I went through the baptism of fire with my first startup where we were the second cohort of the AngelCube accelerator. The experience was formative if not a little bruising, so when I was asked to mentor the next cohort, there was a non-negotiable for me - start the program with grit and resilience training because otherwise you might break people.

That led to ongoing mentorship with all of Australia’s premier startup accelerators - a veritable hot bed of the most innovative, intelligent, capable and hungry people in the country. The one thing they all had in common was a naiveté that was both a superpower and a huge blind spot.

I saw the most effective role I could play being that of the mentor or coach that helped them navigate that fine line with less avoidance or anxiety - and to tackle it like they were tackling their business problems - systematically understand it (curiosity), come up with quick and easily tested solutions (experimentation) and then iterate according to what you find (agility).

This actually led to a product which connected founders and early-stage startup employees to peer support, context-specific resources and a growing list of recommended executive coaches, mentors and specialised psychologists and therapists to support them on their journey. The product formed the basis for a contract with headspace in Australia to deliver their online portal for their ‘stepped care’ service.