Meet The CEOs: Shine’s Naomi Hirabayashi & Marah Lidey
Hear from successful female leaders
Naomi Hirabayashi and Marah Lidey created Shine with an acute awareness that while we’re all different, the need for self-care is universal. We caught up with the co-founders and CEOs about creating a truly inclusive mental health app, being women in leadership, and more.
Q: What inspired you to create shine?
We started Shine because we didn’t see ourselves – a Black woman and a half-Japanese woman – and our experiences represented in mainstream “wellness.” Our bodies, our skin color, our financial access, our past traumas – it all often felt otherized. At Shine, we’re on a mission to make taking care of your mental health easier, more representative, and more accessible.
Q: Can you tell us about your path as entrepreneurs? How did you meet?
We met as co-workers, and the support we found in each other changed everything. We knew we had to help more people cope, process, and heal on a daily basis in a way that worked for them. We both came from “non-traditional backgrounds.” I (Marah) was the first in my family to go to college and I (Naomi) went to two community colleges before graduating from a four-year university – not the typical path we saw from other entrepreneurs. However, we knew the support we gave each other was unique and that our partnership could become something special.
Q: How do you think being women has shaped your career journeys?
As first-time founders and women of color, we’re setting a new example of what leadership structures can look like. Often people struggle to see themselves in the traditional versions of leadership. We want more women, people of color, and anyone from a marginalized community to see successful examples of leadership rooted in inclusion, collaboration, and compassion.
Q: Looking back, what advice would you give yourself at the outset of your career?
Remember, you're building a new version of leadership. Early on in our careers, there was a lot of pressure to conform to a certain "type." A certain type of employee, a certain type of manager, a certain type of leader. And all of those personas were rooted in outdated, toxic male systems. We would tell our younger selves to keep honoring a new model we're trying to develop.
Q: In the spirit of celebrating women, who is one woman who’s inspired you?
One of the first things we bonded over was how close we were to our grandmothers growing up. They helped provide stability and love during our childhood; they were our rock. The strength, resilience, and love that both of our grandmothers personified is definitely something we each carry with us to this day.
Q: Can you recommend a meditation session or talk for feeling confident and ready to take on the day?
We recommend starting the day with the Daily Shine. It’s a new, fresh meditation in the Shine app every weekday that’s relevant to what’s happening in the world and designed to help you create a daily self-care ritual. After you listen, reflect on your mood with a Check-in or share how you're putting the day’s Daily Shine theme into practice in the Daily Discussion.
