Good mates and entrepreneurs Sam Browne and Jo Jensen consider themselves savvy enough not to get swindled. But that’s exactly what happened when the go-to queens of the country’s virtual assistant (VA) community visited a spiritual practitioner in Bali.
After recording hundreds of hours of their popular podcast The Sam + Jo VA Show, and hosting a much-listened-to episode that melded their business and spiritual teachings, the pair had decided to take a group of listeners on retreat to Indonesia.
As part of the trip, the group had an insightful session with a palm reader, who knew uncanny details about all their lives. For Upper Hutt-based Jo, 43, he predicted a third baby and told her an idea keeping her awake at night would lead to international business success at the age of 44.
Meanwhile, Sam, 47, was told she’d bring her kids together in a spiritual way – something she found hard to imagine at the time as her teenage daughter didn’t share her mum’s interest. The experience turned sour when, later that evening, the palm reader sent a message accusing the group of not paying enough and demanding more money.
While Jo and Sam had handed over cash at the end of the session, he had refused to count it and, after searching the web, Sam and Jo soon discovered it was a common scam.
“It was heartbreaking because he was so gifted,” says Jo.
“But it got us thinking, ‘If we as seasoned business-women can get caught out, then how are other seekers supposed to find practitioners they can trust?’”
From massage table to big idea
When Jo was lying on a massage table a month later, that seed of an idea blossomed into her vision for Seea – a new online platform that matches spiritual practitioners with potential clients.
“Without even thinking about it, the entire plan to help people find quality practitioners in a safer way just came to me. It would be like Airbnb, but for the spiritual world.”
All she then had to do was persuade Sam, who lives in Hamilton, to get on board.
Turning scepticism into support
“Because we definitely did not have time in our lives to be doing this!” she laughs.
Bringing up the concept in a Zoom meeting, Jo innocently asked if Sam “wanted to be distracted by something fun”, before sharing her idea. While Sam instantly liked it, she decided to fully commit only after speaking with her husband Mark.
“He’s very sensible – the voice of reason,” Sam shares.
“After I finished explaining the idea, he was silent, then eventually said, ‘That’s genius.’ I thought, ‘If the biggest sceptic in the room sees a need for it, then we’ve got to go for it.’”
Finding the missing piece
There was just one thing missing – someone with the technical know-how. While they knew who they wanted for the role – Jason Tiller was a colleague they’d met in the VA world – they weren’t sure he’d be interested.
Jo tells, “We took Jason out for dinner and said, ‘We don’t know if this is your thing, but would you be open to it?’”
That’s when Jason explained that at the age of seven, he’d learnt to become a Reiki practitioner “with my nana who was a healer”.
Reiki roots
Sam explains, “They used to have people come to their house, where he and his nana would do Reiki on people! Honestly, we couldn’t have planned it better.”
With Jason’s help, the pair recently launched Seea. To make sure the platform is protected from the type of spiritual scammers the business partners fell foul of in Bali, Jo vets all the practitioners before their profiles are loaded and those who book services can leave reviews.
From Bali scams to global ambitions
With plans to launch in Australia soon, the Bali palm readings are finally starting to make a lot more sense. Both are clear that getting scammed in Bali is the best thing that ever happened to them.
Jo realised Seea is the new addition to her family because it’s her third “business baby”. And with plans to take the network global, she’s feeling on track for that predicted international success by age 44.
Meanwhile, Sam now realises the children she’s bringing together are the practitioners using Seea.
“They can see we have good intentions and we’re not just suits behind screens wanting to cash in on this stuff,” says Sam, who is delighted they’ve chosen to launch Seea at a time when spiritual practices are undoubtedly moving into the mainstream.
Meeting a growing need
“There’s been a shift lately because there’s so much doom and gloom in the world, so people want something positive in their lives, to believe in something. If this is what makes them feel good and
gives them clarity, then there’s nothing wrong with that!”
For more info, go to seea.co.
