Meet Samantha Pantazopoulos | Co-founder, Vizer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Samantha Pantazopoulos and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Samantha, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I’ve always loved creating things – whether they’re designs, recipes, or products. My dad is a small business owner, and I have so many childhood memories of us working together on business projects. I always felt building a business was in the cards for me. But I knew when starting a business, my reason why was exceptionally important. I wanted to start something that could serve a lot of people, build community, and create value.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
-What’s one thing about your industry that outsiders are probably unaware of?

Vizer exists at the intersection of the wellness category, meaning we work with a variety of different stakeholders – ranging from consumer products to services to hospitality and retail. Something cool about the wellness industry is the shared vision of the people who operate within it. Across all types of businesses, we’ve had the pleasure of working with people who truly believe in a healthier, happier world and are committed to co-creating it.

-Risk taking: how do you think about risk, what role has taking risks played in your life/career?

I am both comfortable with risk and uncomfortable with risk, and I believe that balance is important for entrepreneurship. To build something new, and to chart your own path, you have to be comfortable with figuring things out as you go. You’ll never know all of the answers, and you have to trust in your ability to respond to challenges as they arise.
But I think there is a difference between comfortability with risk and unpreparedness. They say success is where luck meets opportunity, and I think doing everything you can to be prepared helps you navigate risk with more ease.

-Other than deciding to work for yourself, what was the single most important decision you made that contributed to your success?

I made a decision very early on to seek help when I needed it. We built an advisory board to help with strategic business decisions. We sought informational interviews and tried to connect with people who had done aspects of what we were hoping to do before. I also invested in personal coaching and mindfulness practices to help keep my mental health aligned. Founding a company and building a team require support, and investing in support early on serves you ten-fold.

-What is the most important factor behind your success / the success of your brand?

Hands-down the community. Without people powering the ecosystem and organizations aligning behind it, Vizer would just be a tool. Every person who joins the community and every brand who joins the ecosystem contributes to the strength of the whole. It’s this shared vision and authentic values alignment that has helped define and grow both the product and the brand.

-What’s the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make?

There have been a few inflection points where I chose the non-standard path. Moving across the country at 17 to go to a school where I didn’t know anyone, and launching a company at 20 with zero corporate experience both stand out as powerful examples. In both instances, I had to choose to bet on myself when there were a lot of voices urging me not to.

But learning to bet on yourself is like a muscle, in that it strengthens with time. This difficult decision has arisen in different scenes and costumes as time has evolved, but the nature of it remains the same. How do you follow your intuition when there’s loud opposition?

-Work life balance: how has your balance changed over time? How do you think about the balance?

I used to have zero work-life balance. I really bought into the romanticized narrative of early-stage entrepreneurship that your dedication is best demonstrated by your hours committed. I knew, however, that this wasn’t the kind of culture I wanted to promote within our organization. As the team grew, I had to reevaluate my own relationship with balance to set a better example, and in doing so, repair my relationship with rest.

-Do you have a favorite quote or affirmation? What does it mean to you / what do you like about it?

So many! It’s hard to choose. One of my favorites is by Pablo Casals:

“Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that will never be again. And what do we teach our children? We teach them that two and two make four, and that Paris is the capital of France. When will we also teach them what they are? We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the years that have passed, there has never been another child like you. Your legs, your arms, your clever fingers, the way you move. You may become a Shakespeare, a Michaelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel. And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is, like you, a marvel? You must work, we must all work, to make the world worthy of its children.”

I love that it speaks to the power of potential, the importance of presence, and how the most impactful thing we can do is recognize our shared humanity.

-Why did you pursue an artistic or creative career?

Eudaimonia is a Greek concept that refers to lasting happiness and well-being – it’s a state of sustainable blissfulness and good spirit. A modern approach to this feeling is flow state. I feel most at peace, content, and aligned when I’m in the process of creating something new. Professionally, it’s the ultimate joy to truly love what you do, and I knew building a career in the creative field would allow me to experience that daily.

-What do you want your legacy to be? What do you want people to remember about you?

Every day we have the opportunity to decide how we show up. Circumstances can arrive that cloud our path, and the environment in which we operate is constantly shifting, however we never lose the ability to choose our intention. How do I want to show up today? How do I want people to feel? What impact do I want to be responsible for? It is important to me that I am kind. That I am a positive force in both my micro-environment and our collective world. I want to add value, to lift people up, and to bring light and love and laughter to the spaces I occupy.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
San Diego is an easy place to entertain, because the weather is always fabulous and there is so much to do. When I have friends in town, I always try to blend something active with good food and ocean views. Hermosa Surf is my go-to smoothie shop in Bird Rock, and we’d spend the morning walking the coast and taking in the scene. I am originally from Maryland, so when friends from home visit, they always want to spend some time at the beach swimming or laying out. For evening – there are so many good options between Little Italy and La Jolla, but I recently discovered that Little Italy has salsa dancing in the plaza, so would totally be down to check that out and then grab a bite nearby at spots like Cloak + Petal, Barbusa, or Zinqué.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would love to dedicate this shoutout to the Vizer team and Vizer community. Every person who has contributed their time, effort, and ideas towards building this ecosystem has contributed to its strength, and I am eternally grateful for each and every individual working together to make this impact possible.

Website: www.sampantazopoulos.com + www.vizerapp.com

Instagram: @vizerapp and @sampantazopoulos

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scpantazopoulos/

Other: Download Vizer: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/vizer-steps-track-donate/id1446006600 Download Vizer: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vizerapp.vizer&hl=en_US&gl=US

Image Credits
Vizer