Akin Mental Health
The Problem
When someone is diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or another severe mental illness, the people closest to them—parents, siblings, children, friends—are often completely unsupported. Privacy laws cut them out of the care system. They're the ones with their loved one every day, but nobody teaches them how to help, how to communicate, or how to take care of themselves through it.
This wasn't abstract for us. My co-founder Stephanie Greer and I both have loved ones impacted by severe mental illness. Our families have lived it. It's deeply personal.
What We Built
Akin was an online learning platform designed for the families and caregivers surrounding someone with a severe mental health diagnosis.
The platform offered:
- Self-serve courses covering communication skills, navigating the mental health system, understanding diagnoses and symptoms, problem-solving strategies, and more
- Live weekly workshops where each session focused on a different lesson
- An online community where families could connect with others going through similar experiences
- One-on-one coaching for more personalized support
The Outcome
We served several hundred families on the platform. More importantly, we gave people something they couldn't find anywhere else: a real sense of community, practical guidance, and a way to strengthen their relationships with their loved ones during incredibly hard times.
The curriculum we created was exceptional. The platform was designed to be simple and accessible, with no barriers to getting help.
Over time, we built relationships with others in the mental health space. Doro Mind was building a startup focused on treatment for people with severe diagnoses, the other side of the same problem we were solving. Combining their treatment focus with our family-support platform made sense for both sides, and they acquired Akin in 2023.
What I'm Most Proud Of
The team we built. Really caring, passionate people who put everything into what we created. And the families we helped. Knowing that what we built made a real difference in their lives.