Mind Matters - an interview with Pioneera founder & CEO Dan Owen Whitford

Her daughter says her mum is  “çhanging the world”. While her mum told her when she was young that “if someone says you can’t do it, smile politely and keep walking.”

We were lucky enough to speak to Dan about her journey and Pioneera.

What gave you the idea for Pioneera?

I burnt out in 2016. And while I loved my job and felt very passionately about what I was doing. I missed all the signs that I should have seen or just as importantly, my “workplace” should have seen. Burnout is totally preventable. But you have to see those early warning signs and act on them.  So I wanted to help others avoid what I’d experienced. And when I spoke to other people, it was clear it was a big problem; that needed a new solution.

How big the workplace stress problem is?

Mental health and stress in our workplaces is getting worse:

1.      Stress - 25% of employees take time off for stress-related reasons and stress-related workers comp claims have doubled to over $10bn per year

2.      Australian businesses lose over $6.5bn each year by not intervening early enough for mental health issues

3.      Mental health problems are the third most significant health problem in Australia

4.      The corporate wellness market is set to be worth $85bn by 2025, with only 9% people globally able to access programs and support. We must do better than that.

We’re on a mission to create workplaces everyone loves by reducing stress.

What does Pioneera do? Who is the solution for? What problem does it solve?

We’ve built a platform that integrates with communications systems in companies and sees early warning signs of stress in people’s language and behaviour. When we see those signs, we send you real time tips (nudges) through a helper – Indie - to help you reduce your stress and promote wellness. It’s like your best friend in the office with you.

Indie - Like your best friend looking out for you at work!

How is it better than your competitors?

There are lots of wellness programs out there, but they rely on you to know you need help and know where to find help.  We’re one step before them.

What is unique about Pioneera?

We’re challenging very long-held traditional norm, which is inertia. People think you can’t do much about this, so they don’t try. They do some training, set up some help lines. That’s about it. We know we can change it. We know we can see ‘stress’ as it is building and happening. That is this time to help people and we do it in a safe and confidential way, to keep people’s data private.

Biggest challenge you have faced so far?

I grew up in Corporates, so running a startup/small business is new. You do a lot yourself, which means time, energy and quick learning! I love it, but it's very different and I need to manage myself and my time very carefully.

Who are some of your clients/users?

We have a range. From a big bank to a small team of 10. Our enterprise product is getting a lot of attention now during COVID and working from home. We have an SME offering for small businesses that you can download from the Pioneera website, to keep it simple and easy to use.

Has it made a difference?

They say your customers are your best source of advertising. So here is what one of the Senior Executives from one of the top four banks where Indie has been helping them since before Christmas:

“I want to make fact-based decisions using data not just use my gut instinct. A lot of what happens in teams is not done in front of the leader so something like Indie by Pioneera helps me get to what’s happening to support my judgement.”

“Someone in my team monitors the data daily and prompts me on actions I can take.…we noticed a dip after each of Covid-19 update calls – and we’ve implemented a “check in” from me to see how everyone felt, was there anything that resonated, anything that they had more questions about and that’s helped.” 

“I think I can confidently say I have a high performing team that loves coming to work (even virtually) because they are productive and achieving real outcomes. Indie has helped us achieve and measure that.”

What is your focus now? And for the next couple of years? How has COVID impacted your activity?

Our focus remains the same – help businesses create workplaces their people love by reducing stress. We are all working from home, and if anything, our urgency to help people is stronger given what’s happening right now with health, socially and economically.

What tips would you have for budding entrepreneurs?

Just do it! I never thought of myself as an entrepreneur and still don’t. I saw a problem I thought I could fix, so I got started. You can be researching and testing concepts, while you’re still working in your job. Don’t ask permission or spend months developing a business plan. Just get started!!

What can corporates learn from a business like yours? Why should a corporate partner with a business like yours?

We get Corporates, because we’ve worked there.  But now we’re looking from the outside in and are focused on doing one thing superbly well. Being small we’re flexible, nimble, move quickly etc. The difference is that we know Corporates and how they work, so we can help people navigate that. We can also help those Corporates be a little more innovative, by showing them how this can work and sharing learnings from our other customers. We help them build amazing workplaces that will attract the talent they want and can keep.

What are the one or two lessons/principles/ you carry with you into everything you do?

Be authentic and transparent. There is a tendency to “talk things up” to get business or investors, but I am very aware that you need to deliver what you promise. And I will never promise what I know we can’t deliver. It doesn’t mean I don’t push us to stretch and do more – I totally do, but I don’t bullsh*t.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

I want every person globally to have our bot Indie on their smart phone, so they’re getting proactive, confidential mental health support without having to ask. We can truly change the world here and remind people when they’re excellent or give them a much need ‘lift’ when they need support.

How do you balance your ‘personal’ time and your ‘work’ time?

Ahhh, the million dollar question! Discipline is the key, or I fall into poor habits that lead to burnout!! I have other things in my life that are as important, like my family, friends etc.  I have learnt the hard way what happens when you ignore that, so I make sure I don’t. I also don’t take it all too seriously, I love what I do, but its only one part of my life and I have a blessed life. I am healthy and happy, and that is what counts. So I keep it in perspective.

Do you think you are treated differently as a female start-up founder? How do you manage that?

I don’t think about it too much, as I don’t know what it would be like to be a male founder!! I think you’re treated differently sometimes as many women in workplaces and society can attest to. It’s the insidious bias that is often unconscious. We will turn our attention to addressing this down the track and I think that will be a massive turning point for organisations. If you look at the stats on funding etc, you see there is clearly an issue.

I am conscious that we can’t be what we can’t see, so I speak and do interviews so other women can see its possible. I’m not the uni student that knows how to code, so its essential people can see a non-technical woman can build a tech company and make a difference.

Ultimately, there will always be hurdles. Its how you face and get over them that counts. I overheard my daughter matter of factly say to her friends last year “oh yeah, mum is changing the world” and they all looked at me in shock. Then started asking questions!! It was awesome. That’s 5 future businesswomen right there.

Any lessons along the way?

Lessons – don’t compare yourselves to others, as you’ll always come off second best and it will affect your confidence. Be focused on what you can do, not what if’s. Keep moving forward and be creative in finding solutions. You don’t need to do everything yourself, find good advisors and ask them for help when you need. This was a huge lesson for me across my whole career.  And don’t work 24/7, have a life, you’ll be better at work.

Originally published by 11eight in June 2020.

Understand and measure team stress in real-time with Indie by Pioneera.