Posted by in News.


26.02.2020 11:24

 Clióna Murphy, CEO ivitamins and General Practitioner

Clióna Murphy, CEO ivitamins and General PractitionerFacebookTwitterMessengerLinkedInWhatsAppMore

Name: Clióna Murphy

Age: 38

Lives: Dublin, by way of Cork and Galway

Job title: CEO, ivitamins TM LTD, trading as Cholestero-Low TM. And General Practitioner (GP).

Salary bracket: I do not draw a salary from ivitamins LTD. Any profits earned are used to reinvest in the company. However, my salary from locum is between €45,000 to €60,000. Depending on the year, and how much locum work I do, I can make more or less than this.

At the moment, a lot of my time is spent on growing Cholestero-Low, which is unpaid work for now.

Education background: I attended St Marys Secondary School, Macroom, Co. Cork.I have a degree in medicine from NUI Galway (MB BCh BAO), and a Masters in Bio-innovation from NUIG, as well as a Master’s in Public Health from UCD.

Hobbies: Yoga, water-sports, paddle boarding, reading, cooking.

Describe your job in five words: Purpose, Health, Communication, Collaboration, Efficiency.

Describe yourself in five words: Ambitious, creative, game-changing, open-minded, fun.

Personality needed for this kind of work? As an entrepreneur, it helps to be ambitious, committed, driven and determined.

How long are you doing this job? I began developing the idea for Cholestero-Low in late 2017. I wanted to develop a heart health supplement with a purpose, something that has a proven effect on the body.

Our goal with Cholestero-Low is to lower cholesterol naturally, without prescription, and to improve cardiovascular health.

How did you get this job? I wanted a career that would allow me to make a difference. As a doctor for 13 years, I have always encouraged people/patients to use their diet and exercise as a way of preventing illness and improving their health.

I started thinking about the idea of supplements with a purpose when I began my Masters in Public Health in 2017. When doing research for my thesis, I was struck by just how many supplements are consumed. I found myself asking, what were people spending their hard-earned money on? Do these supplements have a purpose in the body?

From listening to patients in General Practice over the years, it became clear to me that people wanted a way to lower cholesterol naturally without prescription, alongside diet and exercise.

The background research on oat beta-glucan has always been positive with respect to lowering cholesterol, stabilising blood sugars and helping with weight loss, which is why the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have approved oat beta-glucan for cholesterol lowering purposes. On the back of this, I founded ivitamins LTD to develop a product to the correct specification and tastes.

Do you need particular qualifications or experience? I had 13 years’ experience working as a medical doctor and seven as a GP. I didn’t need to start the company but my desire to innovate along with my ability to delve into the research literature encouraged me to pursue Cholestero-Low as a means to improve people’s health.

Having studied medicine and completed the GP training scheme, I went to work in Panama. Thereafter I got accepted onto the Bioinnovate Research Fellowship in Galway.

Describe a day at work: I wake at 6.30am to some light stretching and yoga. The I shower, have coffee and cereal with strawberry Cholestero-Low. I then check emails and social channels, and confirm and communicate with the fulfilment company any new/outstanding orders. I get to the GP practice for 9am and start admin, seeing patients until midday.

During lunch, I recheck emails and social channels. I write all the social media posts and have them posted by a marketing team. I review what is due to be posted over the next day or so.

I’m back to GP work until 5.30 or 5pm.

Upon returning home and briefly relaxing over dinner, I once again check all social channels for inbox messages from posts, and answer everyone directly myself.

How many hours do you work a week? 100-plus.

What do you wear to work? When working on ivitamins at home, which I do frequently, I prefer to be casual in jeans or yoga pants and a hoody.

In General Practice, I wear formal professional wear; a skirt and blouse, or dress. If working in an urgent care centre, I wear scrubs.

Is your industry male or female dominated? The area of innovation is probably male dominated but this is changing as women continued to be empowered and realise their potential.

Does this affect you in any particular way? I have been encouraged to just ‘stick with GP’ or been asked ‘would you ever just settle down?’.

Is your job stressful? How? Rate it on a scale of 1-10: As CEO of ivitamins, I feel stressed about once a week. Usually I develop a huge sudden fear of failure that is all encompassing. Then it passes and I get back to work.

Do you work with others or on your own? My father is a pharmacist, and I bounce ideas off him as well as friends who work in business development.

When do you plan to retire or give up working? I hope ivitamins will have been such a success that I will be able to retire in my 50s.

Best bits: Getting to see my product reducing cholesterol and improving people’s cardiovascular health in the process.

Worst bits: Having to make big financial decisions, these calls are always a source of stress.

Advice to those who want your job? Do your due diligence and take the leap.

Any other comments? Cholestero-Low, our pioneering new heart health supplement, helps consumers lead longer, healthier and prescription-free lives.

It is a regulatory approved food supplement, which has been independently tested and verified, contains all-natural ingredients proven to lower cholesterol, promote gut health, stabilise glucose levels and aide weight management.

The product is medically endorsed and available online and in pharmacies nationwide.

Find out more at https://cholesterolow.com/