Restaurateur, Health Entrepreneur, Lisbon, Portugal

I hope you can sense Ms. Joana Teixeira’s positive energy and warmth from these images. The instant I saw her big smile clad in that bright ensemble waving from across the street I knew we were in for a great chat and a fun afternoon. Joana’s business idea is ingenious and her ambitions are focused in the right direction - providing Alfacinhas (aka Lisboans) and visitors an option to choose a healthy culinary fare. But there is a twist: yoga and nutritional counseling are in the same space, and it’s called Therapist. Simple, nutritious and clean. In a town where one can spend hours searching for a salad, it is a fabulous addition to Lisbon’s rich restaurant scene. However as any entrepreneur will reveal, it took blood sweat and tears with a side of a mental breakdown to get to this point. Ms. Teixeira must be tough as nails, because she just opened a second location and it’s booming!

1. Name.

Joana dos Santos Teixeira.

2. Where is your hometown?

Lisbon, Portugal.

3. What is your profession/career/title/self-label/designation?

I am an health entrepreneur, founder of the first therapeutic restaurant in Portugal. It is called Therapist and currently has two locations in Lisbon.

4. What was the journey like to get where you are (in life and career-wise)? What are some accomplishments you’re most proud of, and what was the turning point to set you on a current path in life?

I was born (almost) 34 years ago in Lisbon - Portugal. Together with my older sister we are a result of a great relationship full of love between two great people that are my parents who are a constant inspiration to me. When I was growing up I always had examples of really hard working people in my life and when I was about 12 years old, my mother quit her job in advertising to start her own business as a restaurant franchisee. For me this was huge because we, as a family, lived through the start of this new adventure in our lives. We went from a safe economic and professional situation of my parents to investing everything we had into a new business. Thankfully the business thrived and the risk my parents took had a great consequence in our lives. So, for me, I always looked up to these two amazing human beings that risked all for a better life, invested their health, effort and their soul into it and were successful.

So, it was this "business family" that I grew up in and drew inspiration from. However I first started my professional life in Leo Burnett as a copy writer. I soon realized that I wanted to have a more strategic saying about the clients I worked. So after sending my application to the biggest brands I knew in Portugal, I ended up working in Marketing and Sales for brands like Heineken, Phillip Morris, Kraft Foods, among others.

My life quickly changed when 10 years ago I had a skin problem and no doctor or medicine could cure. I took some awful drugs, went to four dermatologists, and tried everything for two years. However only when I tried a Chinese Medicine doctor that I found the solution for my condition. I had to change the way I was eating and living and taking care of myself. I realized there was no place in my city to learn about healthy living, healthy eating, and seeking alternative medicine cures. That was when the idea of Therapist was born in my imagination. I quit my job as a Brand Manager at Kraft Foods to start what would become the Therapist. I became pregnant in the middle of everything but still managed to open the first Therapist when my son was seven months old and still breastfeeding. As you can imagine, it was a bit challenging.

The location of the first Therapist is in Lisbon at LxFactory. From the beginning it was a big success but not because of the therapies as I had expected but because of the restaurant. It grew a lot, people wanted to have healthy tasty meals, without sugar or dairy or any refined ingredients and soon we had to expand the restaurant space to be able to take more people that wanted to come and try our food.

Year 2018 was a big learning year for me.

I hired a manager for the restaurant, I got help at home with a beautiful soul that helps us with everything from dinner to cleaning, and I started doing four hours of exercise per week. I think this year was fundamental for me to grow as a professional and individual. Thanks to the above, I was able to dedicate myself to opening a second Therapist in Lisbon in May 2019.

5. What did you study in school?

Marketing and Advertising.

6. How is your life different from what you pictured at 20?

I always thought I would have a great career in Advertising. That I would create the most amazing campaigns and travel the world. But the first year in my “dream role”, I quickly understood my life would be different and wasn’t what I wanted anymore. I didn't like the advertising world and the egos that came with it. I then changed to Marketing which was almost the same. I never thought I would be a business woman but here I am, doing it!

7. Was there a time when life knocked you down or out and how did you get back up on your feet?

Yes. Last year I struggled with panic attacks and I almost had a burnout. I was managing the Therapist and my team of 16 alone (therapists and staff). My husband works in advertising and is very busy also, my baby started walking and was on his first year in daycare so we were sick all the time. I had almost no help at home and it got to a point where I couldn't do it anymore.

Some days I would just cry all day without understanding why. I found a therapist after my panic attacks manifested, and I remember tell him that I didn't feel like myself, I had always been a fighter and a "doer" and I just wanted a pill to get me free of this apathy I was constantly feeling. Luckily I had the support of my family, I got help with a psychologist and a naturopath, I started prioritizing exercise with an amazing teacher and I started making an effort to put myself first. I hired a manager for the restaurant and help for my home. Now I can say I am doing better although every day is still a learning opportunity.

9. Knowing what we know now in current political climate, can women be "all that we can be" in today's world? What is the way forward, as you see it, for "feminist values"?

I think women can be everything they want to be but we need to stop comparing ourselves to men. We are different. And there is no way to change that. We get pregnant. Men don't. We get a period. Men don't. We can do a lot of things at the same time. Men don't. ahahah! Just kidding. The thing is we keep on comparing ourselves to men and there is no point in that. We are what we are. Better for some things, worst for others. But we can be whatever we decide to be.

10. Where in the world do you feel “tallest” (i.e. where is your happy place)?

My happy place is at the beach, always. Swimming in salty water, getting rid of all bad energies.

11. What extra-curricular activities/hobbies are you most proud of? Why? 

I collaborate with Portuguese NGOs that help women that are going through a rough time in their life.

12. What do you want to be when you grow up? Future goals/challenges?

A calm person. ahahahha! I want to be more here and now. More present. More calm. I have a lot of energy and sometimes it's challenging to just let it be.

13. What fears are you still hoping to overcome?

The fear of failure.

15. What inspires you?

Other people, their stories, the way they look at life.

16. What are you hopeful about?

I am hopeful about a world where everyone has access to healthy food and has knowledge about it. I would like to see it as a priority for every government.

18. What is a quality you most love about yourself and why?

My persistence, because that is what got me through last year.

19. What advice would you give your 14-year-old self?

Respect yourself, first and always.

20. What are you reading now? (what books do you gift most and what are your favourite reads?)

I am reading “The Tattooist Of Auschwitz” which I am liking a lot but at the same time it is making me think about how human stupidity can go to such lengths, and noone intervenes.

21. Who is a WOW Woman in your world who inspires you and why?

My mother for sure for reasons stated above.

22. Where can others find you/your work (links to websites, blogs, etc.)?

website: thetherapist.pt or instagram: @thetherapistlx