Everyone Has Mental Health.

Suicide Rates are at their highest in half a century. Depression rates are up 33% and anxiety disorders currently impact just under 20% of the U.S. population. 28% of U.S. students in grades 6-12 experience bullying, and 40% of college undergraduates have felt severely depressed while on campus. Additionally, studies are starting to show the negative impact of social media and phone addictions on our wellbeing and sociability. Despite these staggering numbers, issues surrounding mental health and mental wellbeing have not made their way into day-to-day discourse. We need a framework to discuss our mental health, and not just the health of people who suffer from mental illness, but the mental health of everyone.

I want to create a way for young people in particular to prioritize their mental wellness, talk about it, and demand that their employers, parents, professors, and peers acknowledge it as an important concept. As an internationally ranked synchronized swimmer in high school, the demand for perfection was constant and grueling. Every angle had to be precise, every movement had to be on time, and every iteration was scrutinized by the coach on deck or by video post-practice. This culture of constant perfection and improvement is something excellent and something special; it is what has made me successful as an athlete, as a student, and as an entrepreneur. However, it was impossible to succeed in this way without a constant awareness of my mental wellness and the power to make changes so that I could be in the best mental state to succeed. It was my coach, Sheilagh, through her tough love coaching who would awaken this sense of awareness and power in me:

“If not you, who? If not now, when?”

“Do it sick, do it tired, do it scared.”

“It takes every single one of you every single day.”

Sheilagh instilled in me a way of living that believed that mental strength was a muscle that could be mastered, and this is a skill I take with me everywhere.

In the workplace, mental strength and awareness was imperative. Working at an investment bank, I observed that the best bankers knew exactly what their client wanted and delivered it with skill, precision, and speed. To be a great junior banker, similarly, required self-reflection, observation, and an understanding of what motivated each member of my eight person pod.

Through my experience as an athlete and my interest in economics and business, I was inspired to create the mood and lifestyle tracking app, Sophia. At its heart, Sophia would be my new Sheilagh - she would help me track my mood, learn about what causes it, and help me take action. The millenials that I speak to are constantly talking about their feelings but there is often little talk of the implications of these feelings. Research suggests that millenials value emotions just as much as facts, which marks a stark difference from the previous generation. If this is the case, we need to start treating emotions with the same importance that we place on facts, and we need a way to channel the concern for how we feel into goals, commitments, and action. Instead of people dwelling on their feelings, people will become present to how their emotions interfere with their lives and commitments.

I built Sophia to give people this ability to link what they do and how they feel and encourage them to take action. Sophia will allow you to track your mood, steps, sleep, and other physical metrics, and then suggest goals and programs to improve your physical and mental wellbeing. Sophia helps users take steps to stay committed, become more productive in the workforce, reduce depression and anxiety, and lower stress levels. At the same time, Sophia promotes a culture whereby acknowledging mental health is positive, productive, and empowering. It is impossible to mobilize the power of the mind to achieve goals if there is a stigmatic barrier against talking about or understanding your emotions and feelings. I want Sophia to be there for people the way Sheilagh was for me, showing me that my mind can be an asset in achieving my goals if I treat it properly and train it effectively.

Over the next two years, I plan to continue developing Sophia. After we finish the MVP, we will spend time testing and planning the next version of the app, as well as developing a marketing and promotional plan. My vision is to partner with fitness brands, health food markets, trainers, coaches, and meditation companies, to build Sophia as a brand centered around the idea that every person, athlete or not, can make lifestyle changes to harness their mental strength to achieve their goals.

The Toptal Scholarship presents a major milestone in my journey to create this brand. As a Princeton student, with no educational foundation in business, I crave the mentorship offered by people that know what it means to be a great leader and innovator. Additionally, I know that a mentorship opportunity would help me connect with the best companies in the physical and mental wellness space. With great partnerships, I am confident that we will be able to promote a holistic approach to mental and physical wellbeing. With 10,000 dollars, I will be able to build out a new version of Sophia, integrating more complex AI technology that allows a customizable experience for users, enhancing the insights that Sophia can provide. I will also be able to create more goals for users and more programs that can help users reduce stress, increase happiness, and build awareness about how their lifestyles impact their ability to be mentally tough and mentally resilient. Lastly, I will be able to invest in further research as to what Sophia can offer users and what users want from Sophia. The 10,000 dollars will also be a step towards my longterm vision for the brand. Eventually, Sophia will expand beyond the app to be a full-fledged digital marketplace that will sell products related to the lifestyle changes and goal programs recommended and encouraged by Sophia.

Sophia marks a step towards thinking about mental health and physical health together in way that includes everyone. Sophia is needed to open up the conversation about mental health and why it applies to people who do and do not suffer from mental illness alike. Our generation needs products that address the issue of mental health head-on, and that include everyone in the conversation. I am extremely excited about the Toptal Scholarship as I know it can help me gain the skills and resources necessary to build Sophia to be a force that will help improve the state of mental health for everyone.