{"id":38248,"date":"2023-10-20T14:55:11","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/how-are-you-really-mental-health-day-for-startups-an-important-reminder-for-founders-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T14:55:11","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:55:11","slug":"how-are-you-really-mental-health-day-for-startups-an-important-reminder-for-founders-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/how-are-you-really-mental-health-day-for-startups-an-important-reminder-for-founders-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"How are you really? Mental Health Day for Startups an important reminder for founders – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"mental-health-check\"<\/div>\n

Prominent investor Daniel Mumby and Vinomofo co-founder Andre Eikemer were among a brave group of startup leaders who opened up about mental health at an event in Melbourne encouraging entrepreneurs to speak up about it.<\/p>\n

Mental Health Day for Startups, hosted by Melbourne health-tech community Peak15, was opened by beyondblue CEO Georgie Harman and attended by more than 100 guests.<\/p>\n

Peak15 co-founder Siddharth Verma tells StartupSmart<\/em>\u00a0the stories shared revealed how poor mental health affects even the greatest leaders in our community.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Harman] started the presentation as the CEO of beyondblue,\u201d Verma\u00a0says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, she really spoke about Georgie Harman the person, her own mental health challenges, she, herself, went through a very tough time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the issues discussed on the day were surviving suicidal thoughts, overcoming feelings of isolation and battling alcohol dependency, says Verma.<\/p>\n

By providing a safe space for entrepreneurs, including leaders in the community, to share these types of challenging times, Verma hopes the conversation will continue and that there is greater awareness around the type of services and support available.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole thing was about normalising the conversation of our mental health,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe key outcomes are that we journey well together, stay connected and have a balanced lifestyle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strike a work-life balance and support each other<\/strong><\/h3>\n

One guest speaker at the event said she resorted to alcohol to get through stressful 16-hour workdays.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until a peer confronted her about this unsustainable work-life balance that she realised the critical need for something to change.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to stay connected with your family and peers,\u201d says Verma.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to find a lifestyle balance and set vey specific barriers around what is good and what is not good to do.”<\/p>\n

Create a safe space and talk about mental health<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Verma says the honesty and flow of stories on mental health on the day reveals how prevalent the issue is, which\u00a0means more startups, founders and their teams should be talking about it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to have a conversation around mental health because everybody goes through a tough time,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cCheck in with yourself and also your team members, and share the hard stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget the moments on the way to the finish line<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In a specially made video played during the event, Vinomofo co-founder Andre Eikmeier<\/a> said many founders\u00a0chase the finish line and miss out on\u00a0numerous life moments along the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe as founders can keep on chasing that [but] if we forget to live in the moment, we will never get to that dream\u201d says Verma.<\/p>\n