We were lucky to catch up with Samantha Pantazopoulos recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Samantha thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Everyone’s definition of success is different, and I think that is a really good thing. Diversity of thought and diversity of action is what creates a thriving society.

When discussing the meaning of success, I always encourage people to think critically about what success means to them. How do they want to feel? How do they want their days to look? When they look back in reflection, will they be happy with how they spent their time? Often, our culture positions success as a destination, but I now prefer to view it as a state of being.

We have a working definition of success in our organization that helps guide decision making and expectations. I believe one is successful when they care and they try – meaning they care about creating a positive outcome and they are putting their best effort forward.

When there is clear commitment to shared vision, and consistent effort undertaken, results will naturally follow.

Samantha, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have started (and stopped) more exercise routines than I can count. While studying abroad on Semester at Sea, it was no different. Only this time, as I struggled with unhealthy habits, I was learning about social innovation and how business can be used as a tool to sustain social good. The potential blew me away, and I set out to build a tool that would make healthful living more accessible for all members of our community.

Vizer is an app converting exercise into meal donations and healthy rewards. Every day that you complete your activity goal on Vizer and tap donate, a brand will donate a meal through a US food bank on your behalf. Each meal donated earns you a point redeemable for healthy rewards.

Since launching the app nationwide in 2020, the Vizer community has converted millions of workouts into meals. We believe all people should be empowered with the tools to live well, and are building a coalition of individuals, corporations, and community organizations committed to Democratizing Wellness.

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.

My co-founder is my cousin and we’re also great friends – so it’s the double edged-sword of going into business with family and going into business with friends.

Fortunately, we complement each other very well, and have had an amazing time building the business together. Whenever I’m asked about it, I always advocate for making the decision to partner with family and friends, as the level of shared trust and transparency can be hard to match.

Our partnership sparked off the heels of a casual conversation. I had just returned from Semester at Sea and we were making lunch in his mom’s kitchen. We started chatting about the concept for Vizer and before we knew it minutes turned into hours. At the end, we both looked at each other and just knew – this was something we would both find really fulfilling to do together, and from there the rest is history.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

For a long time I fell victim to the “moving goal post phenomenon” – I would set a goal and be very focused on reaching it, but once I finally hit it, I struggled to enjoy the moment because I had already focused my attention on the next accomplishment. A good friend pointed out that I wasn’t taking enough time to enjoy the journey or really be present – and before I knew it, time was flying by.

The lesson I had to unlearn is that fulfillment is attached to an outcome. We think that when we get the job, the relationship, or the house, we will feel something different – but as long as we are attaching our sense of fulfillment to a destination, we will always keep ourselves in an energy of lack. When I started celebrating the wins in real time and learned how to enjoy the process, opportunities became more abundant, lows seemed much more navigable, and highs became even sweeter.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.vizerapp.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sampantazopoulos/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scpantazopoulos/

Image Credits
Daniel Del Carmen