Startup 360: Checking in on mental health & what came 1st: founder or the problem?

Is the title “founder” this decade’s version of wanting to be a Masterchef or influencer?

Startup 360 cohost Kayla Medica has a theory.

“So many people now have glamourised being a founder, being an entrepreneur, that there’s a whole host of people who just start businesses with that in mind, and they’re not actually starting a business because they’ve encountered a serious problem that they’re driven to solve,” she tells cohost Simon Thomsen on episode 6.

A lack of innovation is a key theme on this week’s show, featuring Zeina Khodr, founder of Paper + Spark; and fintech advisor and fitness freak Ben Ford, founder of Super Fit Dad.

Listen to this week’s episode:

Zeina, a mentor for women in tech, talks about leadership and team building and how AI is transforming marketing.

She is a passionate advocate for how brands can use technology and strategic storytelling to connect in a fragmented media landscape to communicate, engage and entertain audiences.

She’s also an expert in residence for Innovation NSW, helping entrepreneurs find their feet and get their messaging right. And is part of a wonderful monthly program mentoring women in tech – Mentor Walks. Kayla’s been as a mentee, and despite the early start, she loved it. They’re also looking for more mentors, especially in Western Sydney.

While Ben Ford gets into what makes good startup swag, he also talks about burnout and depression and the importance of looking after each other, having lost his sister-in-law, Vanessa, a high-powered UK lawyer, and recounts how two good friends in startups insisted on catching up with him to talk when all he felt like doing was curling up in a ball.

And did you know that 20 minutes of resistance training is better for your health than 20 minutes of running? Ben shares tips older blokes need to know about staying fit and healthy.

We talk about health and well-being, joy and the guilty pleasure of watching English crime dramas on the couch with someone you love.

Startup 360 is a weekly show, talking startups and tech, published every Friday.

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