Our investment in HelloSelf

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Our investment in HelloSelf

17 Mar 2023

By Kamran Adle

Investment thesis

Every year, one in four people in the UK, and one in five in the US, experience a mental health problem. It’s a global issue, where mental health disorders are listed as one of the top 10 causes of disease burden around the world.

In the UK, the COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted mental health services. One-third of young adults reported worsening mental health since March 2020, with ever-more limited access to treatment.

Beyond the impact on individuals affected, mental health issues carry a heavy financial cost. In the UK, it comes to £117.9Bn – equivalent to 5% of the country’s GDP.

HelloSelf is a digital, personalised psychological therapy and coaching platform, addressing the challenges surrounding access to mental health care head-on.

Through early intervention, careful and speedy matching of highly trained clinical psychologists and counsellors with patients, and treatment plans carefully tuned to the needs of individuals, HelloSelf improves patient outcomes – and stands to relieve pressure on national mental health services.

Who are the pioneers

In 2011, HelloSelf founder and CEO Charlie Wells fell grievously ill. During his slow recovery he was inspired to focus hard on things that mattered: his health, his family, and realising his commitment to changing the world for the better.

With an academic background in biological sciences, Charlie worked as Marketing Director at Ogilvy & Mather before founding his own creative consultancy. Over five years as Chief Marketing Officer at JustGiving, he helped raise more than £4Bn for the UK’s charities. At HelloSelf, Charlie is supported by a leadership team including Dr Rumina Taylor, a clinical psychologist and lecturer at UCL with over a decade’s clinical experience, and Dr Annemarie O’Connor, director and founder of MindWorks.

Why us

We first met Charlie and the HelloSelf team three years ago and have watched with awe as the business has gone from strength to strength. HelloSelf’s mission – to empower individuals to become the best version of themselves through improving their mental wellbeing – resonates deeply with our own values and makes our investment in HelloSelf a logical partnership following our investments into mental health businesses including Big Health and Mindstep.

As Charlie and the HelloSelf team embark on the next stage of their growth journey, we’re proud to offer support through our People + Talent team, helping them recruit the talent they need – and support the outstanding staff poised to take the business to the next level.