Could free therapy help more entrepreneurs succeed?

Nadia Ladak is the co-founder of Marlow, a growing business that makes tampons.   

She’s well connected in the startup community, has been featured on the Forbes 30 under 30 list, and had a winning pitch on the hit show Dragons’ Den. 

But the high achiever is also human.   

“While all these successes were happening, I was really struggling with anxiety and burnout.”  

Ladak has since recovered after getting help, but the mental health struggles of entrepreneurs have inspired business organizations to provide free therapy and other support to business owners in need. 

The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), a federal Crown corporation that provides loans for small and medium-sized businesses, and two Calgary-based entrepreneur groups now offer mental health programs.  

Fewer Canadians are starting companies, potentially stalling economic growth, innovation and job creation. With that in mind, the business world is increasingly recognizing how mental health issues can derail entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs face unique mental health challenges 

According to a recent BDC survey, 24 per cent of small business owners are struggling with mental health. The online survey was conducted in February and March, with 1,500 Canadian entrepreneurs answering questions about mental health challenges they’re facing, if they had sought professional help and more. 

Among some groups, it’s even worse. 

For entrepreneurs from diverse groups, such as immigrants, 2SLGBTQ+, people and Indigenous people, it’s 28 per cent. For women, it’s 32 per cent. Mental health concerns were reported by 35 per cent of owners under 45 years of age, and for entrepreneurs with businesses less than three years old, it’s a whopping 38 per cent.   

There are varying estimates on the rate of mental health issues in the general population, but a Statistics Canada report found that 13 per cent of Canadians (about five million people) met the diagnostic criteria for a mental disorder. 

“Entrepreneurs as leaders do have very unique challenges,” says Maja Djikic, a psychologist and associate professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.  

Djikic says business owners can experience high levels of stress, burnout and emotional extremes. And, she adds, if the entrepreneur breaks down or lashes out under pressure, it could trigger a “ripple effect,” which could drive their workers to quit, upset their investors or otherwise hurt their business.

Hundreds of studies have been done about entrepreneurship and mental health. 

An often-cited 2018 survey about entrepreneurs found they were more likely to “report a lifetime history of depression (30 per cent), ADHD (29…