Entrepreneur Li Wu wants to improve our health

“Switzerland is the love of my life,” says Chinese-born Li Wu. The scientist and entrepreneur sits in the living room of his home near Lucerne and watches nature. “The people here are down-to-earth, independent and quality-conscious. You work hard and love nature: mountains, lakes, forest. And they are shy and rather shy – all values ​​correspond to my nature. »

For 18 years, Li Wu has lived with his Swiss family in a modern yet simply furnished cubic building overlooking Bürgenstock. Switzerland is the first place a world traveler calls home in decades. «I have traveled the world a lot, lived and worked in Asia, the USA and many European countries. But it’s the only place where I really feel at home.”

The 65-year-old mobile also felt at home professionally here: almost three years ago he founded the company Virtusan, a digital platform with an app for mental and physical health for companies and private individuals – thanks to the collaboration of some of the world’s best researchers, technology-based and scientifically. durable. “We support the mental and physical health of users with preventive and therapeutic solutions,” explains Wu. The system as a whole is based on four important pillars of our health: nutrition, exercise, sleep and mental health. Key message: Prevention is key – take your health into your own hands! “Our health is not just about genes. 70 to 80 percent depends on our behavior. The practice helps develop wellness routines,” says Li Wu.

grew out of poverty

A few years ago, the strong woman also had to take responsibility for her own health. Body and mind were no longer cooperating to the extent they had been accustomed to for years. “I didn’t live a really healthy life, I was constantly stressed and made very high demands on myself,” she says. “I got very little sleep, didn’t eat properly, and hardly moved—and I didn’t have a recipe to help myself in the first place.”

It was his motto “no pain no gain” that made Li Wu a workaholic. It worked from the bottom to the top. He grew up in extremely bad conditions in China under the dictatorship of Mao, suffering from hunger, suffering and injustice. Wu says one of the most important moments in her childhood was when she saw her elementary school teacher be beaten to the bleed “just because she wanted to do a good job”. Experiences like this inspired a great sense of justice in him. “I felt more and more of the urge to make the world a better place.” And he really had the will to do it.

Extraordinary school achievements made this possible, then the luck of the gifted joined in: Li Wu received a scholarship to the USA. “For me, this was a gift that gave me more motivation.” But the biting continued. During his training in New York, Wu lived on $380 a month and bought his groceries mostly from supermarkets that sold expired food for one dollar. “It was a tough time, but it taught me a lot. So never give up.”

Technology as a tool of kindness

Perseverance rewarded: Wu earned a PhD in applied sciences from the renowned Columbia University and holds degrees in metal construction and mining engineering. But an academic career was out of the question for him. “I wanted to put science where it was needed most, technology where it was most useful, in real life.” It started to take part in major infrastructure projects around the world. It was about energy, mobility, civil engineering – always under the premise of making the world a better place. More than 30 such projects can be found in Li Wu’s impressive resume.

The scientist later became an entrepreneur. Li Wu is the co-founder and co-financer of a total of 21 start-ups in the fields of science, technology, education and lifestyle. “I have some weaknesses. But lack of courage is not one of them,” he says, looking back. What motivates me as an investor is the curiosity to work on new areas and technologies. “And the need to invest in people and their dreams come true.” with the aim of making

overexploited on the body

But living in the professional fast lane paid the price: Wu realized that between the ages of 45 and 55, his energy reserves were depleted. “I was suddenly so tired in the afternoon that my brain suddenly couldn’t remember everything.” Red flags that Li Wu takes seriously. She began studying health and lifestyle issues, while also meeting Harvard University professor David Sinclair, an intellectual in the field of anti-aging and preventive health care. “We got along pretty well right away.” Together with him, he founded the first healthcare venture. At the same time, he began to pay more attention to his own body.

The motto now was not to work hard, but to work smart. Li Wu changed his diet, included breathing exercises in his daily routine, and used NSDR (Non-Sleep Deep Rest), a type of meditation that helps relieve physical and mental fatigue as sleepless deep rest. He has been swimming almost every day since he lived in Lake Lucerne. He drinks green tea and sleeps no less than 7-8 hours a night. He also makes sure to sprinkle so-called dopamine moments that provide an incentive throughout the day. This could be something you accomplished or a sense of accomplishment at work. But it also means little moments of happiness, like a bird singing, a person smiling, or a favorite song on the radio.

Anyone can do it!

In addition, Li Wu swears by several short rituals in his daily life (see box). Small but effective things anyone can do with the Virtusan app, as Wu confirms. “Many people are extremely busy and have a hard time balancing the four pillars of health. We give them the information they need in an easy to understand way, but also how to incorporate new routines into daily life and thus improve their lifestyle in the long run.»

Mental health is important at Virtusan. A related area: According to the WHO (World Health Organization), mental illnesses are on the rise worldwide – at least since the corona pandemic. According to the WHO, almost a billion people suffer from a mental illness that is largely undetected and untreated. According to Li Wu, most people don’t take the issue seriously enough or underestimate it. Or they are too embarrassed to talk about it. For fear of being thought insane. Mental health is very important! It also affects other pillars of our health, affecting our digestion, sleep and overall well-being.”

Because only a holistic view of our health can also lead to the declared goal for Virtusan: to make the lives of all of us healthier and above all longer by creating a better lifestyle. Li Wu believes that prevention is the most important measure for human health. Just as he did for himself with great improvement. “At 45, I felt exhausted and old,” she says. He is now 65 years old. “And my biological age is 45 based on a recent check of my biomarkers at a clinic.”