Jen Gotch is co-founder and chief creative officer of the multi-million dollar business ban.do. The brand's goal is to make you feel better with their bright, optimistic products. Her 250K Instagram followers love her mental health advocacy as she bears her heart with a lot of spunk, humor, and personality.

Jen's just written her first book, a memoir called "The Upside of Being Down," about how her mental health struggles led to her greatest successes in work and in life. Although she was raised by loving and attentive parents in Boca Raton, Florida, her early signs of bipolar disorder, anxiety, and ADD went unrecognized. After graduating from college, Jen was living back with her parents, heartbroken, and lost, when she became convinced her skin turned green. Hallucinating she looked like Shrek was terrifying, but it led to her first diagnosis.

It was the start of a journey towards self-awareness, acceptance, success, and ultimately, joy. While simultaneously dealing with her mental health struggles, she worked as a TV extra, a prop stylist, an art director, a commercial photographer, and eventually an accidental and beloved entrepreneur. Jen now embraces her flaws, appreciating the influence mental illness has on her creativity that continues to lead to her greatest successes in business and in life.

Jen's brand personality for ban.do is to not feel competitive with other people, but to actually support them and to just be real. Case in point, Jen designed and sold the popular "Anxiety" and "Depression" necklaces to legions of grateful women, with the net proceeds going to the mental health nonprofit, "Bring Change to Mind."

Don't be surprised if after listening to Jen you are inspired to be more colorful and dance in front of dumpsters.

SHOW NOTE LINKS:

"The Upside of Being Down"

Jen's Instagram

Ban.do

"Glamour" article- Busy Philipps and Jen Gotch Reveal the Secret to Finding Real Adult Friendships

24-Hour Suicide Prevention Hotline

Jen's dad- Dr. Jamie on Instagram

Bring Change to Mind

Anxiety Necklace from ban.do

Photo taken by Kerry Crawford

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