The Hidden Code: Why Mental Health is Venture Capital's Greatest Blindspot
The Venture Capital Mental Health Crisis: Beyond Platitudes
The numbers are brutal: 72% of founders are breaking. Not stressed. Not challenged. Breaking.
One year after launching the Founder Mental Health Pledge, the venture ecosystem's dirty secret is finally surfacing - we're systematically destroying the very talent we claim to nurture.
"Like carrying boulders in a marathon," a founder recently told me. The metaphor cuts deep because it exposes venture capital's fundamental hypocrisy: we preach innovation while enforcing patterns that crush creativity. We demand peak performance while ignoring basic human sustainability.
R3i's Hard Data Approach We're done with performative wellness. Our term sheets now mandate:
Quantifiable Mental Health Infrastructure:
Measurable Wellbeing Metrics:
This isn't charity - it's ruthless pragmatism. Canva and Atlassian have already proven the model: founder wellbeing directly correlates with exit valuations. The math is simple: healthy founders build bigger companies.
In a world that constantly demands more, we often forget that true success starts with well-being. Burnout, stress, and mental fatigue are real challenges—ones that leaders, entrepreneurs, and changemakers can no longer ignore.
At R3i, we believe that sustainable leadership isn’t just about performance—it’s about resilience, balance, and prioritizing mental health for ourselves and those we work with. That’s why we are proud to support Thrive Global’s Pledge—a commitment to fostering a healthier, more sustainable way of leading and living.
By signing this pledge, we are taking a stand: Mental health matters. Well-being is non-negotiable. Success should not come at the cost of our health.
The Venture Ecosystem's Moment of Truth
To LPs: Your due diligence is incomplete without mental health metrics
To VCs: Your term sheets are obsolete without wellness infrastructure To Founders: Stop accepting capital that ignores your humanity
The next wave of venture returns won't come from glorified burnout. It'll come from funds that understand human sustainability is the ultimate unfair advantage.
Join us: pledge.thriveglobal.com
Because in 2025, mental health won't be a nice-to-have - it'll be the difference between the funds that scale and those that fail.
Join us in making a difference. Let’s build a future where people thrive—not just survive.
?? Sign the pledge today: https://pledge.thriveglobal.com/
The times are uncertain.
Our commitment to mental health is not.
?? Mental Health Matters—Join Us in Taking the Pledge! ??
#ThriveGlobal #MentalHealthMatters #SustainableLeadership #Resilience #WellBeing #Impact #JoinUs #VentureCapital #FutureOfVC #MentalHealth
Leesa Soulodre is the Managing Partner of R3i Capital, a Delaware-based applied AI and emerging tech Venture Capital fund. A serial entrepreneur and Fortune 500 advisor turned deep tech investor. Leesa is a board member of the AI Asia Pacific Institute and has a portfolio of IP-backed emerging tech companies scaling impact.
She teaches Strategy and Entrepreneurship at SMU Cox School of Business and recently authored "Algorithmic Investment Roulette: Who Survives, Who Thrives, Who Codes Your Future" (2025).
Want to learn more about our deeptech investment thesis?
Visit www.r3icapital.ai and discover Planet43
Great initiative! Mental health is indeed the foundation for sustainable success.
Head of Trade in Services (including creative industries, film and media)
3 周Brilliant that term sheet bottom line minimum are mental safety & resilience measures!