Finding Founders - Daniela Luzi Tudor

She realized systems in place for drug and alcohol recovery were failing those who needed them.

So a recovering addict, Daniela Luzi Tudor, decided to change the system by co-founding a recovery app, WEconnect. 

Daniela is exquisite. 

I met her a decade ago swimming in the glory of our mid 20s.  Soaking up house music, neon lights and late nights.  I, a club photographer, she, a promoter.   Even then she had such a presence with her striking features and endless, curvy smile.  So at ease, so fearless. 

Now... She's been through hell and back. And even though she heads a million + dollar funded company she's still seductive, captivating and a commanding presence with a gentle undertone.  In a way, parental like. Someone who's lived with lots to tell.  Parallel features to her company WEconnect Health, which tackles an addict's recovery path.  It's personal and no small, short term task.

I photographed Daniela as the dark, composed beauty she is.   Deeply emotional and therefore a powerfully attuned human being.  Her company story is one in the same of her very own.  Here are her own words describing how she first hand experienced a broken system and how she's using technology to change it.

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Daniela let's talk about WEconnect Health before diving into your personal story.  I wanted to feature you and your company because you're the exact person who fits the Finding Founders motivation.  You're giving back to the world by improving a broken system.  But first we need to know exactly what was broken.  And how you're fixing it.

Not enough people are getting the proper treatment that they need: for every 100 persons that needs treatment for addiction only 10 get into inpatient treatment and only 2 of those stay sober for a year. Moreover, the length of treatment covered isn't long enough and at the end the person receive a piece of paper called a care plan and are sent on their way. There is no accountability and addiction is treated like an acute diseases versus a long term chronic condition that requires daily treatment in the form of: support meetings, therapy, MAT - depending on what works for the individual.

With the WEconnect mobile app, the individual is connected in real time to their support network and they are kept accountable to their care plan via rewards, positive messaging and location verification. We have a patent pending relapse risks core algorithm that generates a relapse risk based on behavior on the app, and notifies the support network - such as a counselor - within the enterprise data dashboard.

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A look at the WEconnect desktop homepage

taken from the WEconnect site

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Do you have professionals working for the app that, say, a client could contact should they feel a relapse coming on, questions, or just simple therapy in a way like a counselor?

We partner with professionals and facilities who are that connection to the patient on our app. We are experts at building engaging technology solutions in this space, and partner with the best on the clinical side. We also provide facilities with curriculums developed by our PHds' to help the counselors and therapists educate the patients on WEconnect. We also provide swag for the patients and welcome to them to our community very early on.

When you started this company did you understand there would be infinite ways to expand it?

Yes: I think its one of the things we struggle as entrepreneurs, is that we see the final big vision of what it looks like 20, 30 years out. And how to get there. Getting there takes so much longer than we envision it. I felt this can be applied to a number of other populations. My big vision is that this tool is the best version of you, ahead of you in time making suggestions and guiding you through life so that you can be at your best, happy, joyous and free.

taken from the WEconnect site

How did you pick a co-founder?  Investors?

I needed two things to get the idea to fruition: funding and someone with deeper technical knowledge than myself. I also knew that I could not compromise my values and any co-founder I considered, they would have to be deeply passionate about the social mission. I met Murphy Jensen as a result of winning a contest to go to Necker Island and meet Richard Branson - he was MCing a tennis tournament there and after I returned a mutual friend connected us. Murphy was looking to impact the world beyond the professional world of tennis and this opportunity was a match.

Same with investors: they are all either 1) deeply passionate about addiction recovery and mental health or 2) have invested in social impact and / or healthcare companies. My relationship with my board is very unusual. It is very authentic, close and I consider my chairman of the board one of my closest mentors personally and professionally. I am 100% transparent with them, and they are with me: there is no fear or barriers between us and unfortunately that seems to be unique and unlike most other companies.

What would you consider your official start date of the idea?  When you quit your other jobs or job to focus on this?

My official start date was in August 2014 when I was lying in bed week 3 of my inpatient stay in rehab. I put together a couple pieces of data: that for first time I felt like I really belonged: it was this group of people that were going through the same thing I was and we connected, but that I would lose most of them to ODs or relapse. And then I observed that the staff at treatment centers was overworked, underappreciated and was doing a lot of work on pen and paper. I instantly journaled about how we could use a mobile phone that is with us 24x7 to bridge the gap and keep people connected to their support communities in real time.

I quit my job November of 2015: we were on the brink of getting our seed round filled, and the investor needed to know I had skin in the game. I was also feeling distracted at work thinking about it all the time and felt like I wasn't serving my employer anymore- it felt dishonest and I needed to take the leap, and it was a big leap. At the time I didn't have enough to make next month's rent and I really depended on the stipend that the funding was going to provide,  but I knew it was then or never.

Do you feel more personally connected to the business because of the reason you started it?

I think its relative. What you build from scratch is deeply personal regardless of what the product is. I can't speak for other founders whether I am more or less connected, but I know that connection has gotten me through the usual hurdles that we experience building businesses.

How did this work affect your personal life?  I get asked all the time how long founders or co-founders work weeks are.

It goes in waves. Some weeks or months I have work-life harmony and my self care is on point. Other times, I feel like my entire body is shredded, I feel defeated but wake up in the morning and continue the day.

Do you feel like you "shut off" from work or does work and personal tend to flow together?

It flows together big time. What I mean by that is, if I am working on other projects like DJing or screenwriting - or crossing off something from my bucket list or experiencing something new- I tend to get inspiration from those that lead me to solve something at WEconnect or helps me see situations from a different viewpoint. Sometimes I even come up with solutions or ideas during my sleep - though usually that means I am having a hard time turning it off in a productive way.

DJing?!!  It's amazing you still have time to pursue great passions while running a new company.  It does reflect the person you quoted Richard Branson a tad.  Do you think making time for these other passions adds to your work on the company?  Directly or indirectly?

It does indirectly; it relieves stress, helps me think through situations differently because I am using different parts of my brain. I do not produce tracks (yet), I just DJ and mix- and I can't say that I am very good yet either. :) My screenwriting is more advanced though - currently working with one of the best management and production companies in LA on a dramedy TV series that I co-wrote. I will be sure to share details with you when I am able, but I am very excited.

Do you feel supported by your tech community in Seattle?  What other business communities are you apart of around the nation or the world?

I feel different types of support from both Seattle and outside of Seattle. I've also recognized opportunities both locally and nationally that could enhance the experience of a founder. I am a part of The Riveter, EO, and Female Founders Alliance

Last questions and I realize this is tough. If you could go back to that 20's something and change it all, would you?

I would not change what happened to me. I would like to change the impact my struggle had on others. But as far as my own experience, and what it has led to: the ability to help others, the new people this experience has brought into my life, and most importantly a person that has come back into my life as a result is priceless.

Would you sell anytime soon and to who?  Would you be afraid that someone wouldn't take care of this business like you would?

I want to grow the company to have opportunities to create the biggest impact and for us to have choices. I am not tied to an outcome where it is: IPO, selling or growing it incrementally. What is important to me is that as a group we decide what is best and choose the path that will allow the most family systems to heal from addiction and behavioral health conditions.

"The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places." Ernest Hemingway.

Find something broken and fix it.  The very heart of evolution. This responsibility falls in the hands innovators and entrepreneurs.  Daniela, is both.

written and photographed by: Summer Wilson
November 20, 2018