John Molson alumna builds a business with social impact

Of her many achievements as a business troubleshooter across three continents, Valérie Larochelle, BComm 11, says she’s most proud of making a positive impact for people with dementia and their caregivers.

Larochelle is CEO and co-founder of Eugeria, an e-commerce platform that provides specialized products and services for older adults dealing with various stages of cognitive impairment. The Montreal-based company — which offers a range of products designed to help individuals with memory loss and other cognitive degeneration symptoms navigate the routine tasks of daily life — receives feedback in the form of emails, phone calls and product reviews from individuals, families and caregivers.

“They tell us about all the older adults and elderly that we have helped,” says Larochelle. “It’s definitely rewarding.”

Running her own business is something Larochelle always strived for, and her experience at Concordia’s John Molson School of Business nurtured that goal.

She says one of the most memorable aspects of the program was working on case competitions, the cornerstone of advanced business education whereby student teams compete to solve real-life business challenges.

“I learned how to deal with financial issues and come up with business strategies,” she explains. “It taught me a lot about the real business world.”

‘Helping others is important to me’

After graduation, Larochelle worked as a management consultant, assisting companies with financial problems. She then went on to have an international career in China, the United States and Australia, where she lived for four years.

With these experiences under her belt, she decided it was finally time to launch her own venture. But it took some time to decide on the right concept that aligned with her priorities. Larochelle, who majored in human resources management and had once considered becoming a social worker, was determined to build a company that touched people’s lives.

“Having a social purpose and helping others is important to me. I wanted to have a social impact and an impact in scalability.”

After researching the marketplace, she discovered an underserved population requiring support.

“There was a critical need for those who are aging or have dementia,” Larochelle points out. According to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, more than 650,000 people have the disease. By 2030, that number will rise to nearly 1 million.

Beyond these startling statistics, Larochelle also looked closer to her home. As the entrepreneur was getting her company off the ground, her paternal grandmother was diagnosed with vascular dementia. Noticing the challenges her father encountered while caring for his mother gave Larochelle first-hand insight into what supports were vital.

“Seeing how my dad had to deal with this helped define the need,” she recalls.

Empowering an aging population

To gain a better understanding of the disease, Larochelle reached out to Quoc Nguyen, a Quebec geriatrician who would later co-found Eugeria with Larochelle in 2018. The two conducted extensive interviews with key players in the dementia-care field, including occupational therapists, geriatric nurses, health-care professionals, as well as family members and caregivers of people with dementia.

“We discovered that aging is a field that needs a lot of innovation,” notes Larochelle.

And she and Nguyen were determined that these innovations would help not only those in assisted care but also seniors who want to live independently.

“We want to empower them and improve their quality of life,” says Larochelle.