UCalgary Social Work alumni offer playbook to entrepreneurs seeking greater mental health support

The life of an entrepreneur can be exciting and rewarding. The pressure and stress can, however, have an impact on an individual’s mental health, leading to the question, where can an entrepreneur go for targeted support?  

Making mental health support a core part of Canada’s entrepreneurial ecosystem was the goal when Sarah Mateshaytis, MSW’20, along with Keara Gillis, MSW’20, both registered social workers and therapists, co-founded the company Collectively Tangled. 

Mateshaytis’ journey began with a personal connection to Calgary’s startup community as she knew someone running programming for high-growth entrepreneurs, who needed professional guidance navigating mental health challenges that were popping up. 

“Through this initial experience, I started to learn about the mental health challenges entrepreneurs face like loneliness, burnout, financial stress and the lack of specialized support available,” Mateshaytis says.  

UCalgary startup incubator provides essential support

One of the early steps in building the enterprise was joining the University of Calgary Social Innovation Hub’s Research to Social Innovation (R2SI) Incubator, which provides coaching, advising and peer support to help reach key milestones and work through challenges in a collaborative environment. 

Last year, with support from the City of Calgary, Collectively Tangled, in partnership with the Social Innovation Hub, part of Innovate Calgary, launched a pilot program called Change Can’t Wait, to integrate mental health support into entrepreneurial ecosystems. They developed the Change Can’t Wait Playbook, a practical guide on how to embed mental health support in entrepreneurship, a tangible product of the pilot. 

Highlights from the pilot 

The pilot offered therapy, workshops, and consulting for entrepreneurs and their staff in the innovation space. Over the course of the year-long program: 

• 37 hours of program-funded therapy were accessed
• 66 people attended live workshops on mental health and resilience
• 29 staff received expert consulting sessions. 

As part of the program, 41 per cent of participants accessed therapy for the first time. 

“This shows how stigma and cost have kept people from getting the help they need,” says Mateshaytis. “When therapy was made accessible and affordable, people showed up.” 

Addressing barriers to access support 

During the pilot, 81 per cent of participants rated their stress levels at seven or higher on a 10-point scale, with nearly one-third reporting extremely high stress. Despite this, many had never accessed mental health services before.  

To address this, Collectively Tangled now offers a membership model that allows startup organizations and investors to fund therapy and mental health resources for the entrepreneurs in their communities. This includes access to online tools, educational videos, and individual and co-founder counselling. 

The pilot also revealed that 69 per cent of participants sought support for financial stress, making it the most common mental health concern. Many entrepreneurs operate without extended health benefits and face tight financial runways, both personally and professionally.  

The Playbook is designed to help organizations respond to these challenges. It includes strategies for reducing the stigma around mental health, fostering supportive work cultures and integrating mental health into daily operations. 

Faculty of Social Work shapes approach 

Mateshaytis and Gillis, both Faculty of Social Work alum, credit their time at UCalgary for shaping their approach.  

“In the Faculty of Social Work, we talked a lot about systemic barriers, not just individual mental health, but how communities are affected,” Mateshaytis says. “That’s where I realized I was driven by systems change.” 

Looking ahead 

Collectively Tangled’s long-term goal is to become a leading digital mental health provider for entrepreneurs. The team is already working with innovation hubs and incubators across Canada to make their services more accessible. 

While the Change Can’t Wait Playbook is already being used to guide programming and support across Calgary’s innovation ecosystem by entrepreneurs, Mateshaytis hopes it will be a catalyst for long-term change.  

“We want to see mental health support become a standard part of the entrepreneurial journey and not something people only turn to in crisis,” says Mateshaytis. 

For more information about their services and the Playbook, visit the Collectively Tangled website.