Senada Greca: Trainer, Founder of WeRise, and Co-Founder of Aonic

27:20At what point did you start to think, maybe I could do this full time? Maybe I could turn this content into a viable career. When did that start bubbling up in your brain?

27:35Senada Greca:It definitely started towards the end of 2019. I think I was approached by a clothing brand that started to pay me a little bit for any sales that I would generate through a code. So seeing a little bit of that return gave me a little bit of that confidence that, okay, I can actually make something out of this. And then seeing that my peers were selling programs at a similar following, I started to build my online programs. And this was right before the pandemic hit and I had filmed everything in the gym. And then I had to quickly utilize some of those workouts to turn them into programs that I built online.

28:22Senada Greca:And that shift happened in 2020. Well, obviously, the pandemic time is horrible. But at the same time, it also opened a lot of opportunities for folks to pivot into services that could be executed at home. I feel like everyone was like working out at home and making sourdough bread. and there were all of these things that were all happening at the same time. What was going on with your corporate career during that time? Because all of a sudden, you're probably not out in the field as much, right? I think that was very pivotal, like not being out in the field and having the time to actually work on these programs and put them together and then put them out and then realizing rather quickly that there was a need and a desire from my audience for these programs to where it was like, okay, now it makes sense to kind of let go of that security and jump fully into providing programs for people and stepping into that fitness space.

29:23So because of your finance and business background, did you have a number in mind of like, I need to have this much savings, be generating this much revenue on a monthly basis for a certain number of months before I can decide to walk away from the day job. Like where were your spreadsheets? Like what were you thinking of?

29:42Senada Greca:Yeah, of course. So first and foremost, like I've always been a person that I never put anything on my credit card that I could not pay. No debt. I had no debt coming out of school because I'd covered it by being an excellent student. You know, I think I got like minimal financial aid, but also that was dependent on maintaining a certain grade and I got scholarships as well. So I was super lucky to not have any debt. And I never again put any debt on my credit cards that I didn't have in my bank account. And then when I sold the programs and I saw that they generated more than my income at the current job within the first launch, like right away.

30:21Wow.

30:22Senada Greca:Yeah. It blew me away as well. But I think that was a testament again to the quality of what I have provided all along. And now it just came into a very cohesive program. Your parents must have been so terrified though. Oh yeah. So terrified. I think until, you know, the recent years where I'm popping up on podcasts and I'm training Kim Kardashian. Now all of a sudden they're like, okay, it's real. It's real. Yeah. Okay. So then obviously Instagram was really important for building a community, for sharing workouts. But then in 2021, you expanded with your first app. What was your rationale behind creating an app?

31:08What could that do for your business, for your career, for everything that you couldn't do otherwise?

31:15Senada Greca:Yeah. So the first iteration of the programs was web-based and it was a one-time off purchase. And with everything, how it's shifted, not a lot of people use web-based programs anymore. And everything is switched to the phone. And we saw that occurring at that point in time. So we decided that it was a better fit to shift into the app space after the programs had proven to be extremely successful. So that was kind of like gauging, okay, so now this is a real thing that we can turn and invest into an app. And obviously like the subscription-based app setup versus the web base is again, something that is more scalable, that is more user-friendly.

31:57Senada Greca:People can follow a journey that's longer than three months that I believe like the programs were initially. Seeing all of those kind of come together, then it just made sense. again, like the need for it, but also the business aspect of it came together to then build the first reiteration of the app, which was the Crush It app. So building an app is not easy. I mean, you had the content piece of it going for you. You obviously knew what you wanted it to contain, but I'm curious about what the challenges were for building it because there are a thousand things that can go wrong. I'm wondering what your experience was like?

32:34Senada Greca:The technical aspect, I had no idea of how an app comes together. So we partnered with people that seemed really good at the time. And so while the app came together and it was very successful and it was an app that people enjoyed, we quickly realized that it wasn't scalable in the way that I wanted it to be. And that there was values there that didn't align with the people that we partnered with. And that's when I decided that I needed to create something that was more bespoke and something that could be scaled and could be expanded in what I had envisioned for the app and decided to end the relationship to then create something that was bigger than just a fitness app.

33:21Senada Greca:And that's what the WeRise app is now. How long did it take to get it up and running? The WeRise app? It came together rather quickly because we partnered with people that had done this before. So obviously all of the learnings that came with the Crush It app brought that together. We shifted that to the WeRise app. Which came out in 2024, correct? We're celebrating our two-year anniversary in January. Ah, that's crazy. Let's go back though. So Crush It came out in 2021? Yes, it was about a year after the online programs. That's amazing. And then the following year, you decided to start your athletic wear brand, which obviously feels like a natural progression, but also at the same time, it's a totally different business.

34:11And you obviously had personal experience of like what you liked from things and what you didn't, but that's very different from actually making clothing itself. So walk me through what your plan was there and what that process was like.

34:26Senada Greca:Yeah, it was enjoyable. You know, it was very different from an app and workout programs. Now you're getting into clothing and clothing is so personal and it's so detailed and especially workout clothes where you have little room for error and it needs to perform well. So it was a beautiful learning experience. I'm glad that I did it. It required a lot more investment dollars than a fitness app because when we've done these partnerships for the fitness app, that aspect of building it was covered by the partner and I covered the other aspects of it. But when it came to the clothing, it was taking out money from the fitness app to invest into the clothing, which for a small brand is really difficult.

35:16Senada Greca:It's really difficult to scale quickly. it's really difficult to get the unit prices to compete with brands that have been around for years or that have the ability to order these large quantities to then lower the pricing. So then their profits can be bigger and make sense, right, for it to continue. I'm curious when it comes to workout clothes to athletic wear, what are some of the things that you really look for or details that you really like or things that you think get overlooked? I want us to all be able to shop with your eyes on it. Performance is big. So for me, when I had Zentoa, I ran it through the ringer.

35:59Senada Greca:Like I had to wear it a certain amount of times before it got approved to production. So that quality of like things not coming off at the seam literally and so for me key and for a lot of women that I've spoken to you want to allow for your curves to come through and shape in a way that it doesn't take away from the hard work that you're putting in the gym so I think those were some of the aspects that I've been always looking for so things that shape but do not flatten flatten Exactly. Compress too much. Yeah. I mean, personally, that is something that I've never really liked. I like to show the curves and the things again, that we all work out hard for.

36:42And that's a difficult thing. You're like flatten some things, but not others all in the same garment or like asking it to do a lot of different things.

36:50Senada Greca:Exactly. That's why it's not the easiest industry to operate in because it's so specific and it's not just specific to you know a sector it's just specific to the individual to the person's preferences and one person's preferences are not necessarily another person's preferences because there are people out there that like that super compressive look but like the breathability of it all is also another big aspect like sweat is normal it's like I always say embrace the sweat but a lot of people don't like to see it in their clothing so that's like another thing you have to contend with. You know, in Zentoa, we built something that was so unique and so high quality.

37:33Senada Greca:And it's, you know, unfortunate that it had to be shut down, but it only made sense in the financial aspect that the resources that were going into Zentoa, and though it was profitable and it did well, it made much more sense that the return on investment would be higher of place into the personal development app that we rise is. As an entrepreneur, those are difficult conversations. I've gone through that myself where we've created something over the years and it's doing well and it's profitable and it's great, but it has to not just be great. It has to make up for your time. It has to be giving you the best return.

38:12You have a lot of different competing needs at times as an entrepreneur and something can be great and successful, but ultimately still not be the thing that succeeds long term because of your own needs as the business leader. And that can be hard. You're like, oh, it was great. It did all these things that we needed it to do. But ultimately, this other thing worked out in a bigger way.

38:36Senada Greca:Absolutely. And you have to kind of put your ego aside a little bit. And even though it's your little baby, sometimes you have to decide it doesn't make sense for where we're going and what we're trying to accomplish. So while all of this is going on, are you working with clients as well, like personal training clients? Odd enough. So I had initially before I had the programs and the app, I was training people, classes, individual basis. And then once the programs got put out there, I was not training personally anymore. It was all done through the programs and the app. But I did get approached by Bebe Rexha first.

39:16Senada Greca:She was the first celebrity that wanted to be trained by me. And we did that during COVID virtually. It was manageable because, again, I didn't have to go anywhere. We could just do it over FaceTime. And so she was the first celebrity client, if you will. And we trained together for a while. Once all the restrictions started to lift off, I came to L.A. to film for the Crush It app, which was in itself a crazy experience. It was an equipment warehouse that they had set up like a little, just three walls with lighting. And my partner, Rob, had set up two cameras. So I'd run from one camera to the other to get a couple of angles.

40:02Senada Greca:But at the time, I was able to also train her in person. And it was nice to train people in person because once you get this online presence and everything is online, you kind of lose a little bit of that personal connection. So I found it really helpful to me personally to keep in touch with that personal human connection by training individuals here and there. Speaking of which, we have to talk about one of your other very famous clients. You mentioned her briefly earlier, but you started working with the one and only Kim Kardashian in 2023. I feel like everyone who is involved with her in any way, like that is a different level of attention that comes with it.

40:44What was your experience like with working with her?

40:48Senada Greca:Incredible. She is very dedicated. She actually inspires me to be even better at what I do. you know if you think I'm handling so many things you can only imagine like the level of things that she is involved in and all of these different aspects from all of her businesses to shows and appearances and for kids and and and so to me it's just incredible to see all of that dedication firsthand and like I said it's inspirational and she shows up she never complains she puts in the work. And that's it. That's all a trainer can ask for is that commitment and consistency. That's amazing. You know, I feel like strength training has had such a glow up over the years.

41:39I think that women were so afraid of weights for such a long time. And now along with fiber and protein, everyone is talking about strength training, which feels like it's moving in the right direction. I mean, you're a part of the reason that strength training is part of the conversation. And I'm wondering if having these like massively famous clients like Kim vouching for the weightlifting piece of it has helped further that mission for you in any way. It's been something you've obviously cared about for a long time, but how have you seen the attitudes towards strength training change over the years?

42:14Senada Greca:Yeah, I mean, working with Kim, it's definitely helped me personally in many aspects like my career as well but a big reason why I decided to work with her is the impact that she would have on women on young women out there and delivering that message on my behalf and all of the other people that are supporting strength training so for me that was a big part of deciding to work with Kim is to have that kind of influence because I think we were also at a time where Ozempic was coming into the scene. And it was a fear of mine that we'd have a relapse, you know, with Ozempic being part of the industry or part of women's lives.

42:58Senada Greca:So I wanted to kind of nip that in the butt, so to speak. And when, you know, Kim's call came, it was, I thought, the perfect opportunity to help somebody like Kim again, know, step into her strength and help her, but also help other women understand the importance of strength training and developing muscles as a way of not just looking a certain way, but longevity. Yes. Long-term health and longevity. Because I think lifting weights, like that's one of the most important things for osteoporosis. It helps with so many other things. It's the one single thing that helps with all of these disease states.

43:38Senada Greca:So if you're talking about, like you said, osteoporosis, but hormonal balancing, cardiovascular disease, dementia, Alzheimer's, cancer. I don't think there is one disease state that working out and then strength training in particular does not help with. I can't think of any right off the top of my head because I know it is so helpful. It's as beneficial, if not more than just pharmacotherapy and therapy by itself. Yeah. We touched on it earlier about your second app, WeRise, that you launched in 2024 and how you had a lot of learnings from the first time around with the Crush It app. So what was sort of the framework for WeRise?

44:22Like, what did you want it to have? What did you want to do differently the second time around?

44:27Senada Greca:Well, we realized rather quickly that there is a need beyond just the physical aspect that brings all of these other aspects together in a way that is cohesive. And that's what I wanted in the We Rise app. I wanted people to rise women specifically, as that is the focus of the app in all of the other areas that women have expressed to me that they need assistance in. And research shows that there is all of these other unmet needs. And that's what I wanted to be more than just like, sure, The app is still focused around fitness because people have known me for so long to be so fitness central. But I want to bring all of these other aspects into it so that we rise wholly and holistically.

45:12Senada Greca:So that's where it is. But it's just the beginning. We're aiming to build more onto it and bring all of these other experts in different areas. We're looking right now into yoga and mobility. those are still fitness related, but then we want to expand into perhaps the finance aspect and overcoming traumas, career development, relationships and imposter syndrome, like all of the things that, again, myself, I've needed help through in my life. But I've also had women express the need for all of these. I love that it's a 360 approach to truly health, right? I mean, because it's wellness in all of its forms in all of the areas of your life.

45:58Senada Greca:Absolutely, and that's the goal is to make it really that 360 personal development platform. So whatever need you have, you find it in one place. I love that. So you also briefly touched on the supplements earlier. Talk to me about why that was an area of focus for you and what you want to achieve with it. I've always been skeptical about the supplements industry, I think, and legitimately so for a lot of people. They're still, if not more than ever, questioning the legitimacy of the supplements and not having been able to find something that aligned with my values and needs that I felt I had or the general public has.

46:42Senada Greca:It had been on my radar. I wanted to be a part of something that filled that need. And this is how Ayonic came about. I decided to partner with somebody that also had the same values as myself to bring really quality supplements, a holistic, again, approach to our nutritional needs. filling the holes that were left by other supplement companies, not in just the supplements that they brought, but the dosages that they're bringing them. Because a lot of the companies out there, they're doing this thing called pixie dusting, where they sprinkle a little ingredient that doesn't really create an impactful change in your body, but it's just added so they can make their labels look better.

47:28Senada Greca:With Ionic, the aim is to bring clinically validated dosages for each ingredient that goes into any of the supplements so that they can create the impact that they are studied to create in the body. So if our listeners are interested, is there like a starter pack like everyone should have? Are there certain supplements or formulas that you're really excited about? Like If you did, what would they be? So the first foundational product that we launched with was just recently in November, Aionic Complete, which is your daily supplement needs in one delivery system. So it's your vitamins and minerals, your omega-3s, your pre, pro, and postbiotics, your super greens and antioxidants, like all in one.

48:21Senada Greca:So basically eliminating the need to have five to 10 different supplements, but have them in one bottle, in one delivery system. I think that is probably the favorite thing that we brought onto the market and the first foundational product, because it does provide all of the basic needs in one delivery system, makes it super easy to take. And then we just recently launched creatine that includes other ingredients like HMB and beetroot extract, which help promote and support muscle building, strength, performance, and protein drink. So the protein drink has 32 grams of protein. Whoa. Which is...

49:05Senada Greca:That's great. A really great amount of protein with five grams of fiber. So it has that fiber balance all in 160 calories and all naturally flavored, no artificial flavorings. That is amazing. We have a hydration drink as well, which I'm having right now. That was like our soft launch a year ago, but the rest of them are definitely my favorites, if you will. How long has it taken to get all of the formulas right? So initially the company was started by Max. He's the other co-founder of the company. He's built many tech companies, very successful in his own right in the tech world. And this was his passion project that he's been working on for a while.

49:50Senada Greca:So the company was in existence before I joined. And they had soft launch with the hydration drink with Aionic Revive before I joined. And then I was tapped on the shoulder as somebody that is really passionate about the industry and has a good amount of knowledge of the supplement world and having a drive for clean products. What came together is the alignment of values that Max and his team had and myself. For me, though, I've been wanting to do this for a very long time and formulations which are coming to life now in cooperation with Aionic. That's so exciting. You have done so much already.

50:33When you are looking ahead about what you want to accomplish in the next three, five, ten, however many years, what is your North Star? What happens next? What is the big plan or the big dream? What should we keep an eye out for?

50:48Senada Greca:The big plan is to keep expanding We Rise to bring all of the different experts in one place. So it's literally a one-stop shop for personal development for a woman to help in all of the areas that we feel like we could utilize some help. so that is the north star is to just make it this one-stop shop for personal development and make the user journey as flawless as possible i mean it is great and you know i never like to give props to myself but i will give props to myself and the app and my team that we've built something really unique and for people that have been serial app users they say constantly how we Arise is the best app that they have utilized.

51:32Senada Greca:When it comes to Ionic, we have such a huge pipeline of products and ecosystem of health and wellness products that I'm so excited to bring to everybody. Like I said, I love my protein and the whey protein powder is scheduled to launch in January, which I can't wait for. Amazing. Yeah. Yeah. And every month we're going to have something that we're going to bring to market. I can't wait. I'm going to be watching and keeping my eyes peeled. Thank you. So on this podcast, we close it out with the same three questions that we ask everyone. And the first one is about mistakes because everyone makes mistakes over the course of their career, but we don't always talk about it.

52:17We tend to give the highlight reel, but I think it's important to talk about mistakes because it shows resiliency and we all need examples of that. So I'm hoping that you can tell me about a mistake that you've made at any point in your career and what you've learned from it.

52:32Senada Greca:I mean, this is going to sound kind of generic, but I really don't believe that there's mistakes. I think that there is learning opportunities. You know, I could sit here and say that I could have started being in the fitness industry and started posting my workouts and building my programs and kind of quieted that, you know, voice that said, you know, who are you to do this like a long time ago? But I think there's always a time and a place and things perhaps happen when they're supposed to happen because of all of the learnings that came before that. So I try to think of what people might think of mistakes as learning opportunities.

53:11Senada Greca:So I don't think there's been any mistakes. That's good. Yeah. The only mistake is if you don't learn from it, right? Exactly. Exactly. And you know, I could say that partnering with different partners to build the app initially, but that could not have happened without having to have gone through that first step. So embrace what has occurred, learn from it, and then move on. And again, don't try to dwell in the past and dwell on what you think might have been mistakes, but see them as like this beautiful learning opportunities. There's no mistakes. So a lot of the women who listen to this podcast are in their first lives, and they know that they want to make a career change.

53:51Maybe it's the same industry, but something slightly different, or maybe they want to be like you and change industries altogether, but they're scared. So what advice would you give someone who's thinking about making a big move, but just hasn't done it quite yet?

54:07Senada Greca:For me, it was super helpful to do what I do now in conjunction with what I was doing at the time. So I wouldn't take that full-on leap where I had no fallback. So perhaps if you can start, take those first steps. Like for me, it was posting that first post and then that second and third and continuing every day. So doing something small, it's like with working out, start small and start doing that consistently. And perhaps write a business plan, write that North Star for you, but start with the foundation. What are those first steps that you can take now and build upon to reach to that? A lot of the time we feel like we need to make this, you know, 180 shift.

54:50Senada Greca:And while perhaps if you do have that stability and you have lots of money saved in the bank, maybe you can do that. For a lot of people, it's unrealistic to jump ship and start a new venture. So start with those little steps, those foundational steps. Do them consistently. Consistency is everything in everything that you do. And over time, I almost can guarantee you that you will be able to then analyze and figure out whether now this is your new path. So my last question is my favorite question, which is, if you could get in a time machine and go back in time and give your younger self some advice, what would you say?

55:32Senada Greca:To have trust and faith that things will work out, that you will not be lost forever. You know, I remember many times, you know, crying in the dark, just begging for like that light at the end of the tunnel and not seeing it. You know, I knew that I did not want to be where I was doing what I was doing at the time, but not seeing any light at the end of the tunnel. But just to keep that faith alive and know that everything is going to work out. Everything's going to be fine. I love that. Well, thank you so much for your insight and your time and all of your thoughtful answers. I appreciate it tremendously.

56:15I have enjoyed this conversation so much. Thank you, Hilary. Appreciate it.

56:27That was the founder of We Rise and co-founder of Aionic, Sonata Greca. For more inspiring interviews with women like Sonata, head on over to secondlifepod.com, where we have so many more for you to peruse. If you like today's show, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And don't forget to rate and review us. We love seeing you spread the word on social. And now you can tag us in your posts. We are at secondlifepod on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. We always want to know who you're interested in hearing from on the show. So send in your requests to hello at secondlifepod.com, or you can DM us on Instagram.

57:08I'm at Hilary Kerr. The show is at Second Life Pod. Our DMs are always open. I'm Hilary Kerr, and you've been listening to Second Life. This episode was produced by Hilary Kerr, Summer Hammeris, and Natalie Thurman. Our production assistant is Raven Yamamoto. Our audio engineers are at Treehouse Recording in Los Angeles, California, and our music is by Jonathan Leahy.