Erin Frey on Therapy

TL;DR

Erin Frey, CEO of Kip, describes her personal experience using therapy to recover from stress and anxiety that impaired her work as a founder. Therapy is a scientifically proven process that changes how the brain works, teaching tools to manage thoughts and emotions. She argues founders should invest in mental health as routinely as physical health because the brain is their most important asset.

Key insights

• Stress and anxiety directly reduce clarity, decision speed, confidence, and increase agitation and conflict with a cofounder.
• Many founders (and people) do not know their therapy goal; it is acceptable to simply feel “off” and let the therapist identify the real issue (e.g., overwhelming stress, not lack of confidence).
• Therapy teaches a specific framework: examine negative thoughts by checking for evidence, then consider the worst-case outcome (e.g., failing a pitch only means finding another investor).