James Oliver, founder of the co-founder matching app Kabila, has launched the Kabila Founder Mental Health Fund, to support founders’ mental health. Backed by the Social Good Fund, the initiative received a $25,000 seed grant from Techstars Co-Founder Brad Feld. Supporting founders’ mental health Kabila Founder Mental Health Fund will provide free mental therapy for founders in the Kabila community. This includes founders in the Kabila Ventures portfolio, Oliver’s new pre-seed fund. “So many early-stage founders I talk with are having a HARD time right now – making tough decisions
Wicked Saints Studios, a Black woman-led video game studio, has partnered with Discord, e.l.f Beauty, and Starlight Children’s Foundation to launch World Reborn. The first-of-its-kind interactive story game uses behavioral science and positive psychology to boost players’ well-being. With 87% of Gen Z gaming online weekly, World Reborn meets them where they are—turning gameplay into meaningful connection and real-world impact. How does the game work? Users will be given real-world quests called Training Mods, which feature real-life changemakers addressing several social goods, such as supporting women’s sports from e.l.f., empowering teen
Megan Garcia is seeking to hold Google and AI firm Character.AI responsible for the death of her 14-year-old son, Sewell Setzer III. Character.AI, an interactive chatbot platform, lets users design or select lifelike personas with which to communicate. Sewell developed a deep attachment to a chatbot he named “Dany,” inspired by Game of Thrones character Daenerys Targaryen. His mother alleges that his obsessive use of the chatbot, along with the platform’s addictive design, worsened his mental health and led to his suicide in February 2024. “The inventors and the companies, the corporations that
Efforts to combat the disproportionate rates of Black maternal mortality are gaining momentum with the Virtual Black Maternal Health ECHO program. Launched by Indiana University (IU) in collaboration with the Indiana Minority Health Coalition, the program uses telehealth technology to bridge gaps in maternal healthcare and create collaboration among healthcare professionals nationwide. Addressing Urgent Maternal Health Disparities In the US, Black maternal mortality remains alarmingly high, with rates nearly double those of their white counterparts. Experts attribute this disparity to systemic issues, including healthcare access inequities, implicit bias, and fragmented
African entrepreneurs are deeply committed to their startups, but the cost of this passion often impacts their mental health, a new report from Flourish Ventures reveals. The study, which surveyed over 160 founders across 13 African nations, found that more than 80% experience mental health challenges, with anxiety (60%), stress (58%), exhaustion (52%), and depression (20%) being the most common issues. Key Challenges Affecting Founders External pressures like fundraising, inflation, and economic instability weigh heavily on entrepreneurs. Nearly 60% of respondents said raising funds is their biggest stressor, followed by
Everyone in my team is a person of color (POC). Before joining this company, I had unconsciously dimmed my ideas, opinions, and a huge part of myself. Working in an industry that’s 94% white, I’d absorbed the belief that stories about race and identity didn’t always need to be told— or perhaps I was making too big a deal of them. My all-POC team changed that for me. It set a new standard for what I expect from the workplace. Feeling Like I’m “Too Much” As a journalism student at
Lorenzo Lewis, a Black entrepreneur born in prison, has overcome challenges to build a $20 million company focused on mental health advocacy. Despite facing tremendous challenges, including his own incarceration at 17, Lewis now leads a $20 million company, inspiring others through his story of resilience and success. From Incarceration to Entrepreneurship Despite facing difficult circumstances early in life, Lewis pursued higher education, earning degrees in Human Services and Public Administration. After his release, he founded The Confess Project of America (TCPA), a nonprofit organization aimed at breaking the stigma
Nigerian e-health startup, Field, has unveiled a new service aimed at addressing Africa’s maternal mortality crisis. Backed by a $11 million investment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Field’s initiative focuses on emerging therapies for maternal, newborn, and child health as well as improving nutrition across the continent. Helping healthcare access Co-founded in 2015 by Michael Moreland, Justin Lorenzon, and Peter Bunor, Field has already made significant strides in transforming healthcare delivery through its pharmaceutical supply chain solutions, operating in Nigeria and Kenya. The company has supported over 800
This article is sponsored by Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Lab The Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Lab (MSIVL) is proving that inclusion really does fuel innovation. Since 2017, Morgan Stanley’s in-house startup accelerator has helped over 100 companies raise over $200 million and reach a collective valuation of more than $1 billion. MSIVL provides early-stage technology and technology-enabled startups with $250,000, handpicked mentors, custom curriculums in finance, sales, and marketing, and a coveted opportunity to pitch to investors following their five-month accelerator participation on a Demo Day, setting founders up for
URAWarrior, a mental wellness platform founded by executive coach and TV personality Bershan Shaw, has launched a new mental wellness app designed to help users manage stress, anxiety, and mental health challenges. The app, released on National Suicide Prevention Day, is part of a partnership with the restaurant chain Founding Farmers. A New mental wellness app Bershan Shaw, a two-time cancer survivor known for her appearances on The Real Housewives of New York City, created URAWarrior as a safe space for individuals dealing with mental health struggles. The app offers
