“You don’t need to go as fast as everyone makes it seem, because you might come down on a crutch.”įounded in 2019, Apothékary is an herbal-based online business that does more than enhance one’s lifestyle: It bridges the long contrasted Eastern and Western worlds together in small bottles of health. “I thought this was the perfect metaphor for building a business,” she says. Their bodies were unable to adapt to the needed oxygen levels and they had to withdraw from their journey due to altitude sickness. On Okusa's trip, she witnessed two young boys being carried down after rushing up the mountain.

“Pole, Pole (pronounced, pol-ee polee),” Okusa's guide would repeat on their ascension, is the Swahili phrase that means “slowly” and is an important piece of advice for trekkers. But, aside from bragging rights, the Japanese-American learned an important lesson that would fuel her latest venture. In 2012, Okusa was inducted into the club of mega-humans. Hailing at 19,500 feet, the treacherous hike to the majestic mountain’s peak is only successfully accomplished by half the adventurers who dare try it. “Have you done it?” she asks me in a genuinely curious tone.

Shizu Okusa, founder of herbal-based wellness brand Apothékary, talks about climbing Mount Kiliminjaro as if it was another trip to Trader Joe’s.

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