Jaron Soh

A JOURNEY OF SELF-DISCOVERY. Jaron Soh’s journey to creating Voda, a mental wellness app designed specifically for the LGBTQIA+ community, is deeply rooted in his personal experiences growing up in Singapore. From an early age, Jaron felt the weight of societal expectations and the sting of shame surrounding his sexuality, even before fully understanding it himself. “One of my earliest memories,” he recalls, “is hearing my family speaking negatively about gay people that were on the news. Even before I knew I was gay, I knew that the people around me didn’t approve of me.” His early experiences of queer shame shaped his resilience and compassion—qualities he says have become integral to his leadership style.

His parents, who grew up in poverty, worked tirelessly to provide for the family, instilling a strong work ethic in him. Despite the challenging environment, Jaron excelled academically, all the while hiding his sexuality and masking his identity.

At 21, Jaron’s journey took a significant turn when he attended the London School of Economics, blending his interests in social sciences and entrepreneurship. London offered Jaron the freedom to explore his identity openly, far from the constraints of his upbringing. He quickly immersed himself in the flourishing academic and entrepreneurial scene, running societies and launching his first business, Artisan & Fox, a social enterprise supporting artisans in developing countries.

After graduating from LSE, Jaron joined Antler and raised venture funding as Chief Product Officer of a startup. This role marked his first foray into the venture capital-backed tech world. It was during his time there that Jaron decided to come out to his parents. While it was an emotionally tense coming out, his parents eventually came around.

TRANSFORMING TRAUMA INTO TRIUMPH. The idea for Voda emerged from Jaron’s personal struggles with dysfunctional relationships and his quest for self-awareness through therapy. After suffering from burnout with work and in love, Jaron sought therapy to understand and heal from his emotional history. However, his initial experience with a non-LGBTQIA+ therapist highlighted a significant gap in mental health resources tailored to queer individuals. This realization, coupled with his dissatisfaction with generic mental health apps, sparked the creation of Voda.

Voda offers self-guided therapy programs specifically designed for the LGBTQIA+ community, addressing unique issues such as coming out, gender dysphoria, and navigating non-traditional relationships. “Typical mental health apps are cisheteronormative and don’t account for the diversity of the LGBTQIA+ community,” Jaron explains. “Voda is designed with a panel of 7 LGBTQIA+ psychotherapists, covering topics that other apps don’t touch, from discrimination to queer shame to navigating polyamory and open relationships.”

A year after launching, Voda has surpassed 10,000 users, a milestone that underscores the app’s impact and necessity. Jaron is particularly proud of Voda’s free mental health resources for the trans and non-binary communities, developed in collaboration with the Digital Health London accelerator. These resources address the severe mental health challenges faced by trans individuals in the UK, who often wait years for appropriate care.

While the nature of Voda’s mission means that Jaron no longer needs to come out explicitly in his professional life, he acknowledges the past challenges of being a visibly queer founder. “In previous companies, I often stayed in the closet because I was worried about how it might affect investor relations,” he admits. However, he emphasizes the importance of community and support networks for LGBTQIA+ founders, highlighting organizations like Gaingels, which provide crucial support and mentorship. Reflecting on his founder journey, Jaron offers simple but effective advice to aspiring entrepreneurs: “If one idea doesn’t work, move on to the next. The best founders start somewhere and learn along the way.”