Mental Health and Well-being of Co-founders

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What is at stake?

Why is it important?

➡ Founder's mental health is a subject rarely discussed and often sidelined. It is almost a taboo topic in the entrepreneurial world even though studies show it to be one of the primary factors for the success or failure of a project (source).

➡ Therefore, being aware of and respecting the needs and limits of co-founders are some of the simplest things you can do from the MVP stage to maximize the chances of the startup’s success.

Three key steps to take

1️⃣ Recognize the Importance of Founders' Mental Health

• Provide all founders with explicit workload expectations and clear boundaries.

2️⃣ Encourage Open Dialogue Within the Team

• Make well-being a regular topic of discussion in founder meetings.

3️⃣ Discuss with Individuals Outside the Organization

• Talk regularly about your well-being with a group of other founders, friends, and loved ones.
• Consider professional coaching.

📚 Resources and further reading

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📖 Entrepreneurship & Mental Health: Testimonies from Entrepreneurs and Healthcare Professionals (Techstars)

Resource provided by the accelerator Techstars 🇬🇧

This 4-part documentary series (< 7 minutes each) focuses on the most common mental health issues that entrepreneurs encounter. The challenges are presented through the stories of remarkable individuals, along with insights from mental health professionals.

Entrepreneurship & Mental Health | Techstars Entrepreneur's Toolkit

This original 4-part documentary series focuses on the most common mental health issues facing entrepreneurs, told through the stories of some remarkable people — and the mental health professionals who work with people in need.

toolkit.techstars.com

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📖 Testimonial from Charles Gorintin, Co-founder and CTO of Alan

"Let's break the taboo, let's talk about it. Mental health is like physical health. We need prevention to heal better.”

Santé mentale : en parler pour mieux la soigner

Et si on arrêtait de faire comme si elle n'existait pas ? Comme si ça n'arrivait qu'aux autres ? Comme si ce n'était qu'un secret honteux ? La santé mentale concerne tout le monde. La preuve, en 2020, plus de 13 millions de personnes ont été touchées par des troubles mentaux.

blog.alan.com

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📖 Report on Entrepreneur Mental Health (Le Parachute)

Les risques d'entreprendre - Le Parachute

Par définiton, les entrepreneurs sont plus . Des travaux de recherche ont montré que ce qui fait de toi un.e entrepreneur.e, ce qui te pousse vers la réalisation de tes projets , c'est aussi ce qui est susceptible de te tirer vers le bas.

leparachute.ca

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📖 How Entrepreneurs and Advisors Deal with Mental Health in Their Daily Lives

Conference Summary of Jessica Carso, author of Wired This Way: On Finding Mental, Emotional, Physical, and Spiritual Well-being as a Creator

Issue: How to encourage entrepreneurs to care about their well-being, by including their mental health, within the investment of venture capital firms?

Entrepreneurs lie about their mental health, just like young mothers do about their baby's sleep.

Les entrepreneurs mentent à propos de leur santé mentale, comme les jeunes mères à propos du sommeil de leur bébé

Comment amener les entrepreneurs à se soucier de leur bien-être, en incluant la santé mentale des entrepreneurs dans la thèse d'investissement des sociétés de capital-risque "Les investisseurs ont l'argent et le pouvoir. Le pouvoir est assorti de responsabilités.

www.linkedin.com

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