Time to get your tiny violins out for bosses, because 12 billion working days are lost globally to depression and anxiety. And it's costing them US $1 trillion a year.

If only there was a solution… like actually treating employees like people, right?

Directors who harmfully neglect employee wellbeing can now get fines and prison time. Compensation claims are forecast to triple in Australia within 7 years. Newspapers are using words like “deadly work culture”. 

This is one of the most serious compliance sea changes we've ever seen. And the implications for big corps, small businesses, and salaried employees alike - AKA most Australians - are huge.

Australia’s an industrial place. Everyone knows someone in construction, mining, engineering, or farming - and most people know someone who’s had a debilitating physical injury. 

What’s less openly discussed are the mental hazards. Construction workers are 6x more likely to die from suicide than a work accident. 

Across industries, 9 Australians are dying by suicide every day. 

White collar employees are also out here reacting to work stressors like fallow deer to sabre tooth tigers. Because modern work is pumping us full of cortisol. 

Every missed deadline and late arrival and tense meeting sends blood away from the brain and restorative systems and into the muscles - getting us ready to fight or fly. Worse, in what the founders call a “silent pandemic”, only 1 in 5 incidents of bullying or sexual harassment are reported.

Everyone’s feeling it, and nobody (read: leadership) seems to know how to handle it (read: actually lead people rather than work them into the ground).

We’ve re-invested in Foremind for their elegantly simple solution that connects workers, bosses, and counsellors - and because pretty much every company in Australia is sitting under this falling compliance sword.

Background

Founded by Joel Anderson, Foremind champions worker wellbeing while also “covering the asses of the people signing the cheques”.

It covers three bases: workers needing support, bosses needing compliance, and counsellors needing clients. 

Workers get “mental health support in your pocket”. There are no awkward convos or impossible-to-make phone calls. It’s just there.

They can tap in via their smartphones, choose a counsellor from a selection of profiles, and view their calendars to make an appointment. They get to dictate whether that appointment is via phone call, video call, or in person.

Foremind encourages proactive help-seeking behaviours and aims to prevent a point of crisis from happening in the first place.

Bosses can see stats like (anonymous) employee login volume, from where, how often, and what content they're engaging with, helping them to track, report, and respond. Depending on the membership plan, Foremind can cost no more than a portaloo. 

The barrier to entry is low, and the outcomes can be literally lifesaving.

It also opens up an opportunity for a third party - counsellors. Often running their own private practices and relying on word of mouth marketing, they complete the offering - providing flexible support, and keeping their slots filled along the way.

“Mental health compliance is a nascent market inside a billion dollar industry. There is currently no solution that connects everything the workplace needs to function - worker wellbeing, staff retention, productivity, and compliance.”

Where they were beFore

Foremind’s original intent was to increase the usage of employee assistance programs (EAPs).

But research unveiled an entire iceberg beneath that tip: 

1. The majority of Australian businesses couldn't afford an EAP solution in the first place
2. Those that could were being sold all inclusive plans but getting minimal to no reporting on value for money
3. Most existing providers had been acquired, client experience was suffering, and the offerings were no longer tailored for Australian businesses.

And then Psychosocial Hazard Legislation entered the chat. 

We had to help them make a breakneck pivot from a vitamin (employee retention and wellbeing platform) to a potent painkiller (essential for regulatory compliance/relieving a very real fear of personal prosecution).

How we helped

Sales and marketing

Then: Low ACV, high CAC, and lengthy enterprise sales processes

Now: Renewed positioning across expanded markets, and lower-touch customer acquisition models. 

Joel was able to blow his addressable market open wide, pitching engineering, agriculture, health, marine rescue, and professional services firms (some of which Skalata helped with intros to).

Combining this with a close look at the sales funnel and strategy, Foremind started generating immense top-of-funnel interest (an industry whitepaper on the new Psychosocial Hazards legislation led to 1000 leads generated).

Product 

Then: A purely construction-focused work support offering at MVP stage.

Now: The first mover in Australia to link wellbeing to compliance within a “one stop shop” platform for all assessments and obligations.

The team rapidly created additional functionality to help businesses manage impending obligations, and created a step by step guide to best practice.

Far from the MVP he brought to us, the Foremind team has rebuilt the product on a modern framework that rapidly develops and pivots as the requirements of customers do.

The suite is now Foremind for Workers (preventative resources and counselling to prevent point of crisis); Foremind for Business (providing data to increase retention and productivity while managing compliance requirements); and Foremind for Therapists (a single platform that generates leads and allows therapists to manage and grow their practice).

Research, impact, and thought leadership 

Then: A founder with an MVP and a passion for fostering wellbeing at work.

Now: A CEO, 2023 Snow Entrepreneur, and prolific advocate and content creator in the mental health space.

One of Foremind’s new hires, Psychosocial Health & Safety Director - Louise Thompson, lends valuable credibility, and will help in the development of processes and education materials. 

The team’s Snow Foundation grant will provide specialist expertise in impact measurement to help quantify the benefits of Foremind to individuals, businesses, and communities across Australia as they continue on their mission towards zero suicide.

“Working with Skalata absolutely transformed the way we approached our mission. The team introduced us to an incredible pool of experts, challenged our assumptions to accelerate growth and impact, and ingrained bigger picture thinking into our DNA. Each team member was super supportive and genuine, helping us through the growing pains we didn’t know how to solve.”

From an unclear strategy and a founder entrenched in high-touch sales, Foremind has a clear 12-month pathway and a 24-month product roadmap… and another dose of investment from us.

Team

Then: Originally a team of three, Joel was left a solo founder when two founding members departed suddenly.

Now: A growing org with three C-suites and an established Engineering team.

A VC always shows their colours when s*** hits the fan. 

Instead of being blown off course by two unexpected founding team departures, Joel was able to lean on us (and our networks) for help hiring a COO, Psychosocial Health & Safety Director, and stepping early engineering hire Corey up to a well-deserved CTO role. 

Why we reinvested 

The team has hit cruising altitude on top of major tailwinds: companies “must eliminate psychosocial risks, or if that is not reasonably practicable, minimise them so far as is reasonably practicable”.

They’ve grown 1000% since the original investment, doubled ACV, doubled the size of the team, and quadrupled client numbers. 

“We entered Skalata a concept - now we’re a company.”

By combining early intervention support with the ability to identify stress before it takes hold, there’s a unique opportunity to overhaul the psychological climate of an organisation - rather than just placing another bandage on a leaky bucket.

“We’ve had clients tell us that staff have personally thanked them for providing Foremind as a tool and changing the narrative around the right time to seek mental health support. This, combined with word of mouth referrals, highlights the effectiveness of our model compared with existing providers who have not evolved their service delivery model to be reflective of the requirements of modern day workers.”

The future of Foremind

Across 2023, Foremind smashed their ARR goals, released a new platform, got a $200k grant from the Snow Foundation, and came into 2024 with zero churn. 

2024 will see:

• Expansion across key target market segments, plus exploration of new verticals facing similar challenges
• Launching the next iteration of the Psychosocial Hazard management platform, building technical and research expertise to become the leader in Psychological Safety
• Preparation for an NZ expansion as well as scoping of the US market.

We love this kind of “no brainer” tech. 

It’s never made moral sense for bosses to neglect employee wellbeing. But now, it doesn’t make sense financially either. And that’s a language every director speaks. 

Investing in people may be a “no brainer” - but it took a unique brain with first-hand experience to crack the execution. It’s solving the problem by actually… solving the problem.

“Joel is a deeply dedicated and resilient founder - open to feedback and continual growth, and resilient when the going gets tough!”

– Maxine Lee

We also love things that step in when “nice to haves” become “non-negotiable”s. The structural shift in the workplace and society at large means it’s no longer work ‘til you drop, or grow at all costs.

“Joel knows his own mind - an authentic, driven founder with a strong track record of setting up goals and knocking them down. His creativity has shone in founder sales, building community with content, and leveraging the compliance angle to generate immense top-of-funnel interest.”

– Claire Bristow

We’ll continue working with Joel and Foremind to increase contract values, carve a path to scalable sales, grow the team to support the increasing workload, and support their transition from vitamin pill to potent painkiller.