Former Culture Amp, Linktree execs score funding for mental health app

Dubbed the ‘Marie Kondo for the mind’, this app has won financial backing from high-profile investors ahead of its release.

The Modo co-founding team. Picture: Supplied

Dubbed the “Marie Kondo for the mind”, Modo, a new app from ex-Culture Amp and Linktree executives, has won financial backing from high-profile investors ahead of a planned launch early next year.

Designed to help people who are feeling overwhelmed, strained or out of control, Modo is a smartphone app in early-stage testing, that its co-founders say uses evidence-based techniques to help users build healthy mental habits.

The app allows users to capture their thoughts and feelings to store for later review, and prompts users to consider different angles and perspectives. It plans to launch with an individual subscription model in early 2024.

Modo co-founder and CEO Peter Haasz, a former senior executive at unicorn start-up Culture Amp, told The Australian that he first came up with the idea a decade ago when he struggled to find a balance between productivity and mental wellbeing.

“One thing that is inside all of our control is how we think and how we choose to experience the world,” he said. “It’s one of the best kept secrets, that we’re all walking around with our own thought patterns, and yet we go to the gym to build muscles, but we don’t spend as much time investing in our brains.

“We think we can harness the power and pervasiveness of technology to help people overcome stress and anxiety.”

Two in three people say they do not get the mental health support they need, according to the OECD, while by 2030 the World Economic Forum projects the annual economic impact of mental health and its consequences will hit $6 trillion.

Modo’s Melbourne-based co-founding team, which includes chief science officer Soukayna Bekkali, former Linktree executive Maria Sereno and former Culture Amp executive Jo Montanari, has raised $800,000 to help build out its app, from investors including Archangel Ventures, Black Sheep Capital, Giant Leap Fund, LaunchVic‘s Alice Anderson fund and founders from Culture Amp and Seer Medical.

Culture Amp co-founders Rod Hamilton, Doug English, Didier Elzinga and Jon Williams. Picture: Supplied

The investment is also one of the first for Maxine Minter’s investment fund Co Ventures.

“It is rare you meet such a thoughtful and impressive team, chasing a problem so perfectly fit to their skills and experiences,” Ms Minter said. “The impact that Modo could have is enormous, and this team couldn’t be better placed to unlock that impact. Co Ventures is delighted to be backing them.”

Black Sheep director Daniel Gavel said Modo’s mission to address avoidable stress by changing unhelpful thinking styles resonated with his team.

“We are acutely aware of the long-term impact of stress and actively seek to manage our stress levels. We are excited to support Modo’s experienced and diverse team in tackling such a challenging issue.”

Archangel Ventures co-founder and partner Quentin Wallace said he jumped at the chance to work with the Modo team given his time working with Peter and Jo at Culture Amp.

“I’m excited by their mission to build a category defining product and solve one of modern life’s greatest problems: How do I achieve my most important objectives without ruining my mental health?”

The company did not disclose its valuation, and Mr Haasz said it had been difficult raising funds amid the downturn.

“A year ago before we were fundraising, there was a lot of free money, and it was seeking a home,” he said. “The tide turned, and it was tricky. One person in particular told me to close the round by Christmas, and so that’s what we did.”