Tanja Hohenester | Managing Director of tigovit: "The unadorned early days - many doors were slammed in my face."
The diagnosis of a fibroid, which Tanja Hohenester was diagnosed with during a gynaecological examination, led the young woman to look for alternatives - and finally to the realisation that green tea can help. After successful self-therapy, Tanja decided to do further research and soon developed the green tea capsules and her brand tigovit herself. In the interview, Tanja explained what fibroids actually are, why green tea can help both preventively and therapeutically, and what the early days as a founder were really like.
Tanja, you founded tigovit and offer green tea capsules. Can you tell us what is special about these capsules and how did you come up with this idea in the first place?
A few years ago, a myoma was detected during a gynaecological examination. It was growing quite strongly and my gynaecologist suggested having it surgically removed. I didn't want that, because I had always been a naturopath and wanted to try natural remedies first.
I found a green tea study on the internet in which women were able to positively influence the growth of a fibroid. At that time I came across the special active ingredient in green tea, epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG for short. I tried it on my own and was back at the study after 6 months.
The fibroid growth was not only stopped, it was even smaller and the advised surgery was no longer necessary. I still take green tea capsules, only now they are my own. That was the initial spark that led me to tigovit.
Women's health is simply a sensitive issue and people are often quick to resort to chemicals or the scalpel.
I immediately realised that it was a good idea, because if I could help myself, it could save other women from having to have an operation. Women's health is simply a sensitive issue and people are often quick to resort to chemicals or the scalpel. I wanted to offer women, like myself at that time, a purely herbal alternative.
I started reading up on the subject of micronutrients and came across Prof. Hunstein's self-experiment. After suffering from the rare amyloidosis, he researched the EGCG active substance in a self-experiment, treated himself and significantly extended his life expectancy.
I studied his scientific work on this thoroughly and learned that green tea is very difficult for the human body to absorb. I researched and worked out the special formulation of tigovit.
Can you briefly explain what fibroids are?
Myomas are benign tumours in the uterus. Around every third woman suffers from them. Although they are not life-threatening, they can considerably impair the quality of life. Green tea contains the active ingredient epigallocatechin gallate, which has two main mechanisms of action:
An anti-inflammatory mechanism, and a mechanism that inhibits tissue oestrogen in fibroids. And these are the two aspects of EGCG that can stop fibroid growth or even make them shrink.
Are there any current studies or research results on this?
There is a scientifically recognised pilot study with 40 patients, a placebo-controlled double-blind study. At that time, some of the subjects received the green tea extract, while the others only took a placebo.
The results were in favour of the green tea: after four months, the fibroids in the women who took EGCG decreased by an average volume of 33%. Bleeding improved by 30% and discomfort decreased enormously in this group.
The results were in favour of the green tea: after four months, fibroids decreased by an average of 33% in the women who took EGCG.
These results prompted the Charité Women's Hospital in Berlin to investigate green tea more closely. At the moment, the clinic is conducting a user study in which women affected by myomas are taking tigovit. Another 20 women are still being sought and are welcome to register via our website www.tigovit.com.
I think that we will have the results in a year and will be able to present them to the public. The next big study by the Charité University Hospital and tigovit will be conducted with 100 patients.
Should I take the capsules as a preventive measure?
Prevention is always the better choice. If complaints or symptoms have already appeared, a lot of effort must be made to bring the body back into balance. It is better to live more consciously beforehand, to change one's diet, to review one's lifestyle, to exercise more, to pay attention to a better and purer quality of food and to support all this with green tea capsules.
What was the start-up period like for you as a young entrepreneur setting up on your own?
I started the business on the side, because I still had my normal job at the time. At first, I only had this idea in my head. I don't come from the medical field and I don't have any pharmaceutical training, so I knew that I would have to deal with a lot of obstacles. I had to start from scratch.
I had to start from scratch and knew that I would have to deal with many obstacles.
I knew nothing about the raw materials and had to do a lot of research first. Then I got a pharmacist on board who specialises in plant substances and knows a lot about polyphenols. I told him about my idea and together we put together the recipe for tigovit.
With this I approached all the contract manufacturers [editor's note: a company that manufactures products on behalf of another company], after all, the composition also had to be processed. I asked for quotations, had samples sent to me and checked how everything was processed, and decided on the best contract manufacturer.
At the same time, of course, I wrote a business plan and a sales concept, which I took to start-up consultations. I received advisory and financial support and applied for an innovation voucher from "Bayern Innovativ". The next step was to get someone on board who helped me with design and marketing.
For my product, I only accept controlled goods of which I know the origin and which do not come from a middleman but directly from the producer.
It was a process that took almost two years: researching and working out the idea, recipe production, finding partners in the contract manufacturing sector as well as marketing, logo, branding. A very important point was where to get the best ingredients for the capsules, because I wanted to control 100% what goes into the capsules. For my product, I only accept controlled goods of which I know the origin and which do not come from a middleman, but directly from the manufacturer.
How did you go on from there? How did you market and sell your first production?
At some point it was there: the first production with around 1,000 tigovit boxes. I created a presentation based on a myoma study and presented it to gynaecologists like a pharmaceutical representative. That was a back-breaking job, especially in the early days, and meant classic door-to-door sales for me.
The doctors who were open and interested recommended it to their patients. At the same time, I registered at various doctors' fairs, gynaecologists' training courses and the like, in order to present tigovit in a focused way to those who should be primarily interested.
Those were the unadorned early days as an entrepreneur - many doors were slammed in my face.
Those were the unadorned early days as an entrepreneur: with tigovit in my luggage, I canvassed every contact, whether summer or winter. Many doors were slammed in my face. I used the ones that remained open to convince doctors to offer tigovit to their patients as a natural approach.
What did you do before or what did you study?
Although my education began with a focus on business administration, I worked for years in tourism and the luxury hotel industry. At the age of 20, I went abroad, where I spent a total of 13 years. Maldives, Sri Lanka, Greece, Portugal are just some of the countries where I worked. After 13 years in world history, it was time to return to the roots.
In Germany, I learned about the aforementioned myoma, I started my research around green tea extracts, began a sales & marketing degree, the final thesis of which I geared towards my business start-up. And the rest is tigovit history.
Where did you get the courage to start directly?
I just knew it was the right thing to do. I had found a niche market and there was such passion behind the idea. My gut feeling just said "do it!". I also tell everyone to rely on your gut and listen to it. I believe that our intuition can clearly tell us if we are on the path that is 100% right for us.
My gut just said "do it!".
With tigovit you have created your own product. From the idea to the finished capsules, there was certainly a lot to do. Can you give us some insights into the production of the product? How did you actually go about turning your idea into reality?
The high quality of the raw materials and the recipe are what make tigovit special. I didn't want to use just any green tea extract, it had to be pure extract, ideally from a certified organic plantation. So I looked for the ideal manufacturer at the world's largest raw materials trade fair, Vitafoods in Geneva.
I had all the samples I was given tested again in laboratories to be sure that the manufacturer's specifications were correct and that the extracts were without aluminium and pesticides. Of course, I decided to go with the best producer.
The next step was to find a suitable contract manufacturer. There are differences in quality here, which I could only judge after the first offers. Who processes cleanly? Are the capsules well filled with the raw material? Do they keep to the agreed delivery time? Knowing who is the best does not come overnight, but only with experience and the second or third production.
Did you make mistakes?
Yes, definitely. Since my own laboratory results once deviated greatly from the quality promised by the manufacturer, I retest every delivery and no longer trust that the raw material I buy is really that pure. After all, I guarantee the purity of the capsules, and I cannot and must not afford poor quality. I owe that to myself and most of all to my customers who trust tigovit.
The topic of health is very important to you. Why?
I have suffered from severe neurodermatitis since birth. When I hit puberty, it broke out so badly that the eczema spread all over my face and body. I was covered in psoriasis, which I scratched bloody. Because of this, I was also ostracised and bullied at school. Conventional medicine failed me at that time. I was treated in special clinics for up to six weeks and was pumped full of cortisone and every imaginable remedy. Nothing helped.
After puberty it got better, but mentally I had to gnaw on these difficult years. At that time I started to look for something that would naturally support body and soul and my interest in alternative medicine was awakened. I travelled to India, did an Ayurveda cure and a colon cleanse at home. Since then, my complaints have gone away, and this gave me the certainty and the incentive to always look for natural treatments first.
Nature has many answers for our complaints. We just have to look for them and apply them.
If more people turned to a conscious lifestyle and supported it with micro-nutrients, there would be much less for doctors in clinics to do. Nature has many answers for our ailments. We just have to look for them and use them. These are my convictions and my personal experience.
What do you do to keep yourself healthy and what is your secret tip for a healthy lifestyle?
Lots of water, lots of fresh air, exercise and yoga, and of course micro-nutrients! Every morning I drink very pure, filtered and cell-available water, which detoxifies. Then two tigovit capsules and Omega3 on an empty stomach because it can be absorbed better that way. I also detoxify my body depending on the season and always make sure I eat a balanced diet and get plenty of exercise.
What tips would you give to other women who want to start a business?
Ultimately, you have to listen to yourself and your own gut feeling. Often women are not taken seriously. I speak from my own experience. That's why you have to stay focused and not let yourself be intimidated.
Often women are not taken seriously. I speak from my own experience.
My advice is also not to be too emotional about things. I was often too nice, open and warm, something many people took advantage of in the early days. You have to stay clear and be straight.
In the business environment, you have to be convinced of your offer and, if necessary, be tougher than usual to negotiate the best terms for your company.
Your tips at the beginning of a start-up?
Appointments with consultancies, e.g. IHK or Bayern Initiativ, regarding business plans and start-up grants are a must, as well as a good tax advisor to help you with your finances. In this way, many mistakes can be avoided that do not have to be made in the initial phase.
And one piece of advice I always give is to find a mentor. My brother is a very successful businessman and has been a role model for me from the beginning. Of course, I could have founded and developed tigovit on my own.
We can all only benefit from the wealth of knowledge of successful people.
But I am sure that his experience saved me a lot of negative experiences and he was able to give me important input on marketing and sales strategy. We can all only benefit from the wealth of knowledge of successful people.
Source: www.fempreneur.de
Founder & Publisher of FEMPRENEUR | Co-Founder & Co-Publisher of The Female Founders Book | Entrepreneur | Inspirational Speaker | Event Host | Change-Maker | Berlin Based | Twitter: @MJK_Maxi | Instagram: maxi_knust
