1059: Harnessing CULTURE and COMMUNITY for transformative mental health advocacy w/ Victor Arias and Dan McSwain

Transcript

WEBVTT

00:00:00.342 --> 00:00:01.346
Hey, what is up?

00:00:01.346 --> 00:00:04.567
Welcome to this episode of the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

00:00:04.567 --> 00:00:12.989
As always, I'm your host, brian Lofermento, and you all know how much I love businesses that are making the world a better place.

00:00:12.989 --> 00:00:31.830
I believe that entrepreneurship is the vehicle through which we can impact so much good stuff, not just in the business world, but also societally, and we are joined by two incredible entrepreneurs and I'm gonna extrapolate that and just say two great people as well that really believe in the power of making the world a better place.

00:00:31.830 --> 00:00:32.673
Let me tell you all about today's guests.

00:00:32.673 --> 00:00:33.979
Their names are Victor Arias and Dan McSwain.

00:00:33.979 --> 00:00:41.585
They have got a really cool background together as well as individually, and I love the way that they've collaborated to launch something great into the world.

00:00:41.585 --> 00:00:48.476
So Victor and Dan are childhood best friends from Dallas, texas, raised in bicultural Mexican-American households.

00:00:48.796 --> 00:00:53.472
Victor has a background in public relations and expertise in Latino audience engagement.

00:00:53.472 --> 00:00:57.090
Dan, meanwhile, has a background in politics as well as tech startups.

00:00:57.090 --> 00:01:03.829
There's a lot that I want to hear about their backstories, because Dan has over 20 years of experience in politics and startups.

00:01:03.829 --> 00:01:05.993
He focuses on young, diverse audiences.

00:01:05.993 --> 00:01:12.037
He was a part of Barack Obama's 2008 headquarters new media team and the Obama administration.

00:01:12.037 --> 00:01:17.091
He has political and philanthropic experience and networks that lead to initial investment.

00:01:17.091 --> 00:01:20.947
Victor, on the other hand, has 20 years in multicultural PR.

00:01:20.947 --> 00:01:26.606
Pr is such an important thing for all of us as entrepreneurs and it's cool seeing them bring it to their own business as well.

00:01:26.606 --> 00:01:31.984
He focuses on connecting legacy consumer brands with young, discerning Latino audiences.

00:01:31.984 --> 00:01:40.740
His expertise in audience sentiments and behaviors for hard-to-reach demographic groups I'm sure is a real asset for what they're doing together, which is their company.

00:01:40.960 --> 00:01:42.123
They're going to tell us all about it today.

00:01:42.123 --> 00:01:42.945
It's called Mente.

00:01:42.945 --> 00:01:44.349
It's a youth community brand.

00:01:44.349 --> 00:01:52.433
They're building a new front door for young, diverse audiences to fight loneliness through community, with a positive mental health at its core.

00:01:52.433 --> 00:01:59.362
And I just want to tease to you all one thing that as soon as our team saw it on their website, we said we need to invite these two onto the show.

00:01:59.362 --> 00:02:05.078
It says it right on their website Mente is part of a movement to free our minds.

00:02:05.078 --> 00:02:10.072
That's why we're talking about some big things here today and how entrepreneurship can be that vehicle for change.

00:02:10.072 --> 00:02:13.033
I'm excited about this one, so I'm not going to say anything else.

00:02:13.033 --> 00:02:16.944
Let's dive straight into my interview with Victor Arias and Dan McSwain.

00:02:16.944 --> 00:02:24.585
All right, guys, I am so excited to have both of you with us here today.

00:02:24.585 --> 00:02:26.502
First things first, welcome to the show.

00:02:28.447 --> 00:02:29.849
Thank you so much for having us, Brian.

00:02:30.091 --> 00:02:30.953
It's funny, you guys.

00:02:30.953 --> 00:02:35.371
I'll say this on the air that's the first public test of a team's compatibility.

00:02:35.371 --> 00:02:38.185
You didn't both just jump in over each other at the same time.

00:02:38.185 --> 00:02:40.050
So you've passed the first test.

00:02:40.050 --> 00:02:42.764
The second test is I want to hear your backgrounds.

00:02:42.764 --> 00:02:48.656
I want to hear individually, but also collectively, how those paths collided in adulthood to launch something awesome as well.

00:02:48.656 --> 00:02:51.870
So, Victor, I'm going to kick it off to you and then, Dan, pick up straight away.

00:02:51.870 --> 00:02:53.245
Who the heck are you guys?

00:02:53.245 --> 00:02:54.907
How did you start doing all this cool work?

00:02:56.180 --> 00:02:57.939
Yeah, brian, thank you so much Again.

00:02:57.939 --> 00:02:59.181
We're honored to be here.

00:02:59.181 --> 00:03:04.550
I'm going to speak for Dan, who's my best friend, since we were 12 years old.

00:03:04.550 --> 00:03:18.048
We both grew up together in Dallas, texas, in a suburb called Irving, and I know for myself my background is Mexican American.

00:03:18.048 --> 00:03:29.311
Both of my parents grew up in El Paso, texas, which is right there on the border, and so really day to day for me, growing up in two different cultures, something that's been very prevalent for me in my personal life and also in my professional life.

00:03:29.311 --> 00:03:34.486
Dan and I met again when we were 12.

00:03:34.486 --> 00:03:49.388
And we're navigating a lot of spaces where we were kind of the only ones that looked and sounded and had the cultural backgrounds that we did, and so we connected really closely.

00:03:49.388 --> 00:04:00.883
In fact, dan always likes to tell the story that when we were in middle school and high school we looked very similar back when I had hair, and the teachers and other parents used to get us confused.

00:04:00.883 --> 00:04:17.833
The teachers and other parents used to get us confused and so, as a result, his mom used to lovingly refer to us as Los Gemelos, which means the twins, and that's still stayed as a little nickname that Dan and I have for each other.

00:04:17.833 --> 00:04:26.826
So we are very much connected, still through our friendship, through our family and now through this company that we've started called Mente.

00:04:28.880 --> 00:04:36.779
After growing up in Dallas, I was one of those people that was like I know there's more out there than just Dallas, texas.

00:04:36.779 --> 00:04:38.547
I need to experience some other things.

00:04:38.547 --> 00:04:44.531
I went to grad school at Notre Dame, which then led me to the East Coast.

00:04:44.531 --> 00:05:09.466
I actually lived in Washington DC for about four years working kind of in the Hispanic space communication space with some nonprofits and government clients, and then after that I moved to New York City to work at Edelman, which is a very large, one of the largest public relations firms globally, and there I was really able to kind of sharpen my skills.

00:05:09.466 --> 00:05:30.990
I worked on huge brands like Heineken, a lot of Unilever consumer brands, paypal, venmo there were a number of them and every single time I was really in a unique position to kind of raise my hand and say well, how are we thinking about engaging young Latino audiences?

00:05:30.990 --> 00:05:39.331
I know everybody wants to reach Gen Z, but there's got to be a smarter way to try to engage diverse kids.

00:05:39.331 --> 00:05:47.793
That makes it feel like they're being spoken to explicitly, something that I never felt I had growing up as a consumer right.

00:05:47.793 --> 00:05:53.427
So I've always kind of infused that and brought that with me and every brand that I've worked on.

00:05:55.041 --> 00:07:07.120
I now live in LA, I have a small growing family and so even coming out here continuing my PR career, even coming out here continuing my PR career, I worked on McDonald's, actually as my last client, and it was a really amazing fit because they wanted to show up more authentically for Latinos here in Southern California and so one of the most proud campaigns that I've that I helped kind of bring to them was we hosted low rider meetups at a number of McDonald's restaurants in Latino areas like Boyle Heights and Oxnard, california and San Diego, and that was really an amazing kind of eye opener for me just to understand the power of the Latino consumers and even seeing that everybody shows up as a family, as very much a family oriented campaign that we ran and it drove foot traffic into stores, into restaurants that they really hadn't seen, especially post-pandemic.

00:07:07.300 --> 00:07:11.591
So for me that was something extremely rewarding.

00:07:11.591 --> 00:07:36.211
But I will tell you that the pandemic for me was really tough for my mental health and just tough for me in general for my mental health and just tough for me in general, and Dan was one of the only people I could turn to to kind of talk about these things in terms of my mental health journey and a lot of the things that I was trying to figure out that was going on.

00:07:36.211 --> 00:07:50.625
Some of those things were cultural barriers that I needed to deal with before even finding the help that I needed I needed to deal with before even finding the help that I needed.

00:07:50.625 --> 00:07:59.764
So that's kind of the kernel of what started Dan and I's path on finding each other and finding a common ground to start what we've been doing with Mente.

00:07:59.764 --> 00:08:04.552
But with that as a teaser, I'm going to turn it over to my gemelo, dan.

00:08:07.201 --> 00:08:07.740
Thanks, dude.

00:08:07.740 --> 00:08:09.423
Yeah, as Victor said, we grew up together.

00:08:09.423 --> 00:08:12.685
The experience in Texas was really formative.

00:08:12.685 --> 00:08:55.027
We really shared a love for culture and that's one of the things that, when we were reconnecting to start Mente together over the last number of months, we were talking a lot about the explosive cultural influence that latino culture has, not just in spanish speakers and not just in the united states but across the world, and so we were looking at, you know, our shared love of of music, of food, of fashion, of film, and sort of asking ourselves, like you know, latino culture is so influential in all these categories, how might Mende bring some of those traditions that our community has had and maintained for thousands of years to a general audience?

00:08:55.948 --> 00:09:09.206
I became really interested in building something that had Latino culture at its core over the last number of years, but that's been a part of my professional life for quite some time.

00:09:09.206 --> 00:09:26.254
Just a little bit of background on that I started in a music startup in 2005, where the US Copyright Office changed royalty rates for our business and for our industry and was going to threaten to bankrupt all of us because it was totally upside down.

00:09:26.254 --> 00:09:46.855
So I started going to Washington as a grassroots lobbyist to meet with House Energy and Commerce Committee members and try and persuade them that growing the internet radio industry was good for consumers, good for artists and something that they could help fix, sort of lit my interest in organizing, in lobbying and in politics.

00:09:46.855 --> 00:09:56.371
I joined Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign as I think you said in the intro, brian and came to Washington as part of his administration.

00:09:56.533 --> 00:10:32.947
So I spent most of the last 15 years here in Washington and I think that perspective on you know how the how laws and policies get made and how they impact different communities and sort of what the relationship is between culture and politics and policymaking is definitely at the heart of what we're trying to do with Mente fun experience over the last number of months to build on the friendship that Victor and I have now as co-founders, having spent a lot of time together over the last number of decades but never actually working together.

00:10:33.750 --> 00:10:46.028
I would say, from my perspective, one of the things that's been the most interesting and the most fun to experience is just how quickly we're able to move when we are operating on a foundation of deep trust like this.

00:10:46.028 --> 00:11:04.710
There's a lot of things, especially really early on, where we could cycle through ideas together, give each other feedback really quickly and openly and get from a cold start into some real motion and momentum as we've built the company.

00:11:04.710 --> 00:11:08.443
I would say our friendship is the real sort of foundation of that.

00:11:08.443 --> 00:11:11.831
It's been super fun so far to operate that way.

00:11:12.539 --> 00:11:15.788
Yeah, gosh, guys, I love those overviews from both of you.

00:11:15.788 --> 00:11:22.923
There's only one qualm I have with that overview, and that's with you, dan, because you mentioned how much the Latin cultural impact has been in.

00:11:22.923 --> 00:11:23.326
You mentioned food.

00:11:23.326 --> 00:11:24.854
You mentioned how much the Latin cultural impact has been in.

00:11:24.854 --> 00:11:25.879
You mentioned food.

00:11:25.879 --> 00:11:27.062
You mentioned entertainment.

00:11:27.062 --> 00:11:34.152
You failed to mention the beautiful game of soccer, and having been to so many LAFC games, victor, I'm sure that you can relate to this.

00:11:34.152 --> 00:11:35.216
It is, it truly.

00:11:35.616 --> 00:11:48.518
Latino culture permeates so many different facets of just American life in general and, of course, all around the globe as well, and so I love the fact that both of you, that was a source of unity, and we're learning some Spanish words here with having the twins on the air.

00:11:48.518 --> 00:11:50.908
I really appreciate that backstory, victor.

00:11:50.908 --> 00:11:57.636
You took us all the way back to the pandemic and talked about something that is very real for all of us the mental health that we all went through.

00:11:57.636 --> 00:12:07.005
Actually, I think I'm going to put Dan on the spot to kick this question off, because what I really love about the two of you is that you didn't just experience those feelings.

00:12:07.005 --> 00:12:12.830
The two of you sat in them together and said let's do something about this, let's actually impact change here.

00:12:13.152 --> 00:12:29.554
And the reason why I'm going to pick on Dan for a second is because I feel like in a lot of times in a national discourse, if you turn the news on and you listen to the media, the answer is always we need to politically make a charge and we need to use the powers of institutions in order to do these things.

00:12:29.554 --> 00:12:32.389
You two are doing it on your own accord.

00:12:32.389 --> 00:12:32.961
You are.

00:12:32.961 --> 00:12:35.649
I love that quote of be the change that you wish to see in the world.

00:12:35.649 --> 00:12:38.688
You two are examples of exactly that.

00:12:38.688 --> 00:12:43.013
So, dan, I want to hear, with that political hat on but also turned entrepreneur.

00:12:43.013 --> 00:12:44.599
Why is entrepreneurship?

00:12:44.599 --> 00:12:44.879
Why is what?

00:12:44.879 --> 00:12:47.346
Why is what you two are doing independently with Mente?

00:12:47.346 --> 00:12:51.003
Why is that the way forward to solve these huge societal issues?

00:12:51.003 --> 00:12:57.811
And then, victor, I'd love for you to chime in with that PR hat as well, because obviously there's so many vehicles through which we can enact this change.

00:13:00.460 --> 00:13:05.105
Yeah, sure, you know, mente is part of a movement to free our minds.

00:13:06.506 --> 00:13:14.495
We came to feel very strongly about that in the sort of process of research and discovery that we undertook in order to start the company.

00:13:20.023 --> 00:13:44.708
Mental health challenges that became really acute and something that we had to pay a lot of attention to over the last number of years, and we were really floored by how challenging the experience was to find care that made sense to us, that was accessible to us, that was covered at least in part by insurance, that took our own culture and upbringings into account.

00:13:45.169 --> 00:13:59.672
And we realized, you know, as men in America, where things are pretty easy for people like us with a ton of privilege, this was extremely difficult and that if it was difficult for us, it was going to be pretty near impossible for a lot of people, not just from the Latino community but everybody.

00:13:59.672 --> 00:14:01.863
So we got really inspired by that.

00:14:01.863 --> 00:14:28.566
You know that, plus the backdrop of the Latino cultural influence wave that every category seems to be riding, and you know the experience of being dads with young kids and looking at the data for youth mental health and looking at all the challenges that young people have that previous generations have not had to deal with in the same way and you know, selfishly saying like, hey, our kids are gonna they're growing up into this world, they, their friends, the communities that they're a part of.

00:14:28.566 --> 00:14:37.866
This is gonna be a big challenge for them and we got really excited and feel very grateful that this is the challenge that we get to spend our time working to be a solution towards.

00:14:41.553 --> 00:14:49.245
Yeah, brian, I think for me, the main issue from a PR perspective is trust or lack thereof, right?

00:14:49.245 --> 00:15:05.889
So trust in institutions, dan, and I like to refer back to the Edelman Trust Barometer, which is publicly released every year, and they typically measure the level of trust that consumers have in institutions.

00:15:05.889 --> 00:15:14.764
And you know, by far younger generations it's not surprising have lower trust in institutions across the board.

00:15:14.764 --> 00:15:18.270
That includes media, that includes health care.

00:15:18.270 --> 00:15:41.905
Something that we found when thinking about these younger audiences, and not just ourselves, is that not only do they have a high distrust for these existing institutions, but they also feel like they are able to make their own health decisions on their own.

00:15:41.905 --> 00:15:44.626
I think the number is something like 59%, right, dan?

00:15:44.626 --> 00:15:59.431
So that really stood out to us as we kind of looked at everything that these audiences are dealing with, these younger audiences, and I think that's what made us really fired up about you know what.

00:16:00.715 --> 00:16:02.038
Can we start something?

00:16:02.038 --> 00:17:03.961
Can we start a brand, a movement, something that is rooted in our community, that makes these younger, more diverse generations feel like, oh, they actually get us or they understand this other cultural component that's very important to us in addressing mental health, but that also kind of offers this other way, maybe to the help they need traditionally or to other people, other community members, and maybe offering ways to not feel as lonely going through these experiences, and maybe that's through in real life experiences and on social media with content that's that is actually a resource or that is positive for my mental health, as opposed to all the negative things that we know these kids are dealing with every day in terms of doom scrolling and misinformation and things that just make you feel bad about yourself.

00:17:03.961 --> 00:17:16.651
So those things were really, I think, what got us most fired up to start something as quickly as we did, yeah, and hearing you both talk about the solution that you brought to the market.

00:17:17.011 --> 00:17:20.099
Victor, you said can we launch something into the world to address these?

00:17:20.099 --> 00:17:21.892
Yes, you can, and you guys have.

00:17:21.892 --> 00:17:28.310
And I want to talk about some numbers and the things you've already been able to accomplish with Mente, because it's incredible the impact that you had.

00:17:28.310 --> 00:17:33.934
Dan, when you talk about bringing a solution to the marketplace, I love that because that's true entrepreneurial thinking.

00:17:33.934 --> 00:17:41.638
That is not only seeing a problem, which it's easy to find problems in today's world, but the most important part is being part of that solution.

00:17:42.039 --> 00:17:50.352
You guys have impacted and I'm going to round up because, as an entrepreneur myself for 16 years, I know that all of these numbers, the reach goes far beyond that.

00:17:50.352 --> 00:17:53.601
You've had thousands of people show up to your in-person events.

00:17:53.601 --> 00:17:59.662
You've had tens of thousands of people sign up to your SMS list, and so you've net.

00:17:59.662 --> 00:18:03.637
If we look across the entire spectrum, you've helped 100,000 people.

00:18:03.637 --> 00:18:05.372
This is not theory that we're talking about.

00:18:05.372 --> 00:18:15.212
This is real life lives that you're impacting and, victor, you talk about it's two important things for us to focus on, which is the online stuff as well as the in real life.

00:18:15.212 --> 00:18:25.392
I want to hear from the two of you how intentional and strategic you've been about the way that you've set Mente up and the way to Dan's point that you want to bring this solution to the world.

00:18:25.392 --> 00:18:34.981
What is the structure, what's the framework or the mechanism through which you're making the world a better place with all these things you want to take?

00:18:35.001 --> 00:18:35.423
that Hemi?

00:18:35.423 --> 00:18:36.611
Yeah, sure, dude.

00:18:36.611 --> 00:18:52.010
So in the spring of this year, we were really fortunate to receive support from Reid Hoffman and his team to help us launch Mente as a way to better understand what young, diverse communities are going through as they navigate.

00:18:52.010 --> 00:19:10.839
Like Victor, I think, very accurately described a dissolution in their faith in a number of institutions and a lot of the challenges and burdens that come from the mental health crisis that so many young people across America are experiencing, we decided to launch in Phoenix, arizona.

00:19:10.839 --> 00:19:13.794
It's a very exciting young, diverse market.

00:19:13.794 --> 00:19:30.986
It's also cheaper to operate in than a lot of its comparably diverse and dynamic markets, and it's a place where, over the last 20 years, you know, civic engagement and young people have played a big role in shaping the culture and the policy landscapes of that geography.

00:19:30.986 --> 00:19:45.499
So, as a couple of elder millennials, we wanted to go and build a young, diverse team that had some of the lived experiences that parts of our audiences were going through, and we decided to build Mente there.

00:19:45.499 --> 00:19:50.240
That was really, you know, I think that was a bet that we made.

00:19:50.240 --> 00:20:06.311
That was a lot of gut and intuition and some data that we had access to, and I'm really proud of the way that the brand has grown in that community right, we see the success of the solution really riding on.

00:20:06.792 --> 00:20:27.576
The question that Victor prompted earlier is can we be a trusted brand that can authentically engage an audience that is hard to reach and slow to trust, and can they grow with us over time so that we can bring institutions closer to them and them closer to institutions, especially around the questions of health, right?

00:20:27.576 --> 00:20:33.140
So much of what the mental health crisis means for young people is subclinical.

00:20:33.140 --> 00:20:40.855
So you know stress, some forms of depression and anxiety, social pressure.

00:20:40.855 --> 00:20:51.261
But you know, we know that these subclinical conditions can get worse over time and, if they're untreated, can turn into severe mental illness.

00:20:51.261 --> 00:20:59.452
And so you know being a brand that our audience trusts, that they can see themselves in, that they can authentically engage with and direct.

00:20:59.452 --> 00:21:04.324
You know Mentez is built by our communities, for our communities.

00:21:04.324 --> 00:21:13.404
You know we're just really grateful to be playing this role with this community right now as they chart their future to take their mental health back into their own hands.

00:21:14.611 --> 00:21:20.703
Yeah, when I think about that, it's so fascinating to me because, well one, I'm obviously a business junkie.

00:21:20.703 --> 00:21:24.039
I love business metrics, I love marketing, I love advertising.

00:21:24.039 --> 00:21:32.142
Dan, you so succinctly articulated something there I've never heard anyone say it that way which is they're hard to reach and slow to trust.

00:21:32.142 --> 00:21:39.701
And that's so important because when we think about, I'm going to use the word customers, but of course, our customers are anyone who we're meant to serve and we're meant to impact.

00:21:39.701 --> 00:21:50.499
And so when I look at some of the numbers that you guys have shared with me behind the scenes, there's so much traction there.

00:21:50.499 --> 00:21:53.348
It just seems to me, when I look at your cost per acquisition for a new Mente customer or community member, they're excited to jump on board.

00:21:53.348 --> 00:21:55.734
What are they finding inside of the world of Mente?

00:21:55.734 --> 00:21:58.259
What do these in real life events look like?

00:21:58.259 --> 00:22:01.334
What do the does the online component of it?

00:22:01.334 --> 00:22:04.221
How exactly is it changing the game for these people?

00:22:06.212 --> 00:22:07.535
yeah, brian, that's a great question.

00:22:07.535 --> 00:22:24.817
Um, we we really took so, first of all, in terms of the content, we knew that we had to start there quickly because these younger audiences that is where they live, that is where they get their news, that's where get their news, that's where they get their entertainment, that's where they get their information.

00:22:24.817 --> 00:22:34.579
So, for us, social media was kind of one of the first things that we thought about in terms of launching the brand or making it real for people.

00:22:34.579 --> 00:23:05.424
We, like Dan said, were very intentional about hiring staff to our team that reflect the audiences that we're trying to engage and, in turn, we also hire a diverse or we partner with a diverse roster of content creators to put out content, mental health related content and resources that are good for your mental health.

00:23:05.424 --> 00:23:21.089
That is kind of like our North Star in terms of the content that we put out and the people that we partner with from a social perspective, and so that is kind of our always-on strategy.

00:23:21.089 --> 00:23:29.174
That is something that we've mapped out for a long time, and then it's something that we use to promote when we show up in the community.

00:23:29.255 --> 00:23:34.684
In Phoenix, we launched in the spring with a bang.

00:23:34.684 --> 00:23:46.269
We actually showed up at the first ever Corridosican music festival in the united states.

00:23:46.269 --> 00:23:51.479
So corridos think peso pluma, right, so that type of music, that style of music.

00:23:51.479 --> 00:23:57.733
Um, there was a two-day music festival in chandler, arizona, uh, out there in the desert.

00:23:57.733 --> 00:24:01.178
Um, we built a?

00:24:01.178 --> 00:24:27.799
Um like City style bodega and there we had a bunch of different things that we were giving away, and our whole kind of premise for that was well, look, if we want to talk to people about heavy subjects like mental health or staying engaged in your community or even this election coming up, we need to make sure that they feel like their basic needs are met first.

00:24:27.799 --> 00:24:29.405
Right, a lot of people are struggling.

00:24:29.405 --> 00:24:31.511
We need to meet them where they are.

00:24:31.511 --> 00:24:45.632
So we had water to give away, we had cooling towels, we had some other fun things, like a boot shine station, because we know all those cowboy boots were going to be getting dusty over there in the desert.

00:24:45.632 --> 00:24:50.220
We had a glam station, we had t-shirts.

00:24:50.941 --> 00:25:01.088
So we showed up and just tried to just be authentic and I think it worked, because a lot of people signed up to our list.

00:25:01.088 --> 00:25:06.176
They wanted to learn more, they wanted to follow Mente, they wanted to get more resources.

00:25:06.176 --> 00:25:13.236
We got, qualitatively, they shared a lot of very personal stories with us about some of the struggles that they had.

00:25:13.236 --> 00:25:17.654
I remember hearing a lot of kids saying like I can barely afford certain things.

00:25:17.654 --> 00:25:28.064
I have two jobs and just coming to this music festival is like, was you know a mental health thing that I'm doing for myself and for my friends.

00:25:28.064 --> 00:25:31.049
So we knew we were on to something.

00:25:31.652 --> 00:25:34.579
We continued to look at other cultural moments.

00:25:34.579 --> 00:25:52.182
In Arizona we were lucky enough to partner with a pretty well-established brand, a women's sports brand called Together, founded by former professional athletes, and we partnered with them to.

00:25:52.182 --> 00:26:02.960
They asked us to basically put on a wellness festival in downtown Phoenix, tied to the WNBA All-Star Game there in the summer.

00:26:02.960 --> 00:26:07.385
And we took over a hotel, we took over their pool.

00:26:07.385 --> 00:26:18.642
We basically threw a wellness pool party so that people could cool off, connect with each other and kind of have a moment of respite, and so that was a huge, huge win for us.

00:26:19.163 --> 00:26:30.650
We've also we partnered with Don't Tell Comedy and we put on a three-day comedy festival at different locations, different kind of unexpected locations in the Phoenix area.

00:26:30.650 --> 00:26:57.501
So again, we're trying to kind of tap into these, these behaviors, these cultural norms that we know these audiences are passionate about meet them where they are, serve their basic needs, have these conversations, give them something, give them resources to take their mental health journeys into their own hands, and I think when we do that, we notice that we're actually building community.

00:26:57.501 --> 00:27:11.857
All these people now have something in common, hopefully through Mente and those experiences where they can find each other and connect and have more of a holistic experience that we were trying to form anyway.

00:27:14.506 --> 00:27:16.192
Dan, I spy you on muting yourself.

00:27:16.192 --> 00:27:17.194
Is there something you want to add there?

00:27:17.884 --> 00:27:18.586
Yeah, I'd say.

00:27:18.586 --> 00:27:32.067
The only thing I wanted to add is the through line between the content and the physical experience is the thing that is pulling the community together and driving them to engage is that they're seeking healing, right?

00:27:32.067 --> 00:27:38.525
I think this was a real insight that our team discovered and mined over the course of this year.

00:27:38.525 --> 00:27:44.993
You know again, a lot of intuition, a lot of data that comes from the team, the creative team, to pull together the brand.

00:27:44.993 --> 00:27:49.140
Luis, one of our creative directors, said this in the way that I'll never forget.

00:27:49.140 --> 00:27:57.089
That meant is a feeling, and I think we're really figuring out what that feeling is for our community.

00:27:57.089 --> 00:28:00.758
That community is really seeking to take healing back into their own hands.

00:28:00.857 --> 00:28:02.656
Right, that doesn't mean for everybody.

00:28:02.656 --> 00:28:04.387
That doesn't mean a therapist For everybody.

00:28:04.387 --> 00:28:06.186
That doesn't mean a doctor For everybody.

00:28:06.186 --> 00:28:08.094
That doesn't mean the same thing.

00:28:08.094 --> 00:28:09.704
Everybody's healing journey is different.

00:28:09.704 --> 00:28:36.057
But what we found is that there's a lot of demand, especially inside of sub-segments of our audience, for this kind of content, for this kind of experience, something that helps them feel less lonely, something that helps them feel less lonely, something that helps them feel like a greater sense of belonging, something that helps them feel connected to each other, connected to themselves and to discover the sort of power of community building to heal themselves and the people in the world around them.

00:28:36.057 --> 00:28:42.215
I think that that's been one of the most exciting parts of this journey so far and a piece that we're very excited to keep building on.

00:28:42.858 --> 00:28:47.615
Yeah, I really appreciate the way that both of you speak about it, victor, I'm going to pick on something that you said there.

00:28:47.615 --> 00:28:55.028
You used the word authentic, and I feel like I say this so much to especially newer entrepreneurs is when they're wondering who should I serve?

00:28:55.028 --> 00:28:57.032
I'm missing a business idea.

00:28:57.032 --> 00:29:05.396
That's the one thing that always makes me laugh, because in my head I just think to myself serve either a past, present or future version of yourself.

00:29:05.396 --> 00:29:11.234
There's nobody else that you understand more than yourself and your community and the way that you were raised.

00:29:11.234 --> 00:29:18.913
And so, victor, when you talk about the way that not only you two but Mente shows up authentically for the people that you serve, it comes easy to you.

00:29:18.913 --> 00:29:28.398
You don't have to think about it too much, because it's serving a past version of both of you and probably a present version of both of you as well.

00:29:28.398 --> 00:29:29.805
I mean, when you list Don't Tell, comedy is such a cool company.

00:29:29.805 --> 00:29:32.372
I'm glad that they've also made their way here to Tampa, florida.

00:29:32.372 --> 00:29:48.734
It's so cool, it brightens the spirit, and the fact that you too can just I'm going to call it effortlessly, but I know a lot of work goes into it you two can just effortlessly ask yourself how can we make people feel better, how can we bring people together so that they leave feeling better than when they arrived?

00:29:48.734 --> 00:29:51.128
And it's something that you two are doing, that important work.

00:29:51.128 --> 00:29:53.233
So huge kudos to the two of you.

00:29:53.374 --> 00:30:00.153
I always love asking this question at the end of interviews because it's super broad, and today we're getting a double dose because we've got two of you here.

00:30:00.153 --> 00:30:11.752
And that is what's your best piece of advice, the one takeaway knowing that we're being listened to by entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs at all different stages of their own growth journeys and in 150 countries around the world.

00:30:11.752 --> 00:30:14.487
What's the one thing that you want to impart on them?

00:30:14.487 --> 00:30:17.977
Because you two are not just subject matter experts doing the work with Mente.

00:30:17.977 --> 00:30:20.959
You're also one of us, you're also fellow entrepreneurs.

00:30:20.959 --> 00:30:24.141
So, victor, I'm going to kick it over to you because you're already unmuted.

00:30:24.141 --> 00:30:27.241
So, victor, give us that one thing and then, dan, straight over to you.

00:30:27.241 --> 00:30:29.185
Leave us with that extra piece of advice.

00:30:30.890 --> 00:30:34.616
You know, for me, man, this is a very real question, brian.

00:30:34.616 --> 00:30:35.499
I really appreciate it.

00:30:35.499 --> 00:30:36.644
I think it's.

00:30:36.644 --> 00:30:43.630
I think it's you're stronger than you think and don't be afraid of the unknown.

00:30:43.630 --> 00:31:13.411
I think that there's so many you know you're you're kind of jumping into or career behind or you're having to learn new things, new skills, new industries, new markets, and even in that way you're kind of learning a new role for yourself.

00:31:13.411 --> 00:31:19.869
And sometimes that's scary right, especially, as Dan very nicely put it, elder millennials.

00:31:19.869 --> 00:31:29.625
You know, once you get to a certain point in your career with a lot of experience, you're kind of like well, now I can build on this, I already have a foundation.

00:31:29.625 --> 00:31:44.075
But it can be a little scary to kind of move away from that and be open to learning new things and experiencing new things and having to almost create a new identity for yourself.

00:31:44.075 --> 00:31:57.324
But I can tell you it's super exciting and I'm super thankful for this opportunity and I'm extremely thankful to my best friend, dan, for kind of allowing me to go through that journey together.

00:31:58.615 --> 00:32:02.124
Oh man, you took what I was going to say Shock.

00:32:02.124 --> 00:32:03.567
Yeah, I know, right.

00:32:03.567 --> 00:32:07.482
Yeah, mine is just to bet on yourselves.

00:32:07.482 --> 00:32:15.801
You know, victor and I, when we started talking about Menta together, we felt really strongly about doing this very quickly.

00:32:15.801 --> 00:32:21.259
And you know, we've each gone through different phases of our career.

00:32:21.259 --> 00:32:23.405
Some things have worked out, some things haven't worked out.

00:32:23.405 --> 00:32:40.298
We've learned a ton, and all of those things happening in the way that they did at the timing that they did led us to this opportunity and we had to make a decision where we going to like, passively, sort of inspect this opportunity or where are we going to go all in on it.

00:32:40.298 --> 00:32:45.160
And we decided to bet on ourselves and it's the best decision that I've made in some time.

00:32:45.981 --> 00:32:47.565
Yes, absolutely, gosh.

00:32:47.565 --> 00:32:54.442
Guys, I love the fact that the both of you have shown up in full transparency and just deeply, authentically yourselves.

00:32:54.442 --> 00:32:56.346
I really appreciate the way that you both do that.

00:32:56.346 --> 00:33:03.205
Personally, I appreciate the way you do that as a brand, as a company, and the way that you really are showing up in service of others.

00:33:03.205 --> 00:33:08.940
I think that it's been on full display from start to finish here in today's conversation, so I'm so appreciative of that.

00:33:08.940 --> 00:33:10.803
I'm a big fan of the work that you're all doing.

00:33:10.803 --> 00:33:12.144
It's incredibly important.

00:33:12.144 --> 00:33:15.210
Again, I just want you guys to expand that you all know.

00:33:15.210 --> 00:33:20.557
I know that you're big dreamers, so make your way over here to the East Coast and your fellow East Coaster as well.

00:33:20.557 --> 00:33:22.688
So looking forward to those expansions.

00:33:22.688 --> 00:33:26.900
With that in mind, where can people go to follow along with all the great work that you're doing?

00:33:26.900 --> 00:33:28.342
Drop those links on us.

00:33:28.342 --> 00:33:29.785
Where should listeners go from here?

00:33:30.645 --> 00:33:39.386
Yeah, check out mentaworld the website, and mentaworld on Instagram and on TikTok, and stay tuned.

00:33:39.386 --> 00:33:47.494
We have big plans for the coming years expanding the model and connecting with like-minded brands and communities.

00:33:47.494 --> 00:33:48.557
So we'll see you soon.

00:33:49.339 --> 00:33:51.325
Yes, listeners, you already know the drill.

00:33:51.325 --> 00:33:55.295
We're making it as easy as possible for you to find those links down below in the show notes.

00:33:55.295 --> 00:33:58.209
You'll be able to click right on through to Mente's website.

00:33:58.209 --> 00:34:03.269
You'll also find their social media links, and we're also linking to Victor and Dan's personal LinkedIn as well.

00:34:03.269 --> 00:34:12.686
So, if this is something that you say, holy cow, I want to collaborate with them, I want to partner with them, or I want to introduce them to someone who can accelerate it, or I want to be a part of their community.

00:34:12.686 --> 00:34:15.530
For all of those reasons, reach out, continue the conversation.

00:34:15.530 --> 00:34:21.157
These are two dudes who firmly believe in the power of doing more good, and they're doing it through their company.

00:34:21.157 --> 00:34:27.800
So, to both of you, victor, dan, on behalf of myself and all the listeners worldwide, thanks so much for coming on the show today.

00:34:27.800 --> 00:34:37.246
Thank you so much, brian, thanks man hey, it's Brian here and thanks for tuning in to yet another episode of the entrepreneur to entrepreneur podcast.

00:34:37.246 --> 00:34:41.230
If you haven't checked us out online, there's so much good stuff there.

00:34:41.230 --> 00:34:47.666
Check out the show's website and all the show notes that we talked about in today's episode at the entrepreneur showcom.

00:34:48.054 --> 00:34:50.442
And I just want to give a shout out to our amazing guests.

00:34:50.442 --> 00:34:59.239
There's a reason why we are ad free and have produced so many incredible episodes five days a week for you, and it's because our guests step up to the plate.

00:34:59.239 --> 00:35:01.284
These are not sponsored episodes.

00:35:01.284 --> 00:35:02.867
These are not infomercials.

00:35:02.867 --> 00:35:06.367
Our guests help us cover the costs of our productions.

00:35:06.367 --> 00:35:17.307
They so deeply believe in the power of getting their message out in front of you, awesome wantrepreneurs and entrepreneurs, that they contribute to help us make these productions possible.

00:35:17.307 --> 00:35:25.806
So thank you to not only today's guests, but all of our guests in general, and I just want to invite you check out our website because you can send us a voicemail there.

00:35:25.806 --> 00:35:27.139
We also have live chat.

00:35:27.139 --> 00:35:30.985
If you want to interact directly with me, go to thewantrepreneurshowcom.

00:35:30.985 --> 00:35:33.197
Initiate a live chat.

00:35:33.197 --> 00:35:42.617
It's for real me, and I'm excited because I'll see you as always every Monday, wednesday, friday, saturday and Sunday here on the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

1059: Harnessing CULTURE and COMMUNITY for transformative mental health advocacy w/ Victor Arias and Dan McSwain

Listen On

Recent Episodes