A Start-up Founder's Story: Smile

Where is Smile on it's start-up journey?

We are currently refining our market fit and looking to scale. We launched the first version of our app on Apple and Android last year and have been building our user base and gathering feedback. 

What was the inspiration behind Smile?

The idea for Smile was driven by my own personal experiences. I developed anxiety and PTSD due to my family's health experiences and found there was not enough mental health support to help patients and carers live alongside the challenges of long-term health conditions.

What steps did you take to initially develop the idea?

One of my first steps was to come to King's and study an MSc in the Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health. I had developed the idea for Smile and done some initial testing but wanted to make sure I had the knowledge to back it up. Once I was at King's, I discovered the Entrepreneurship Institute, went through Idea Factory and King's20 (now King's Start-up Accelerator), and that helped me figure out the next steps to design and building the app.

Why are your customers choosing your solution?

We have developed the UK's first mental health app tailored to the needs of our community and cover topics others don't, such as how to accept a diagnosis or coping with waiting times. Our customers know that we 'get it' as all our content is informed by lived experience but is also delivered by clinical experts they can trust. It's also an affordable and accessible option that people can use at home 24/7 at a time when it can be difficult to get mental health support through the NHS.

What are your key learnings?

I have so many learnings but my top one is to remember that you're on your own timeline with your own personal set of circumstances to balance. It's easy to look at what everyone else is achieving and feel like you're behind but in a year's time you will reflect back and although the progress might not be linear, you'll see how far you have come.

It’s well documented that there’s a higher prevalence of mental health struggles in entrepreneurship. As a founder, how do you protect your mental health?

I prioritise the basics – sleep, good nutrition and movement – and also make sure I spend time away from my desk in nature, with friends or family and doing things that bring me joy. I make sure I incorporate the five therapeutic approaches we use in the Smile App: self compassion and self care, mindfulness, investigating thoughts (it's easy for unhelpful patterns of thinking to kick in as an entrepreneur!), finding purpose and joy, and practising emotional regulation techniques.

What impact has Smile had so far?

We have helped hundreds of people, managing over 40 different health conditions, feel more seen and supported. We have raised awareness of the challenges around mental and physical health in the media and also connected with many patient and carer charities to help their communities. We have recieved great feedback from users with one of the most impactful being: “If I had this in my early days, I don't think my dark days would have been so dark.”

What’s next for Smile?

We are currently launching our workplace training so employers can effectively support people managing long-term health conditions. Over 32 million working days are lost to ill-health and millions of people leave the workplace due to caring demands, so it is an issue that affects all companies.

Supporting people's mental health shouldn't be a 'have to', it should be a 'need-to' as it is the foundation of wellbeing, productivity and happiness, at home and in the workplace. The more we make prioritising people's health – mental and physical - part of our company culture as founders or business leaders, the more we all benefit.

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Smile is co-founded by Emma Amoscato (King's alumna, MSc Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health) and Faye Ingram. Learn more about Smile on their website or LinkedIn. 

Every year, the Entrepreneurship Institute supports students, staff and alumni, just like Emma, to start and scale their ideas and ventures through the King's Start-up Accelerator.