University of Sydney students Emma Glendinning (Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Dalyell)), Brianna Power (Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Advanced Studies) and Athanasia Vardakis (Bachelor of Medical Science and Bachelor of Advanced Studies) recently received the Sydney Genesis Rising Star Award for their mental health start-up MindSafarii. Emma shares her start-up journey.
What is MindSafarii?
MindSafarii is a mobile application which will use game based learning to create a mental health language for parents and children. By creating a language, MindSafarii will encourage a two way conversation about mental health to minimise the extent to which emotions, thoughts and feelings go unnoticed.
How did you develop MindSafarii?
MentalWealth (now known as MindSafarii) began with a shared passion to address the problem of mental health in Australia. Mental health is something that everyone has, but not everyone knows how to talk about. Myself and fellow co-founders Brianna and Athanasia realised that there are many self-help apps and initiatives out there that help people, from middle school and above, to manage their mental health…but the World Health Organisation informed us that 50% of mental illnesses actually develop before the age of 14. Waiting until middle school to start talking about mental health is too late, which is why we chose to focus on K-2 as our target audience.
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| Two of MindSafarii's co-founders, Athanasia Vardakis and Emma Glendinning |
To make use of a business buzzword, the process of finding our solution involved a lot of pivoting. Whilst our initial solution focused on building resilience in kids to create positive mental health strategies, we are now focusing on building a solution which creates a common language for children, and parents, to use so that families can openly talk about mental health at home. Even with the immense progress that we have made to date, we still do not know exactly how our product will work…but we have ideas that we are currently testing. That is just the fun of entrepreneurship – nothing is set in stone! Our name has also recently shifted from MentalWealth to MindSafarii…if anyone has any feedback on the change, please get in contact!
How did the Genesis and Dalyell programs help MindSafarii?
Introduction into the Genesis program, through the Business Dalyell Stream, was fundamental to MindSafarii’s traction to date. The Genesis program is a fantastic opportunity to make connections and to learn from other entrepreneurs who have succeeded in transforming their start-up idea into a solution with customers and revenue. There was so much learning that occurred during the program, but the biggest thing that stood out for me was how open people are to providing advice and help when you ask for it. The true value of Genesis is in the relationships that you build with other entrepreneurs!
What's next for MindSafarii?
The world of start-ups is driven by goals, and our accountability to achieving our goals as a team is what landed us with the title of the Genesis Startup Program's ‘Fastest Rising Star.’ Over the next two months we are aiming to develop our branding and mock ups of what our minimum viable product (MVP) will look like. Over the summer break we aim to solidify our MVP so that we can begin our first round of pilot testing. As a mid-term goal, we want to secure an initial customer base and start generating revenue by mid 2021. Our long-term growth strategy is to expand from Australia to the world. Mental health does not discriminate against cultures and we want to create a solution which increases access for individuals, everywhere.
If you would like to find out more about our business model, to express interest in our solution, to offer your expertise (especially in areas of child development and child psychology, the psychology of gaming and software development knowledge) or to receive an update on how we go in achieving our goals, then please do not hesitate to get in contact. Alternatively, if you are a student with start-up ambitions of your own I would encourage you to keep reaching out for help and to keep discussing your idea with others. In our experience, the most progress is made when you are not afraid of asking for advice.
To get in contact with Emma, MindSafarii’s CEO and co-founder, please send a message via Emma's LinkedIn.
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