All startups have targets – but perhaps founders should beware the cost of going after them too aggressively.
We’ve written a lot recently about the problem of burnout, with women in leadership roles left particularly vulnerable. Ariana Alexander-Sefre, co-founder and co-CEO of startup SPOKE, has seen first-hand the effect of her own mental state on the team.
“The most important lesson I’ve learnt is the importance of staying in a positive headspace and being in flow as much as possible,” she tells TechBlast.
“As the founder, my energy directly affects everyone in the team, so as soon as I am burnt out or unhappy, the team will feel it.
“It is far too easy to work until midnight, eat badly or miss workouts, but I know from experience that is a fast route to burnout.”
SPOKE is a mental wellness app offering personalised, music-led audio sessions that are clinically proven to improve mental wellbeing. The London startup works with a community of notable artists, producers and creatives to make taking care of the mind and emotions more accessible for the millions of people who love music and are currently missed out by traditional wellness.
Meet SPOKE – a startup tackling the mental health crisis with music
Much of the music industry is egotistical – witness the confident body language of swaggering lead singers and gesticulating rappers – and this extends to the measures of success.
“The music industry does not have any way to bake impact in; musicians are never trained in mental health by their labels and the only measure of success in the music industry is charts and sales,” says Alexander-Sefre.
“I believe that for an industry that can access the hardest to reach people in the world, more should be done around impact, but I also think we are a few years away from that becoming a normalised way of thinking.”
Alexander-Sefre is well aware that ego is also a prevalent characteristic among entrepreneurs – which may not be a good thing.
“I’ve learnt that removing oneself from the ego as much as possible is essential [to success],” she says. “Building SPOKE isn’t about me – it is about being on an assignment to bring something of value to the world. I am a servant to the vision and the mission.”
That mission will not be achieved overnight, she acknowledges. “This is not a [sprint] race, it is a long-term cross-country – and great things grow sustainably over very long periods of time.
“I have also learnt the power of 1% changes – if every week things improve by 1%, it will only be at week 90 or 95 that you suddenly see the result of all those changes. From week to week, things will hardly look different.”