Jess Haghani

Welcome to With Grace. This week, we feature Jess Haghani, Founder & CEO of Lucille. A University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Business School graduate, Jess left a career in investment to build something personal. Lucille is a high-protein, clean-label nutritional shake designed for older adults, named after her grandmother, who inspired it. While caring for her grandma through several rounds of recovery from atrial fibrillation, Jess watched her struggle with the only options available: chalky, over-processed, joyless shakes that hadn't changed in decades. In a $6B+ category long overdue for reinvention, she built what should have already existed: clean, delicious nutrition made with dignity and joy, for people who never planned on slowing down. Lucille is available now at lucillehealth.com and on Amazon. Her perspective: "If you're searching for your 'why,' start with your own lived experience. Find the customer who's being underserved, build something they truly love, and own that relationship before anyone else notices."

What’s something new you’re trying?

Blocking one day a week for no meetings. It sounds simple but it takes real discipline to actually protect that time. It gives me space to catch up and think more clearly and creatively. I highly encourage everyone to try it. 

What’s a recent challenge you’ve tackled?

Developing a product that my grandma actually enjoyed! She’s our toughest critic, with incredibly high standards for taste. We went through hundreds of recipe iterations, testing every factor, to create a shake that we truly believe changes the game of what older adult nutrition is. 

What’s a key quality or trait you believe is essential for leaders?

Courage of your conviction. It’s the willingness to keep going, to make the hard call, take the challenging path, or say the uncomfortable thing, when it would be so much easier not to. Anyone can be bold when things are going well. Leadership is continuing to do it when it’s difficult. Ben Horowitz captures this better than anyone in The Hard Thing About Hard Things. He closes the book with a line that has stayed with me: “Of course, even with all the advice and hindsight in the world, hard things will continue to be hard things. So, in closing, I just say peace to all those engaged in the struggle to fulfill their dreams.” That’s it. No silver lining or tidy resolution - just an acknowledgement that the struggle is the point and that continuing anyway is an essential ingredient for true leadership.

What motivates you to keep pushing forward in your work? 

I built Lucille after caring for my grandma through several rounds of recovery from atrial fibrillation. It was heartbreaking to see her at her most vulnerable, yet limited to ultra-processed, joyless shakes she couldn’t even tolerate - the chalkiness, the aftertaste, the ingredient label, the packaging. It was all just so bad. When I think of her and her peers who often depend on the help of others and functional food products, I can’t help but feel an immense responsibility to do the heavy legwork for them. My motivation comes from knowing that our rigor to create a product that brings effortless nutrition – and is still enjoyable – will help support a whole generation as they continue to age with joy and dignity.

What’s an inspiring book, podcast, or resource?

It’s so hard to choose! A podcast I’ve been loving is She MD with Dr. Thais Aliabadi and Mary Alice Haney. The medical world can feel intimidating and overly complex and they have a gift for making complicated topics feel accessible and genuinely relatable. I always walk away feeling more informed.  

What are you reading right now?

I’m slowly making my way through The Pivot Year by Brianna West. A close friend and I started reading it together and it’s become a grounding ritual during one of the most change-filled years of my life: graduating business school, officially launching Lucille and building a team, and getting engaged. The book reframes change and uncertainty not as something to outrun, but as the very thing that shapes you. I couldn’t have picked it up at a better time.

What makes a brand authentic to you?

When you can’t separate purpose and product. The most authentic brands to me are built by people who are already living the mission before they share it with anyone else. 

What’s something you had to learn firsthand to truly understand?

That a career path that, on paper, looks meaningful and invigorating, can fall flat if the problems aren’t personally important to you. I grew disappointed with myself when I was chasing roles based on prestige. And almost overnight, I felt the shift once I assumed the responsibility of solving this problem for my grandma and her peers. It happened almost instantly. 

How can someone make you extremely happy?

Take me on a great adventure!

What’s one request you’d make of whoever reads this?

If you’re searching for your “why,” start with your own lived experience and that of the people around you. Many enduring companies are built by founders solving problems they’ve personally felt – not ones identified through market research. It doesn’t even have to be a company. It could be an action you take or a way you show up. Find the customer who’s being underserved, build something they truly love, and own that relationship before anyone else notices. The world gets better when people take responsibility for the problems in their communities.