How I Left Corporate Burnout to Build Three Wellness Brands That Actually Work
- Brainz Magazine
- Jun 16
- 4 min read
Written by Ariana Hakman, Entrepreneur and COO
Ariana Hakman is a former corporate finance executive turned serial entrepreneur in fitness, nutrition, and tech. She’s the co-founder of LunaFit, a multi-brand wellness company anchored by its fast-growing LunaFit app, built to help users take control of their nutrition, workouts, and daily habits.
A few years ago, I found myself at a crossroads. I was 13 years into a corporate healthcare finance career, but now a new mom, feeling deeply troubled every day I had to leave my daughter. It was never a position I thought I would be in. I had always loved my career and was good at it, but having my daughter shifted my perspective. I knew I had to make a change.
What started as a personal mission to spend more time with my daughter and work on my own wellness became something much bigger. It led me to build three brands: a gym, a meal prep company, and a fitness app, all designed to help busy people live healthier lives through solutions that actually work.
Leaving corporate and finding my why
After leaving my corporate job, I had no idea what I was going to do. So I turned to the only other topic I felt I knew anything about: fitness and nutrition. I started small, teaching mommy-and-me fitness classes with my daughter Luna typically strapped to my chest in a carrier.
Those classes sparked something in me. I saw firsthand how movement and community empowered women in ways traditional fitness often failed to do. That experience planted the seed for what would become LunaFit Gym, a fitness space built to support busy lives with community-driven classes, functional training, and a focus on consistency over perfection.
But the real magic is that we truly care about people, and our goal is always to help them achieve the results they’re looking for.
The gym was just the beginning.
Building beyond the gym: Nutrition and tech
As our gym community grew, one need kept rising to the surface: nutrition. My members were busy parents, professionals, caregivers, all struggling to find time to plan, prep, and fuel their bodies well.
That’s when I launched LunaFit Fresh, our healthy meal prep company designed to make clean eating simple and sustainable. We started small, cooking out of rented kitchens (with plenty of obstacles along the way), but always with a mission to help real people eat well without stress.
We now own our own kitchen and continue fueling our customers, helping them get real results.
When the gym was shut down during COVID, we got creative and moved all of our classes to live streaming through Facebook groups, while doing our nutrition and accountability coaching through email and text. We even rented out our gym equipment to members so they would have it for their workouts.
This shift opened my eyes to something powerful. We didn’t have to be face-to-face with people to help them get results. I realized we could reach people all over the world and help them improve their health and fitness.
And the LunaFit app was born.
Our app combines AI coaching, personalized fitness and nutrition plans, habit tracking, and community, making wellness accessible whether someone is in the gym, at home, or on the road. It’s the personal trainer in your pocket I wish I’d had when I started my own journey.
Why wellness is still broken
Through this work, I’ve seen how much of the wellness industry still misses the mark.
Gym memberships that intimidate or exclude people.
One-size-fits-all programs that ignore individual needs.
Tech tools that are either too basic or too overwhelming.
Nutrition advice that leaves busy people more confused than empowered.
The truth is, people don’t need more complexity. They need simplicity, personalization, and support. They need solutions that fit into their lives, not ones that require their lives to revolve around wellness.
That’s what I’ve worked to build across all three brands, and it’s what drives me every day.
Lessons learned along the way
If there’s one thing I’ve learned on this journey, it’s that progress beats perfection. So many people stall out on their health goals because they believe they have to do everything perfectly or not at all.
But small, consistent actions create transformation. Whether it’s showing up for a quick workout, ordering a healthy meal instead of fast food, or tracking a new habit in the app, every choice counts.
And as a business owner, the same principle applies. You don’t have to have it all figured out to start. You just have to take the next right step and keep learning as you go.
The mission continues
Today, I lead LunaFit Gym, LunaFit Fresh, and the growing LunaFit app community with one mission: to help busy people live healthier, happier lives through simple, sustainable wellness solutions.
If you’re ready to simplify your fitness and nutrition journey and finally build the habits that stick, I invite you to join us.
Download the LunaFit app today and take the first step toward the healthiest version of you.
Read more from Ariana Hakman
Ariana Hakman, Entrepreneur and COO
Ariana Hakman is a leading voice in fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle innovation, known for creating practical tools that drive real results. After 13 years in corporate finance within the healthcare sector, she left the boardroom to build a more balanced life for her daughter, and a business that aligned with her values. She co-founded LunaFit, a wellness brand and mobile app helping users simplify their workouts, nutrition, and daily habits. Ariana has built four companies across wellness and tech, with a mission to make healthy living simple, sustainable, and achievable for all.
