This month, we conducted the first interview with SupportRoom’s founder and CEO, Ash Vipani, as part of a series where we ask him questions about his journey at SupportRoom. We kicked off with some questions about his inspiration to launch SupportRoom – what’s his main driver, why it started, and where it’s going. Ash talks about his own experience with a close one’s struggle with mental health, and how this motivated him to want to help others.
If you are inspired by entrepreneurial stories and mental health, stay tuned to learn more about what it takes to launch a digital mental health startup.
Questions about SupportRoom
Q: What is the driving force behind SupportRoom, and why did you start it?
Ash: The driving force to start SupportRoom came in 2020 as someone close to me took their own life, and for me, this brought about a transition in mindset: I worked with individuals who have been affected by mental health issues and this event in my personal life made me realise that I want to do something to support people. I wanted to make a change in people’s lives and provide more support – which was also a turning point for where my passions were taking me.
The more I looked into the topic itself and sat down with employees, leaders, and organisations, the problem became bigger and bigger. I came to the realisation that employees and leaders are equally affected by mental health pressures. And while leaders do try to support their teams, oftentimes they do not have the tools to do that effectively without compromising their own mental health. We also realised that mental health is such a big topic and so high on the agenda of many organizations, especially after post-covid.
Q: Why is it crucial for businesses to prioritse employee wellbeing and for leaders to look after themselves?
Ash: Prioritising mental wellbeing should be core to every organisation. As leaders, we have been very focused on performance and growth, but we can’t have these if our employees are not happy within their own roles. Mental health is affecting the bottom line of every single organisation’s policies and internal strategy, we well as staff retention. Retention today is key to driving growth. We support our employees and ensure we have the right tools to succeed.
Leaders aren’t therapists – they can be coaches and mentors, but they take on a huge pressure to support entire teams, which leads them to burnout. It’s very important that the managers are very careful about their own mental health.
Find out more about SupportRoom
SupportRoom is a virtual mental health provider whose aim is to improve psychological wellbeing, both at home and in the workplace. We want to make therapy convenient and easy to access, as we understand that mental health needs should not be put on hold.
Based in London, UK, SupportRoom offers more than virtual therapy. Our additional services include wellbeing monitoring, data analytics for leaders, self-care tools, and Slack and MS Teams Integration. We want to offer comprehensive mental health support that doesn’t need to be scheduled weeks in advance. Your wellbeing comes first to us, and we go above and beyond to look after your mental health whenever you need it.
