Erica Johnson, co-founder of unicorn startup Modern Health, joins Y Combinator-backed MindFi as an executive adviser.
16 August 2021, Singapore – MindFi, a leading corporate mental health and wellness platform, today announced a US$ 750,000 (SG$ 1M) pre-seed funding, from an array of prominent investors such as venture capital firms iGlobe Partners, M Venture Partners (MVP) and prominent angel investors such as Koh Boon Hwee, Patsnap Founder & CEO Jeffrey Tiong, Zopim co-founder Lim Qing Ru, Natasha Foong, Aakash Degwekar and Shadab Farooqui. The funding comes on the heels of MindFi’s selection in Y Combinator (YC)’s Summer 2021 program. With the new funds, MindFi will accelerate product development and localization for key markets in Asia and further build Asia’s largest culturally competent team of mental health experts, innovators and researchers.
MindFi’s innovative technology delivers personalized recommendations, 24/7 guided self-care programs and intelligent matching with coaches and therapists — all in one mobile app — hence empowering employees to achieve peak mental performance. Inspired by the World Health Organization’s Well-being Index (WHO-5), MindFi recommendations are powered by a proprietary AI algorithm that creates a user’s unique psychometric profile, with accuracy enhanced by the user’s daily steps, sleep, mood, breathing and heart rates. All employee data are anonymized and aggregated to generate team-level analytics reports that enable HR leaders to make data-driven decisions on workforce health and performance in an evolving workplace environment. Data confidentiality and cultural relevance are key product design philosophies of MindFi’s platform, especially in Asia where stigma on mental health is pervasive.
MindFi is also bringing onboard Erica Johnson, co-founder of unicorn startup Modern Health (YC Winter 2018), as an executive adviser. As a startup industry veteran, she has founded and advised multiple $1B+ companies in the United States. “As someone of mixed Asian heritage, I’m excited to help grow some of what has worked well in other markets to the key Asian region. It’s well past time that the entire globe drops the stigma around mental health and I’m proud and excited to assist with MindFi’s efforts on that journey,” she said.
“Erica brings her deep operational expertise from Silicon Valley to help us accelerate our growth in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific market. Unlike the US, Asia is more diverse and needs cultural competence in the design of our mental health solutions. we are thrilled to work with her to innovate and differentiate our products,” said Bjorn Lee, Founder & CEO of MindFi.
According to Cigna’s 360 Well-Being Survey in 2021, employees prioritize mental health, above physical health, as the most important influence on their overall wellbeing. The global COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated uncertainty. Employees are dealing with anxiety at work, isolation, financial stress, health worries about family and loved ones. These issues have led to reduced productivity, increased absenteeism and presenteeism which has highlighted the need for company leaders to modernize their approach towards mental wellbeing.
Over the past 6 months, the company has tripled its employee headcount and its customer base with over 30 enterprise clients across Asia. MindFi touts a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 50 and 4.8 out of 5 stars in employee program ratings. 68% of employees experience an improvement in mental well-being within 1 month of usage of the MindFi app. Third-party research has observed that regular usage of MindFi reduces up to 30% of their depressive symptoms.
“The future of work is mind fitness. I started this company because I spent 10 years struggling with late nights, anxiety attacks and chest pains from work stress, which are all symptoms of an unfit mind, or poor mental health. You shouldn’t need a PhD in psychology or neuroscience to know how to de-stress. MindFi is the first product that takes the guesswork out of daily lifestyle choices with personalized and objective data.”, Bjorn Lee, Founder & CEO of MindFi said. “In the modern workplace, we use our minds more than our bodies and yet society cares more about body fitness than mind fitness. We are leading a #MindFirst movement to complement the traditional body-first approach, which will proactively impact the culture of workplace wellbeing. The better we shape the human mind, the better we shape our future.”
“This pandemic has shown how critical mental wellness is in maintaining high performance teams. MindFi is ready to disrupt the corporate wellness space with a digital wellbeing platform that makes “mind fitness” easily accessible to all employees. With the growing emphasis on mental wellness in recent years, we see MindFi as a promising player in propelling this movement starting in Asia. We are excited to be part of this journey with them.”, Soo Boon Koh, Founder & Managing Partner of iGlobe Partners said.
Prominent psychiatrist Dr. Kua Ee Heok, a Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine of National University of Singapore, said: “Mental health is the bedrock of creativity and resilience. Mental resilience is our ability to rebound from the adversity we currently face. Many countries, like Singapore, have successful initiatives to strengthen its epidemiological response to the covid pandemic, however organizations should also provide initiatives that will promote mental resilience to their employees. The MindFi team has the right vision and solution to nurture mental resilience.”
About MindFi
MindFi is the leading corporate mental health and wellness platform for Asia. MindFi’s innovative technology delivers personalized recommendations, 24/7 guided self-care programs and intelligent matching with coaches and therapists — all in one mobile app — hence empowering employees to achieve peak mental performance. MindFi empowers leaders and organizations to build a future that elevates mental performance at the workplace. MindFi is a trusted corporate mental health and wellness provider for Fortune 500 companies and prominent fast-growing startups. The company is headquartered in Singapore with clients all across the Asia-Pacific region.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1.MindFi Founder Bjorn Lee is open for interviews.
2.Photos can be accessed here.
3.MindFi was initially launched as a consumer-focused app in 2017 by its founder and Chief Executive Officer, Serial Entrepreneur Bjorn Lee. During its humble beginnings, MindFi app offered several free and subscription-based memberships to guide users through calming mental exercises such as mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy programs.
4.A research by Transparency Market Research (TMR) predicts that the Asia Pacific corporate wellness market will grow from US$3.4 billion in 2015 to reach a value of US$7.4 billion by 2024.
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Bjorn Lee
Founder & CEO
Email: bjorn@mindfi.co
