Bloomwise, a start-up run by two researchers at the University of Birmingham, is positively impacting the workplace by providing proactive mental health solutions. Their central aim is to transform workplace and societal narratives around mental health, creating an employee centric culture leading to both human and business growth.
Bloomwise’s new workplace mental health app is expanding the scope of workplace mental health by reinventing how employers can collect business insights and acknowledging that a ‘one-size fits all’ approach just does not work. They believe that every individual and every business is so different to each other, so why are current solutions not addressing this?
The app is mutually beneficial for both employees and employers. The daily check-in function allows employees to recognise mental and workplace health patterns and triggers and communicate this clearly to their managers.
The UoB scholarship Bloomwise received through the UoB Elevate programme has not only allowed them to pay for the development of the second version of their app but also create an app that they know will have a considerable impact on the workplace and broader society.
Frankie: We're super excited about our new app. It offers a completely unique approach for workplace mental health - as well as it being mutually beneficial for both employers and employees. The insights that it provides on both an individual and business level will turbo-boost a company's ability to create a healthier and more productive workforce.
Additionally, their app has a large number of resources tailored to different elements of mental health, ranging from work-life balance to the relationship between body and mind. They also offer interactive audios, including guided meditations. Amongst their clientele is a research department at the NHS, which is a huge achievement for the start-up.
Who is behind the idea?
CEO Frankie Lewns and CSO Paris Lalousis co-founded Bloomwise whilst doing their PhDs. Frankie, now in her final year, and Paris, now in a research fellow position, have continued to balance the world of entrepreneurship with that of academia. Bloomwise currently does not have permanent salaried staff; however, they have capitalised on different schemes to recruit talented individuals, and currently have a team of 10.
Both Frankie and Paris have received numerous accolades, including Start-Up Founder of the Year (Midlands Women in Tech) and being named one of the Telegraph NatWest 100 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch list (Frankie) and an Early Career Award from the Schizophrenia International Research Society in 2022 (Paris).
Only starting trading in May 2022, Bloomwise has achieved a lot within its first year of operating. Mental Health Awareness Week is an excellent opportunity to spread awareness and reduce the stigma about mental health. This is something they do directly with businesses, providing workshops that educate and empower people to feel confident when talking about mental health.
Like Bloomwise, Mental Health Awareness Week encourages individuals’ mental health and wellbeing, reminding them that it is equally important to their physical health.
Paris: Mental Health Awareness Week is a great opportunity for awareness and stigma reduction. As someone who has experienced stigma about my mental health experiences, causes like this are very close to my heart. Increased awareness and active encouragement of open discussions around it are the first steps towards mental health achieving parity with physical health.
Both Frankie and Paris share a personal connection to mental health, either through their own experiences, or those of their loved ones.
This has been the driving force behind their business, as they aim to revolutionise the way mental health is perceived, discussed, and addressed in the workplace and society.
Although Bloomwise has achieved a lot within the last year, they are still only at the beginning of their journey and have much more they hope to accomplish. One day, the name 'Bloomwise' will become synonymous with workplace mental health.
They aim to do this by pushing their app to reach a global scale and being the market-leading workplace mental health app, so that they can make the most significant impact possible.
For more information, please email info@bloomwise.co.uk or visit their website www.bloomwiseltd.com. The app is now available on iOS and on google stores.
Written by Orla Gibbons
Edited by Frankie Lewns and Paris Lalousis
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Pictures from top to bottom:
- Frankie (Left) and Paris (Right) at the Midlands Women in Tech
- The daily check-in function available on the Bloomwise app now
- Pictured from left to right: Millie, Roberta, Michelle, Saba, Paris and Elsa
- the Mental Health plan available on the Bloomwise app now
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