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Founder mental health therapy works – and there’s data to prove it

Nancy Dahlberg
Nancy Dahlberg
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Year 1 of GROWTHerapy for Black founders was a success but uncovered important inclusion challenges

A year ago, Michael Hall and his Digital Grass nonprofit were preparing to  launch cohort 1 of GROWTHerapy, a 6-week  program that would provide 10 Black founders in South Florida with free one-on-one and group therapy services. It was in response to the mental health impacts from the social injustices of 2020 as well as the day-to-day challenges of building a company, and Hall, an entrepreneur himself, had benefited from therapy, he said. “We recognize that mental health is an essential key to success at work and in life.”

Now with 5 cohorts and 52 entrepreneurs having finished the program, Hall compiled the findings on the program, which was supported with $235,000 in funding from the Knight Foundation. Weekly therapy services included both an individual and a group session led by a licensed therapist. The group therapy helped founders understand they were going through many of the same issues and they formed a support system. The overall results showed therapy helped them manage the uncertainty and chaos that comes at them as a founder and improve conflict resolution skills.

 With the therapy, the founders overwhelmingly reported their revenue and business productivity were up  — 85% saw improvement by week 4 of the cohort and 70% saw at least a  20% revenue increase. Nearly all recommended the program to their peers. About 40% of the founders have continued therapy on their own.

Beyond business results, the therapy has helped founders cope with traumas, depression, anxiety and relationship issues (both business and personal) and uncovered mental health challenges that needed further attention in some cases, Hall said. “We’re making real change and I don’t think there’s anything more valuable than life itself.”

Michael Hall, founder of MediumFour, Digital Grass, and GROWTHerapy

Yet Hall said compiling the report left him feeling “grateful, depressed, confused and determined.” Only three organizations in the South Florida tech community focus on Black issues. And despite the barrage of information about the tech community momentum Miami is experiencing, “the Black community is still being left out,” Hall said, noting that Black entrepreneurs receive just 1.4% of venture capital and only 2%  of government procurement contracts in Miami-Dade. Indeed, a recent report and survey by aire ventures found that women and racial minorities lack an effective support system needed to thrive and access to capital was a widely cited challenge.

 Hall also said  the Black founders overwhelmingly said they feel a disconnect with the Latin community, and suffer from years of broken promises and a sense of neglect.  “While people were grateful for the Knight Foundation funding the program, they have felt no other organization really has kept up with the commitments since the George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery murders,” he said.

Still, Hall is proud of his GROWTHerapy research report because it was “a true reflection of the community struggles.” Also, he said, “it was a moment of reflection on what I’m fighting for and what I’ve always been angry about. I was able to focus that anger into a skill set that I gained from both of my parents, my mom being in psychology and a therapist herself and my father being a leader in diversity and inclusion, and I was able to see immediate results.”

What’s next?

Digital Grass plans to continue the program in South Florida. Hall plans to apply for another round of funding from the Knight Foundation to support more cohorts, and hopes to begin cohorts in the spring. Because some GROWTHerapy alumni need to continue with the therapy but can’t afford it, Hall is also seeking ways to provide those services at a discounted price. Also in the plans: building a certification program for training therapists on the issues and challenges of being a founder.

To spread the program far and wide, Hall is seeking to partner up with a global entrepreneurial platform. His goal is to reach more than 4,000 Black founders by year 5 of the program. GROWTHerapy is also working with organizations to spin off a version of the program to help previous and current athletes with their traumas and their mental wellness.

 Read more in Hall’s detailed report here.

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Follow @ndahlberg on Twitter and email her at [email protected]

Nancy Dahlberg
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