Sign up for the Daily Newsletter, sent exclusively to our Premium subscribers. We break down the big and messy topics of Asia’s tech and startup community. Get the newsletter in your inbox everyday with a Premium subscription.
Hello reader,
While mental health issues are still stigmatized to some extent in Asia, things are changing. I’ve seen a lot more awareness and support around mental health come up in this part of the world in recent years, and it’s been heartening.
As part of this wave, I’ve also noticed mental health resources becoming more easily available. There are many apps out on the market now that support mindfulness and mental well-being, whether they’re guiding you through meditation or providing you with tips on how to manage your stress.
One such mental health app is Singapore-based MindFi. The firm has been pretty successful, having seen significant growth on its platform and receiving backing from Y Combinator (YC). But as its co-founder Bjorn Lee shares in his interview with Tech in Asia, things weren’t always so peachy.
Today we look at:
- How MindFi went to the brink and back
- What fresh funding will do for this earned-wage access startup
- Other newsy highlights such as Honor’s fundraising plans and Razer’s privatization proposal
Premium summary
Ups and downs all around
Image credit: Timmy Loen
Bjorn Lee co-founded mental health startup MindFi in 2017, driven by his own personal struggles with mental health and his desire to tackle the stigma around the issue in Asia. While MindFi is now on an upward trajectory, growing 50% month on month with over six digits in revenue to date, the journey to this point has not been an easy one.
- The question of funding: One of the first hurdles that MindFi encountered was funding. At the time, mental health wasn’t an area of interest for traditional investors, and big names in the meditation and mindfulness space, such as Calm and Headspace, only had around a million users back then. As such, Lee turned to angel investors, such as friends and mentors, to back his startup.
-
No growth: While Lee managed to get funding for MindFi, growth was hard to achieve. Rival apps were taking off around the world, but MindFi was seeing its user growth plateau and had only raised six figures in funding. In Lee’s perspective, he was, by all counts in the VC and investment world, “a failure.” And in late 2018, he was close to giving up.
-
The turning point: However, a timely retreat to Bali reignited Lee’s spark. MindFi’s participation in YC and a pivot into a B2B approach opened up new doors for the firm, bringing about a new age of growth.
Read (and hear) more: To the brink and back: A YC-backed mental health startup’s journey
Time to get Payd
Quick bytes
Stay updated on the go with our mobile app.
Get latest insights with smoother, more personalized experience through TIA mobile app.
