Technology

Posted on February 20, 2019 by staff

Mental health platform launched for start-ups

Technology

Two female entrepreneurs based in the North East have launched the region’s first mental health platform for start-ups and founders.

North East Young Entrepreneur of the year Lizzy Hodcroft and Emma Reilly, founder of The Brave & The Bold clothing line, announced the arrival of Myndr, a platform to help people overcome common mental health problems such as stress, anxiety and depression.

The duo presented their idea and were accepted onto the Ignite programme, an entrepreneur accelerator programme, and created a company two weeks later.

Lizzy and Emma said although the platform is in its early stages and is in an email format currently, they have begun development on a Myndr app which will be ready towards the end of 2019.

They will also announce a full calendar of mental health courses, workshops and social events.

Speaking about the launch of Myndr, Reilly said: “Lizzy and I both struck up a relationship really quickly and both had a shared interest in mental health. We’re kindred spirits.

“In August of last year, I had a bad patch and wasn’t well. I needed access to a health psychologist but was told I couldn’t access one for up to 18 months. I needed someone right away and felt completely out of it and was searching my phone trying to find support. I just wanted to feel better.

“I met up with Lizzy and approached her with the idea that has now evolved into Myndr. We wanted to create something that would help people like Lizzy and I in real time and we’re making progress on doing just that.”

The collaborative peer to peer mental health platform is designed for users to take better control of their mental health and will provide the region’s business community with online tools and support to help people set goals and achieve them.

Hodcroft said: “I’ve been quite open about my own mental health and addiction battles and have been an advocate of sharing these experiences to help myself and others.

“With more increased awareness around mental health these days, we believe we’re arriving at just the right time. We all have mental health and we want people to see it more of a physical attribute. We all need to exercise our brains, we need to keep them fit and healthy.

“Our goal is to get people to use our technology where they can access a dashboard, track and monitor their progress and join our peer to peer events, both online and at locations throughout the North East.”

Myndr is encouraging people within the business start-up and entrepreneurial community to use their trial service, believing that people within this sector are more likely to suffer with moderate mental health symptoms.