The Don’t Lose It initiative encourages everyone in the investment community to have transparent, solutions-focused discussions about mental health and wellbeing across the diverse SME community.
The initiative naturally evolved from the wellbeing and mental health research we produced as part of the campaign to coincide with World Mental Health Day on October 10, 2018.
Our research reveals that a quarter (25%) of participating founders have suffered with mental health issues. Nearly two-thirds (65%) say that – during their darkest times – knowing that others were experiencing similar challenges and were able to talk openly about their issues would have been very helpful.
Many founders also reported that poor relationships with their investors harmed their mental health issues – 25% of founders say they would like to see more support from the investment community going forward.
These insights point to a need to educate and support founders’ mental health and wellbeing. In the coming months, the Don’t Lose It initiative will bring together both investors and entrepreneurs to promote honest discussions and define best practices within the business community.
In the coming weeks we will be publishing the 100 Stories of Growth book, our proprietary research findings and sharing some short films that tell 100 Stories founders’ stories.
To introduce the series, we have produced this short film to build awareness and start conversations about the Don’t Lose It Initiative.
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Through this initiative we are inviting individuals and organisations to define the framework for what makes a Mindful Investor. We will be inviting investment providers to commit to an actionable programme for change around better communication and support for entrepreneurs and their team.
This important year-long programme in 2019 will consist of mental health workshops and skills training that will create a healthy dialogue. Investors that commit to the programme will be uphold a Mindful Investor Kitemark.
We would be grateful of your support and there will be more to follow in the coming weeks.