Tell me a little bit about MindKite and what you guys do?

MindKite is a brand that represents mental fitness and brain care and promotes the belief that we can all have a better mindset if we consume better content and create positive community environments. We create; apps, motivational content, mindset podcasts and educational courses.

As the Founder, tell me a little bit about yourself and your background?

I’m the Founder of MindKite, a mental wellbeing social media app and global community platform launched on the 10th May 2021. MindKite’s inception came from the realisation that men in my hometown of Glasgow, Scotland, were struggling with mental health, and lacked adequate support and resources. Suicide is the single biggest killer of men under 45 in the United Kingdom, with Scotland having the highest rates at 16.1 deaths per 100,000 persons.

I’ve spent 13 years working within psychology and mental health, dedicating my time to becoming a CBT and NLP Practitioner. I’m  also trained in Mental Health First Aid, Mental Health Awareness and I hold a diploma in Psychological Coaching from the BPS-approved Centre for Coaching and a Diploma in Life Coaching

I’ve also been mentored by celebrity life coach Xavier Barnett, global motivational speaker Les Brown, and internet marketing sensation Paul Getter.

I’ve also mentored and coached over 1000 people, racking up 20,000+ hours in assisting people to achieve; wealth, success, business growth, strengthened relationships and improved mindsets.

I’m also the ambassador for the charity, MindSoldiers.

Where did the idea come from?

After acknowledging the growing mental health issue and suicide rate in my home city Glasgow I was mentoring and coaching many people in and around Glasgow on mindset and mental wellbeing, when I was inundated with messages from people all around the UK.

So, I had to think of a way to promote all I was teaching in a safe space involving the whole community and future prospects.

What is your main goal and vision?

My main goal is to give everyone on this planet a fighting chance everyday to get their mindset right from the minute they wake up until they go to bed, I want to reduce the suicide rate and social media anxieties. I would love for MindKite to lead the way in this space and really make a difference to peoples lives.

How do you differentiate yourselves from competitors?

There are a few apps that deliver some variables, but we are much more than just an app or content creator, at MindKite we are a one stop shop for all your mindset, wellbeing and motivational needs, we also tackle the social media space by having a positivity driven interactive newsfeed.

How many are in your team and how did you grow it?

There are now six people in the team most of them part-time doing what they can to help get the project off the ground.

I built the company from a vision and a very poor drawing I made on an iPad, I then reverse engineered everything what I needed, who I needed, and how to make it all come together.

So, for the last 18 months it’s been about creating content, having it edited, writing scripts, visualising how things will look and then finding the right people to make it work as I’m not a tech guy at all, so it was a real process.

Why are mental health businesses so important especially right now?

For me, it’s not about mental health businesses, it’s more about people and products that actually care about people’s wellbeing and mental health. You can look good by attaching a business to mental health but at MindKite we aren’t doing this to look good on the resume or simply turn a coin, it’s a real invested emotion - for us we love to help people and want better for humanity as a whole.

The pandemic has seen the need for mental health help and assistance grow rapidly, so if there was ever a time to shine in this space its now and I urge everyone who genuinely cares for mental wellbeing to do what they can during these times.

What challenges have you faced, and how have you overcome them?

The biggest challenges came for me in learning about technology, coding, designing, and building platforms, although I have had a company perform the build, it was a process I was unfamiliar with and had to learn on my feet and fast.

Also, we are trying to navigate a new field, new business and create content during the global pandemic which is extremely challenging.

How has the past year been for you guys what challenges have you faced with COVID?

The biggest challenge with COVID was trying to film content and produce the MindKite podcast with all the travel restrictions and social distancing it made things very difficult, I am also a big believer in meeting people you work with face to face and that has been restricted or not allowed at times and for me this made the business side of things and the app build quite a cold hard process, most of the meetings we’re and are over Zoom, Teams or WhatsApp.

I think every single industry has been affected in one way or another and although tech companies and digital spaces and ecommerce have seen a rise in business, I’m sure that also comes with its own logistical issues.

What do you guys have planned for the future?

We would really like to spread the message of MindKite around the world. We really want to make Mindkite the name around the world that is associated with mental wellbeing and builders of the global safe space community. We will be working non-stop to provide the world with great content from podcasts, videos, documentaries, and events.