Interview with Chris from Bounce

We caught up with Chris from Bounce. Bounce develop an app that promotes mental well-being using science-based exercises.

How did you come up with the idea of Bounce?

Many of our friends, family and close ones were suffering from mental health issues, and were finding that solutions on offer were reactive, heavy handed and hard to access, so we wanted to create something better. I have always been interested in the use of technology to help society, and it seemed crazy to us that there was still limited solutions to help people with their mental wellbeing. So we created Bounce to provide people with a simple, fun, science-based way to building happier, healthier and stronger minds. 

Tell us how it works?

Bounce provides you with science-based exercises that you complete through Facebook Messenger in five to ten minutes each day. Think ‘Couch to 5k’ but for your mental wellbeing. The core idea is to help people see things from a slightly different point of view, help them become more aware of their emotions, and notice all the great things they do achieve, and which happen to them on a daily basis. Behind the scenes, we convert research from academic papers into nice simply accessible exercises. We are now also building out more intelligence into the bot through machine learning to help people understand what affects their emotions and wellbeing.    

It must be full on running a start-up business. What do you do to keep positive mindset and stay healthy?

There are a couple of things that are essential for me. Firstly using Bounce, even on bad days, always helps me notice all the good things that happen. Next, exercise at least three times a week, and more if I have time, this helps with stress and energy levels. Thirdly, I aim for around 15 minutes meditation a day preferably in the morning; this really helps me get in touch with what is important (family, friends, health, food and shelter), and anything above this is just a bonus. Fourth, is sleep (eight hours); I find sleep is the biggest dictator of my mood when; I am tired I feel low, get frustrated and don’t think straight. Finally, fun! Too many people seem too busy for fun these days, it is important to laugh, go on adventures and do stuff that interest you.

What three words would you use to describe Bounce?

Friendly, fun, positive

If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?

Always plan time to learn and reflect. If each week you learn something new that improves you by 2% then over a year that compounds into a lot of improvement. Then take time to reflect on what went well each week, what didn’t go well and what you’re going to do differently the following week.   

What’s next for Bounce?

Next for Bounce is to keep improving our product to meet the needs of our users and to grow our total B2C customers. We are also building our B2B proposition to help companies look after their employees’ mental wellbeing. We are currently trialling this with a number of Brighton based companies.

Please check out Bounce at: https://bouncebot.io and start looking after your mental wellbeing. I am happy for people to contact me at: chris@bouncebot.io if they have questions, comments, ideas for collaborations, or just want to talk about Bounce, mental wellbeing or startup life.

Website: https://bouncebot.io

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bouncebot.io/

Twitter: @bounce_bot

Contact: chris@bouncebot.io

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bouncetechnologiesltd/

Thanks to Chris from Bounce for doing this interview.

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