Lucy Jung is the Founder & CEO at Charco, a medtech start-up working on a system for people with Parkinson’s to improve their quality of life.

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1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?

I am a founder of Charco Neurotech, and design engineer focused on projects related to patient care. I have previously attained her Innovation Design Engineering MA (Distinction) at Imperial College London and Royal College of Art, and Industrial and Informatic Design BA by Korea University.

I gained experience as Product Designer at Samsung Design Membership and PDD London, and as Marketing Intern at Cheil Worldwide. I have conducted extensive research with patients to gain further insight, and develop prototypes to test alongside the users themselves.

2) What does a day in your life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?

I like to get to work around 7-8am, and catch up with our Korean-based team members every morning. I then move on to catching up with the UK-based team members, many of whom I work with face-to-face in our office daily.

We congregate as a team in order to discuss each sector of the company. Emails and messages are something which need to be answered periodically throughout the day. After work, we regularly host activities for the entire team – previous events have included mini-golf and bowling.

Much of my time during the day is also spent meeting with amazing people, to learn from them, and to discuss fascinating things relating to the healthcare system, patient care, running a start-up, building a team, and so much more. I also always ensure to make some time for self-enrichment, learning new skills and techniques which in turn enable me to better fulfil my role. 

3) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?

Everyone is different, and the diversity in approaches to work-life balance reflects this. For me, I prefer that my work life and personal life are not separated, and this works well for me.

I see many aspects of my work as downtime in itself, such as visiting people with Parkinson’s, and getting to hear their stories and becoming inspired to explore new avenues. When not in the office, I often enjoy playing piano and sketching.

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4) In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits to change your life?

No; I have always been quite consistent in this.

5) Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you’d like to recommend?

I really enjoy reading the newsletters from Imperial College London’s Enterprise Lab, and hearing about all the exciting new technologies currently emerging. 

I tend to seek out books through which I can learn more about personal and business development. Recent favourites have included Finding Your True North: A Personal Guide, and Scott Kupor’s Secrets of Sand Hill Road.

6) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?

I would read an interview with Dan Garrett, the CEO of Farewill. I truly believe that he has done great work in building an entire company and culture around one singular mission. 

7) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?

Just to remember that everyone is different. There are no strict right or wrong answers – simply finding what suits each person the best should always be the most important thing.

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