I’ve not talked a lot abt this topic in our feed, but if you follow Stories, I commonly point out a number of things related to MH startups that are VERY concerning:
– Ads from apps (major apps w huge funding) that have marketing msgs like: “Get 10% Happier in 10 Day, Guaranteed!”
– Companies like Cerebral that run ads on these SM channels that make the Rx ordering process seem like it’s no big deal: short talk w a nurse practitioner, quick prescription, shows up at your doorstep immediately
A few days ago, Cerebral had to lay off hundreds of staff
following bad press & lost insurance contracts after FDA investigations arnd OVERPRESCRIBING of stimulants. Headway also
just made a rnd of layoffs. TalkSpace $ BetterHelp (slide ➡️) are being reviewed by the Senate for violating privacy rights & mining client
data to third party companies.
The aforementioned companies are called “unicorns” – simple names for apps/offerings: get more – head space, calm, better help, cerebral…find comfort in a “talk space”…that have connections & are funded 10s of millions (some hundreds of) & grow quickly w a “simple” concept related to MH, that you can be fixed/cured/made whole IMMEDIATELY.
Here’s the reality: MH takes WORK. It doesn’t improve overnight.
The problem: when these companies take venture funding they’re put under 2 main forms of pressure: 1) What’s the “recurring revenue” model? & 2) What “multiple” are you showing investors profits at, on what timeline.
How do I/we know this? Since we started Same Here Global, we’ve been approached numerous times by investors who claim to have good intentions: “we love your concept…we can put kerosine on this fire of yours…& you can steer the ship & keep the vision. We want to be part of changing the world w you.”
That sounds nice & inspiring until the actual $ is discussed: & recurring revenue models & multiples of their investment returns on THEIR timelines are sought after.
If you just take the $, to grow & become a “unicorn” you can make fast $, if you have a good idea. But are you actually HELPING the world? Are you trying to make lasting change to a broken system? Or are you after profits as your main/sole driver. This line stuck out to me in one of the articles I read. An anonymous Cerebral employee when asked about the their cofounder, said: “Kyle doesn’t care. If it’s not about profit, he just doesn’t want to hear it.” Profit over people.
The reason we’ve held off on taking funding is all of the above. We are in schools, in offices, in youth sports, w service depts delivering content/education. We have apps that help show people how to do the actual work it takes. We know this stuff works bc we track the results. But we won’t take that $ from those funders who just want growth
alone, bc when you do that, invariably the pressures make you go away from your core concept when you first launched – if you had good intentions to help the world. And instead you or your board, or a dept in your company starts HAVING to do shady things like – loosen the rules, send out data to 3rd parties, become lax on procedures, engage in predatory marketing tactics, or the one that upsets me so much: perpetuate the same BS messages that have been in this space way too long – “hey there is a specific group of you who are sick & depressed & sad, we can make you happy w the wave of a magic wand.” That’s not only not reality…it’s selling false hope & is unfair.
All I can promise is, we want to help ppl. We aren’t about the $. The $ is needed to grow & scale & help more ppl around the world. But I’d way prefer to grow w organically w relationships & people & networks & good intentions all around, than to take the $ & claim unicorn status & live on yachts. I bring those up not to talk about or wax poetic about #SameHere. I do it bc I care about all the people being fooled by many of these unicorns (some do have good intentions). If you see an app or services that promises to fix you, or get you results right away, or overnight happiness, don’t walk, RUN away. Improving our MH takes work…just like the gym for our bodies. Find apps & services that help you do that work. It’ll be the best investment you ever made.