Viktoria Viktorova, CEO of MindFit
MindFit is a social acquisition of a new generation, giving access to employees in Bulgarian companies to a selected network of psychologists and psychotherapists. MindFit has its own platform where users can view and book appointments with specialists, and our service provides employers with easy access to supporting their teams these days.
How did you come up with the idea of the platform and what was the initial inspiration?
I came up with the idea out of necessity and as something I couldn't believe didn't already exist. I, myself, have struggled with clinical depression for a decade and I am aware that psychotherapy - although vital - is rather out of reach for most people financially. Apart from that, it is also difficult to find a trusted and verified psychologist or psychotherapist. As an employer, it seemed strange to me that I had available resources for the physical health of my co-workers (food vouchers, supplemental health insurance, sports cards, transportation allowance, etc.), but there was nothing provided for their mental health which is vital for the intellectual labour and output. Combined with the stigma surrounding the discussion of mental health in Bulgaria, I knew that someone had to do something about it, and it wasn't long before I realized that that “someone” would have to be me. So MindFit’s concept was born from all these necessities: a numerous benefits for the employers, affordable psychotherapy for employees, and raising awareness for the public.
It was this in mind that I applied to the ABLE Activator entrepreneurial program, which we won and where the great MindFit team came together. Over time, I realized that if I had pursued this idea alone, as I’d initially planned, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve anything. Everyone on our team is critically important, and I am incredibly lucky to have been able to attract each of them as my partner and a like-minded person.
How do you choose the team you work with?
Very, very carefully. In general, I don’t recruit people through job advertisements – I usually attract people, with whom we’ve worked previously on a side project or who were my colleagues before I became an entrepreneur. When I like their work ethic and personality traits - because the most important thing for me is to be non-confrontational - I invite them to join the specific venture. With MindFit, this turned out to be so much easier than expected. Several people united around the idea within the framework of ABLE Activator, 4 of which continued to MindFit: our commercial expert Ani Mihailova, our coordinator with psychologists and psychotherapists Veronika Yoncheva, our legal guide Alexandrina Ikonomova and I, as manager and substitute in each of the other departments, when the person concerned is absent. After ABLE Activator, we were joined by our brilliant designer Eleonora Predeva (who has been a huge unofficial support from before and a partner of mine in our other ventures) and Vladimir Vassilev - a programmer with over 15 years of experience in developing web solutions. He and I were colleagues in the past, when I worked as a journalist, and he worked as a developer of the respective news site.
Most importantly, each of the people mentioned above believes in the importance of mental health and in our mission towards affordable psychotherapy.
We select the specialists ourselves just as carefully. Due to the lack of a law on psychotherapy in Bulgaria, we had to build our own standards based on the European ones. We require a suitable higher education, an accomplished profile and certain hours of "personal experience" and practice. We approve about a third of the psychologists and psychotherapists who apply online, and we also have expert advice for those cases when we hesitate about an applicant.
How could businesses benefit from your services?
It is enough for them to contact us on our form on mindfit.bg - we try to get back to them within a day or two to specify exactly what their needs are. We then send a personalized proposal including the discussed number of sessions per person monthly, possible seminars, workshops and group psychotherapy sessions. It’s up to them to decide whether they want to fully cover the cost of psychotherapy or share it with the users.
What are your observations - how big are the problems related to occupational stress and burnout?
Our observations match the data regularly shared by BIA. Issues related to stress and burnout are huge, especially considering the merge of work and personal life over the last two and a half years. We are pleased that we are often approached by employers or managers who approach the matter proactively and want to prevent these conditions from occurring, but it is still a common practice to seek mental health services, when the negative consequences are already beginning to manifest.
According to a study by MindFit, stress at work has increased significantly for 26% of the surveyed since the onset of the pandemic in 2020. And 22% specifically indicate that their job responsibilities have increased. Of course, such significant changes have visible effects on the productivity and motivation of every employee and every employer.
Although MindFit’s concept was created before the pandemic, the emphasis on mental health is now inevitable and coincidental - we are there to give it a platform.
What are the results from the services you offer?
The results at the moment are at an individual level. We get tons of feedback from people who otherwise wouldn't even have considered going to therapy, but took the plunge when they were introduced to MindFit and their lives have improved. Psychologists and psychotherapists in our network have told us that we have an impact at levels we don't even suspect. According to them, talking about this subject and introducing psychotherapy as a social good allows young people to attend such consultations and then tell their social circle about the benefits of them. This not only normalizes mental health care, but even makes it seem like it’s something "cool". This is the effect in society as well - more and more people are speaking openly about their worries, traumas and needs, sharing our content and writing to us, which brings us indescribable satisfaction.
You recently celebrated MindFits’ first anniversary. How will you remember this year and what are your plans for the future?
We will remember this first year as a very busy one, but most of all – it has been inspiring. We did not expect the positive feedback and interest we encountered. Our plans for the coming years are to stabilize our presence on the Bulgarian market and to start entering foreign markets, from which we also have inquiries. We are very careful with our growth and financing because our field of activity is specific and carries a greater responsibility than a standard business.
How do you see your cooperation with the Bulgarian Industrial Association?
BIA can become our most important strategic partner. By joining forces, BIA and MindFit can provide affordable psychotherapy and heaps of valuable knowledge to the widest possible circle of employers and employees on the Bulgarian labour market. We owe a huge part of our success to BIA and Mr. Tomcho Tomov - Director of the National Competence Assessment Center at BIA, for the important data and research that is distributed on an annual basis. Thanks to it we were able to illustrate the problems of the Bulgarian business.
