Steve is the co-founder of Unmind, a workplace mental-health platform that’s raised $80M and scaled to serve companies worldwide.

With a background as both a musician and entrepreneur, he’s now helping leaders design cultures where wellbeing and performance go hand in hand.

In this episode Steve opens up about the morning his life short-circuited, the five-month breakdown that followed, and what it really takes to build a company without breaking.

As always, if you enjoy this episode, make sure to like and subscribe 🔔

Chapters:

(00:00) Intro

(00:59) The morning everything changed

(03:01) “Not burnout — a full systems breakdown”

(04:30) From musician to startup founder

(06:37) Identity vs. the role: Who is Steve beyond “co-founder”?

(07:23) Panic, A&E visits, and derealisation

(09:54) Heavy metals, genetics & detox pathways

(12:14) Healing: nature, rest, and reconnecting

(13:23) Foundations: sleep, movement, journaling, morning pages

(14:29) The eulogy exercise & values work

(16:16) Play, inner child, and curiosity over comparison

(18:25) “Not a machine”: Taylorism and the modern workplace

(21:09) The two strands that led to Unmind

(24:18) Toxic leadership, real costs & the spark to act

(26:25) Meeting Nick Taylor and spotting the gap

(27:41) Launching Unmind: proactive, stigma-breaking mental health

(28:35) Mission vs. growth capital: naming the tension

(29:52) Culture quadrants: clan, market, hierarchy, adhocracy

(33:41) Polarity mapping: results & wellbeing as co-KPIs

(35:12) Trust, visibility & psychological safety from leadership

(37:00) Evidence: leadership wellbeing drives performance

(38:15) Coaching founders: reconnecting to humanity

(39:31) Escaping comparison; widening your sources of meaning

(40:38) Steve’s sacred place: the woods and the tree

(42:12) “What was it all for?” — honoring life

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