Mental Health in PropTech (Part II)
Mental Health in PropTech (Part II)
Lessons learned, a new partner, more free hours, and how you can help
If you read my last piece on mental health, then you know that we’ve seen the struggle that innovators endure to try and birth new technologies and companies into the world.
Founders and innovators in real estate constantly struggle with:
Pressure to Succeed
Uncertainty and Risk
Isolation (Loneliness)
Financial Strain
Work-Life Balance
Managing Expectations
Self-Doubt (Imposter Syndrome)
Failure & Rejection
Lack of Support
and
Perfectionism
In recognition of this universal struggle, the foundation launched our Mental Health Initiative. And now we’ve learned a ton.
So, along with announcing more free hours today, I’ll share a bit about why we are structuring this the way we have.
First, not all mental health needs are one-size-fits-all. Some people just need someone to talk to that understands and listens. Others need prescription drugs for diagnosed medical conditions. Still others just want better resources to tap into when stressed.
Everyone needs something a little different.
And that’s great . . . but hard to forecast. Who is going to use the hours and resources we pre-screen and select?
Only time will tell.
Secondly, there is a concept of Minimum Effective Dose (“MED”) in medicine that applies to mental health.
MED is the minimum amount of a treatment you would need to see any results. One Advil might help a headache but four would be needed to make a dent in arthritis.
Same applies to mental health.
If you only had one hour with a mental health coach who you’ve never met you wouldn’t see much progress in that first hour.
There is a minimum number of hours you need with someone to feel like they understand your struggles.
We’ve discovered it is about 3 hours.
Spend three sessions with someone and you’ll have a good sense of whether they can help you and if you are a good fit for their practice.
From there you can decide how you’d like to proceed with your mental health care.
After learning those lessons with our first round of sessions, we updated our offering to be three free sessions with each of our partners.
If you sign up here, you can get access to our recently-purchased hours for innovators in real estate and construction.
We release these hours in waves, so be sure to sign up ASAP if you think you want help. As a reminder from last time, we do not know your name or the name of your company. You are 99% anonymous to us to maintain your privacy.
We just want you to get the help you need.
MEET OUR PARTNERS:
And we are proud to introduce Sonya Stattmann
Each of these specialists have expertise in handling mental health issues for founders and innovators in technology.
One note before we dive into how you can help; therapy is a licensed-by-state profession. Much like selling real estate, you must have a license to practice therapy in each state.
So, while our team members DO have licenses in states like Texas, California, and Colorado, we DO NOT cover the entirety of the US. So, we tend to default to Mental Health Coaching rather than full therapy as a starting point since coaching requires no such licensure.
So, if you come looking for a therapist, you will probably be speaking with one - just not in that capacity at first.
If you decide therapy is a better fit for you, then they are more than capable of referring you to other providers or you can proceed with them if you live in one of their licensed states.
Which leads me to our plans for growing this program . . .
I still see people failing to grasp the consequences of deteriorating mental health. I think of it like insurance (which is not optional for most businesses).
Look me in the eye and tell me that mental health does NOT affect the following:
Sustained Performance
Building great things takes longer than we want. We all need longevity.
Resilience
Think nothing will ever go wrong?
Decision-Making
Healthy minds make wiser decisions.
Creativity
How many people ever said, “I was exhausted, depressed, and over-worked when I came up with this game-changing idea!” Yeah, nobody.
Culture
Do over-stressed leaders create healthy work cultures?
Reduced Burnout
Want an exec to leave/quit because he just can’t take it any more?
Do you see why I think of investing in mental health as mandatory?
How do you expect exceptional innovation while having NO PLAN for preventing these?
So, as proud as we are of what we have accomplished so far, we know there are miles to go before we can claim to be a comprehensive mental health partner to the industry.
We should cover most of the 50 states with licensed therapists so that we are never in a position to turn someone away that needs help.
We should create regular programming and events with our partners to help advance the discussions around mental health.
We have programs and teams we should unlock in the future but our capital is finite.
We are looking for a co-sponsor (or more than one) to help us expand into what we should be.
This is a six-figure-per-year program and needs paid staff to manage it.
Since we are a 501(c)3, this partnership will be tax deductible (but please speak with you tax team to confirm that!) and is an opportunity for someone to show with their wallet that they care about innovators.
Anyone can say the words on stage and put out press releases about how much they care about innovation and innovators. Who wants to prove it?
As the saying goes - Don’t tell me what you care about. Show me your bank statement and I’ll tell you what you care about.
If that sounds like it might be a fit for you, shoot me a note. Or if you know of someone we should speak to, please let me know. I’m always open to speaking to people who care about this!
Thanks for reading this and if you have suggestions for how to improve our programming, I’m all ears!
Matt
Disclaimer – Neither FIRE nor any of its employees, volunteers, directors, or representatives are mental health experts or licensed practitioners. The information provided cannot replace or substitute the advice or counsel of trained professionals in this field, and we make no representations or warranties concerning information or recommendations provided to you. Please do your own diligence on the best mental health solution for you. FIRE provides information and referrals for your convenience only and does not perform background checks or confirm credentials for any referral provided. Neither FIRE nor any of its employees, partners, affiliates will be liable to you for any damages that may result from your use of the information provided.