Katerina Schneider is the founder of Ritual, a health technology company that is reinventing the products women use every single day, starting with visionary vitamins. Prior to founding Ritual, Katerina was a Venture Partner with Troy Carter at AF Square, managing a portfolio of over 70 tech investments including Spotify, Uber, Dropbox and Warby Parker. Her success led her to be named one of 2014’s Forbes 30 Under 30 for Venture Capital. Talk about an impressive resume. All of her incredible experience culminated in Ritual, a direct-to-consumer vitamin company that makes the reimagined multivitamin for women, designed to fill the gaps in your diet without gluten, GMOs, or synthetic fillers, which is a mission Katerina is personally passionate about. She describes herself as a “health-obsessed, skeptic, label-reader, and the mother of two daughters under the age of four.” As for why she started this revolutionary business, she explains, “I believe that women deserve to know what they are putting in their bodies and why.” That’s something we can all definitely get behind. Along with taking Ritual’s revolutionary multivitamin, Katerina shares her other self-care habits, and how she incorporates them into her busy schedule.
Please list some bad habits that you’ve cut out of your daily routine:

  1. Not prioritizing my own health. I make time for workouts every single day.
  2. Reacting quickly. I like to sit with things before forming and voicing my opinion.
  3. Insufficient sleep although it’s hard with kids. The least I can do is put my phone on airplane mode so my mind knows when it’s time to turn off.

Please list some good habits you’ve added to your daily routine:

  1. I’ve extended the “less is more”/”Marie Kondo” mentality to all facets of my life from my vitamin to my skincare routine. I believe fewer, better things are important especially when you are moving at such a fast pace.
  2. Another good habit I’m trying to implement was inspired by Erica Chidi Cohen, Founder of Loom. She mentioned in an interview that it’s important to separate your work wardrobe from your home wardrobe. By doing so, you’re mentally more prepared to tackle tasks at hand based on what you’re wearing.
  3. Drinking water throughout the day. About 75% of people are not drinking 10 cups which is the recommended daily amount.

How do you keep yourself balanced or take care of yourself throughout the day?
I pay close attention to my nutrition because it has a huge affect on how I power through the day. I eat a pretty hearty breakfast including grains like millet, which contains nutrients like zinc, B vitamins, iron, and magnesium. For lunch we have an integrative chef come to the office and cook for the team. She usually makes bowls containing tons of vegetables, greens, and grains. I work out five times a week at least and I always take walking meetings when possible.
Are there any activities or hobbies you do to help you de-stress and relax?
Doing pilates in the morning helps me feel grounded all day. I have also been trying to get closer to my goal of hitting 10,000 steps a day but I’m still pretty far off. On the weekends, I go
cycling up to Mulholland with my husband. We usually go on 20-30 mile rides in total.
How many hours of sleep do you get a night?
The amount of hours I sleep really depends on my kids. Ideally I’d sleep more but I also cherish the first 30 minutes of my morning spent in bed breastfeeding and playing with my daughters. A nice sleep environment is key to a good night’s rest. I invested in my sheets, pillows, and even added automated blinds to create a blackout effect.
Do you have a favorite wellness trend? 
I make my own version of Erewhon’s green goddess “ice cream” at home. It’s super easy and contains all the superfoods I crave like spirulina, chlorella, tocos, and maca. If I’m not super hungry, sometimes I even have it for dinner.
What is your favorite healthy food? How do you incorporate it into your diet?
I love seaweed because it’s a great vegan source of iodine. I even give it to my kids. My favorites are hijiki, wakame, and arame.