#MomCrush Monday: Meet Yoky Matsuoka, Founder & CEO of Yohana 

1.) You are the Founder and CEO of Yohana, MacArthur ‘Genius’ Award Winner and a mom of four – my goodness!  What tips can you share about how you manage it all?

The truth is… I don’t! It is impossible to manage it all. It has been my lifelong struggle and an invaluable lesson that I eventually embraced. I’m constantly juggling and sometimes a ball will drop and after years of feeling mom guilt or feeling bad for not being able to do everything myself, I’ve learned the value in asking for help. The days come and go, and there is always more to do than 24 hours allow, but I now know that surrounding myself with people I trust and can delegate to, helps me in turn be able to show up better to all parts of my life – work, kids, family, etc. Without putting my oxygen mask on first, I can’t fully take care of my family or anyone else. Overall, we are all doing the best we can. 

2.) What motivated you to pivot from creating health tech while working for Apple and Google to starting your own company?

From early on in my career, I’ve wanted to build technology that helps people live healthier and happier lives. As a technologist, I saw the opportunity to help families in a meaningful way. 

As a working mom of four, this is my biggest pain point. The fact that there is not enough time in the day, the mental burden I carry trying to get everything done, and the guilt I feel about missing out on small moments with my family. It is a constant struggle. I wanted to create something that would finally help solve a complex problem that nearly every family faces. Building something like this requires hyper focus, speed, and innovation, which can be challenging within more established corporations. As an independent subsidiary of Panasonic, we can direct the course of the company and make decisions quickly, in direct response to what we know families need. 

3.)You’ve stated that your goal is to lighten the load of pandemic-stressed parents. Why is this important to you? How do you feel like your business/product will help achieve this?

In a culture where we are constantly told to “push, push, push,” many families have pushed themselves to the limit. As a mother of four, I knew families were in crisis and were too busy to even type a to-do list on their smartphones, let alone cross things off. And then COVID-19 hit and amplified the problem. Now more than two years into it, parents are past their breaking point. The pandemic brought issues to the forefront that were always there, but made these pain points unbearable, from the lack of childcare, to the lack of connection with others while we manage our own families, and a general feeling of being super stressed, overwhelmed, and at the brink. As a result, the well-being of our families has been compromised. 

The number one thing I wish for as a parent is to have more time back. It’s about the little moments. Being able to put down your phone, or take your kids to drop-off, or going on a date night with your partner. These moments of connection are priceless. I crave them.

I created Yohana because I wanted to help other parents like me who were being crushed by the pressure and unrealistic standards of balancing career and family, which were made worse in the past few years. I wanted to create something that would finally help solve a problem that nearly every family faces by being there for them holistically.

At Yohana, our flagship service is the Yohana Membership. It matches families with a team of people who take the load off their shoulders: no more kids asking “what’s for dinner?”, no more watching online purchase returns pile up, or staring at broken fauces that need to be fixed. Every family gets a Guide to map their wellness goals, a team to take on the things that pile up, and a network of local vetted pros for larger home projects. We piloted the service in Seattle last year and helped more than 1,000 families offload 20,000 tasks, saving them an average of 8-10 hours per week. That’s a full day per month we gave back to them! We’re excited to bring the service to Los Angeles on June 7. 

4.) I’m sure you’ve endured your share of struggles building your business. What can you share with our readers about how you overcame these struggles and persevered on to accomplish your levels of success all while being a busy mom of 4?

Being a working mom requires creativity and structure. One of my favorite “hacks” is making sure that I am setting weekly priorities. Every sunday, I sit down and plan the calendar for the entire week. Between my husband and I deciding who is going to pick up what kid, what work meeting I’m going to have to sacrifice to make a sporting event or game. I also make daily “anchor lists” that include both work and personal tasks I must complete by the end of the day. If my entire day falls apart (which sometimes it does) I make sure to do whatever I can to tackle the anchor points. 

5.) What is your favorite song lyric? Why?

I am a classical music person. I love the sounds of a crescendo and the palpable dramatic to soft transition you can feel from the notes.