
As a former Senior Management Consultant at Deloitte, I specialised in helping companies develop and execute technology-based strategies to disrupt traditional practices.
Before that, I worked in the finance and operations departments of online ventures, including Sound Alliance (now Junkee Media) and a leading tourism operator in Western Australia.
This experience has put me in good stead as CEO and co-founder of KIXXFIT, where I focus on overseeing the platform’s growth.
KIXXFIT is a dedicated platform for on-demand movement, nutrition and mindset sessions from real Australian health experts. It gives everyday Australians access to dozens of experts through a streaming model similar to Spotify’s.
2) What does a day in the life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?
Every day is different, but there are two things that remain the same – hustling hard and thinking big.
To keep it simple, let’s go with a typical Monday.
My co-founder Jahney and I always start the week with “Golden Hour” at the beach, where we have a swim, a coffee and talk through our priorities; tasks; and blockers for the week ahead.
By 9am, we are back in the office making ourselves presentable for the meetings we have ahead, whether that be with new coaches, business partners, or investors.
Throughout the day we try to live and breath our company values of ‘family’, ‘bravery’ and ‘impact’. We have huge ambitions with KIXXFIT so it’s important we are always pushing our goals, and thinking big.
Once it hits the late afternoon, It’s time to head home and take my toddler to the park before getting him ready for dinner and bed. This is always a nice break in the day and allows me to recharge before finishing off any work that is still to be done after he has gone to sleep.
3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?
100% – the beauty of starting your own company is that you can (and should!) design it in a way that suits the needs of your lifestyle, which for most people these days, requires accommodation for remote working.
So at KIXXFIT, because we have set ourselves up to work “in the cloud”, and are very comfortable with VCs for communication. I can work from home (and do so at least one day a week), and not be scared to head interstate or international as required (holidays included!) as long as there is a reliable wifi connection at the destination!
4) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?
Work-life balance to me means space – the space between work and the rest of what you do in your life, whether that’s mental or physical, both moments and longer periods of time.
My goals for work-life balance are more related to how I feel, rather than a particular sum of hours.
So I try to have moments during the working day when I can zone out, still my mind and just be mindful. On the weekends I give myself more time for this space, and give myself longer periods of time to think about anything else or tune out completely. That often involves hanging out with friends and family, exercising and swimming in the ocean.
5) What do you think are some of the best habits or routines that you’ve developed over the years to help you achieve success in your life?
Perspective on what you are doing in life is the most important thing I’m learning. In the past couple of years, I’ve seen new life come into this world, and I’ve seen some of the most important people in my life pass away as well.
By learning more about new life and death, I feel like I’ve learnt more about what the in-between parts mean. For me, it means being incredibly bold and brave, taking risks and hustling hard every single day, because personally, I don’t want to die without any scars.
6) Are there any books that have helped you improve over the years?
Harry Potter. I’m clearly a millennial and I know that’s such a typical answer, but for me it provides the ultimate escapism and it encourages me to think “what if?”.
7) What is the number one thing you do to make sure you get the most out of your day?
Set defining objectives for time periods, and work in an ‘agile’ way to achieve them. I also hate spending too much time in meetings so I try and carve out time during the day to actually do work!
8) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?
This is a really tough question because while things might look rosy on the outside and like they “have it all”, you never know what struggles people are actually going through or all the unrealistic support they get to make it work!
But probably Jacinda Ardern. How she manages to look after not only her family, her political party, herself, and also the entire New Zealand population is very impressive!
9) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?
What achieves “balance” for you may not work for everyone else. Don’t judge your own work-life balance based on someone else’s work-life weightings!
If you’d like to have a conversation with us about how you balance the grind, get in touch with us!
