👋 Hi there, I’m Harshali and you’re reading my digest on the mental health tech economy and it’s people.
Thank you for taking a chance on this newsletter. As you may have noticed it’s been rather dormant for the past few months. It’s time to change that, and taking a cue from
’s early days, I’ve decided to run an experiment.I’m an ex-founder in mental healthTech, a workshop developer–facilitator, and at times an editor/ ghost writer. Occasionally, I consult with small businesses to set them up for success. I’ve founded and organised a public art fair. I’ve been a design consultant to psychotherapists. Lately, I’ve helped people write essays for competitive talent visas (a skill I didn’t know I had until I did!). I’ve previously been employed as a Product Manager at a tech unicorn and a Service Designer for public healthcare. I graduated in Design, and am now preparing for an MBA. All this to say – I do a *bunch* of things during my working hours.
I get a lot of inbound questions on how I landed work in so many fields. What’s a main gig, what’s a side gig, and how to get started on them? How to decide what to do, where to get started, how to organise time, prioritise tasks. I’ve done plenty 1:1 calls, often talking to one person over months, and each time I’ve had an overwhelmingly positive response.
So, coming back to the experiment I want to run.
Instead of responding to messages on LinkedIn and email – I’ve decided to bring everything to one place, here on substack. I’ll continue to talk about Mental Health Tech and it’s people – only this time with the lens of career paths & possibilities, looking at an individual as a business in their own right.
Think of this as an advice column on expanding your practise – whatever that might be. You could be a counsellor, an illustrator, a psychiatrist, a designer, an ML engineer. You could be a small business owner. You could be a veteran in your field or you could have just completed your bachelors graduation. You might want to venture into new domains or stick to the ones you know. Either way, this is an advice column for navigating your trade.
I’ll aim to publish every one to two weeks and depending on the responses, tackle 2-3 topics in each digest. I’ll cover stories with interesting carer paths who serve as an example of the possibilities that exist before us. On occasion I may share an announcement – a job post or a Call For Proposals. It’s an experiment. If it ends up being of value to readers then I’ll continue. If not, I’ll stop.
Call to Action — If you are thinking about career pivots, or thinking of diversifying your skills or income, or having a hard time getting started in one direction, or curious about the many things I do and interested to develop similar skills, simply reply to this email and let me know.
I’ll pick a few questions, keep it anonymous, and share candid suggestions & resources in the upcoming newsletters.
What’s in it for me? The world is far too messy for anyone to have a linear path, and I’m here to find stories that inspire me to keep going.
Until next time,
Harshali
So glad to have you back :)