Sanjay Hariharan: building awareness, confidence, and focus
Founder: Sanjay Hariharan, Co-Founder & CTO
Stage: Pre-Seed → Seed
"Engagement: Professional and health coaching within lume’s Performance Lab
From first-time founder to first principles
When Sanjay Hariharan joined lume’s Performance Lab, Century Health was validating its business model and preparing for its seed round. The team had spent years building an AI platform that helps clinical practices accelerate research on breakthrough treatments by applying machine learning to siloed, observational data.
It was an exciting moment, but a demanding one. As a first-time founder, Sanjay was navigating responsibilities and a pace that hit different from any past role.
“It was the first time I was running my own business. The pace was intense in a different way. I was context switching all day, from technical reviews to sales calls to financial models, and I was exhausted before the day even began.”
Leading and building at the same time created a technical and emotional load that stretched him thin.
Searching for a framework
Sanjay wasn’t looking for generic motivation. He wanted structure, tools, and ways of thinking that matched the complexity of being a technical co-founder.
“I had run into problems I’d never faced before. In past roles, I could turn off my camera and listen. As a founder, you’re leading every meeting. You’re on, all the time.”
Most advisors could help with strategy or growth, but few understood what it felt like to be both the technical backbone and a leader.
“There are tons of sales and strategy coaches. But almost no one who’s been a technical founder and also knows how to coach. I needed someone who could do both, tactical and human.”
That search led him to lume.
Inside the lab: rewiring awareness and energy
Paired with his coach inside lume’s Performance Lab, Sanjay started working on awareness, confidence, and sustainable energy, the systems underneath execution.
“My coach helped me understand myself better. We did frameworks like Enneagram, but it wasn’t just theory. It helped me lead my team and communicate with my co-founder more effectively.”
Through their work, he learned how to regulate his energy, understand his tendencies, and communicate with more presence and confidence.
“I don’t wake up exhausted anymore. I have tools now. I feel more confident with my team and the decisions I’m making.”
Alongside leadership coaching, Sanjay also explored lume’s health coaching, with sessions focused on sleep, nutrition, and biohacking.
“The sleep session was the most useful. I implemented habits around winding down, limiting screen time, and optimizing my sleep setup. Those small things made a big difference.”
The combination of emotional awareness, leadership development, and health optimization led to shifts in how he showed up every day.
Awareness → Confidence → Clarity
As Sanjay’s self-awareness grew, so did his confidence. He became more grounded, more patient, and more deliberate in how he led.
“The biggest value lume gave me was finding the right coach, someone who fits how I think. Once that clicked, everything improved. My confidence, my awareness, my energy.”
He noticed fewer reactive moments and more intention behind how he managed his day.
“It’s not about work-life balance anymore. It’s about life balance. Work is part of life. When I have energy, fulfillment, and forward motion, everything works better.”
Developing a personal operating system
Sanjay’s lume journey reflects the shift from simply doing the work to designing how to work.
Through deep coaching and integrated health support, he rebuilt confidence and created a personal operating system he could rely on.
“I used to wake up tired before the day even started. Now, I wake up with focus and trust myself to handle what comes next.”
