Power Up: Pivot Sessions

This week we sat down with Sean Ruane, founder of Mind Data - a platform designed to help organisations take a data driven approach to mental health.

Sean has been very open about this own experience with suicidal depression, and he is now on a mission to improve the lives of 1 million people around the world.

The first iteration of Mind Data was a two way tool that enabled patients to capture their thoughts and feelings outside of therapy sessions, and gave their therapists a way to see that information in real-time, and better prepare for their time spent together.

Despite some really encouraging traction early on, scaling beyond the initial group of early adopters was challenging.

A lot of the feedback Sean was getting indicated that the platform was customer (patient) centric, but ultimately not compelling enough for the therapists who would ultimately be paying for it.

Having loosely discussed some of the other routes Mind Data could take through the many conversations Sean had been having with therapists, advisors, etc, along the way - he decided it was time to dial up some of those conversations and really start to explore them more seriously.

Catch up Sean’s key learnings below, or watch the session in full here.

How do you know when to pivot?

"There’s no binary line in the sand, I used a combination of data and gut feel. I asked myself two questions:

1) People love it, but are they willing to pay for it?

2) Have I created a product for the early adopters or the masses?"

How to manage exploring new ideas with investors and board members?

"Remember investors invest in YOU as an individual, not the early tech you’ve built. And you are probably going to do things they might not agree with. Don’t let that stop you - but remember communication is key - take people on the journey with you, and avoid big surprises.

Along the way, you’ll likely speak to a lot of people who seem more qualified on certain subjects than you are, and this is where I often found imposter syndrome can creep in. But don’t worry about pleasing people - take advice, be humble and make a decision yourself."

How do you develop a culture where it’s OK to make big changes?

"Culture is a product of a group of values, and how you treat each other is key. Whatever you want to see in others, act that way yourself - encourage a culture of finding new things and exploring new opportunities. And if your vision is clear, pivot’s will feel less disruptive."

Is there any advice you were given along the way that’s helped you stay on course?

"Don’t go off track by trying to be a ‘cool startup founder’, focus on how you’re going to build a business. Proving you have a profitable, sustainable business early on is more important now than it was in years gone by."

Next up in The Pivot Session series 🚀

Next up we're diving into whether 'Employee Happiness' can truly be a realistic KPI. Join Lucy next week as she chats with Richard Clarke of Secret Source, who transformed his business by prioritising just that—and witnessed incredible growth as a result.

Don’t miss out on uncovering the strategies behind their success. 👉 Sign up here 👈

Catch you on the next Power up!