Meet a young startup Don't go out, which went through our SOcial Impact Award incubation program, and focuses on the still neglected, yet increasingly common, burnout syndrome.
Don't go out
Young people with big goals who are dedicated to socially beneficial business are exactly what our society needs. That is probably why the founders of the project Don't go out received an award in the incubation program Social Impact Award 2023, which we have been organizing at Impact Hub for the 13th year.
The Nevyhasni project was founded by David Artur Fiedler, Barbora Hailandová and Mikoláš Voborský. David embarked on the project based on his own experience, which is why he decided to create a place that would help others avoid burnout. However, it was clear to the founders that in order for the project to grow in all directions, they needed additional workforce, experts, contacts, and above all, a business model and finances. Based on the advice of a friendly project, Nekrachni, they learned about the Social Impact Award incubation program and applied for it in 2023.
What are the goals of the Nevyhasni project?
They want to reverse the trend of burnout growth and contribute to its long-term decline. With the help of experts, they want to spread awareness about burnout, help organizations combat burnout among their employees, and bring functional prevention systems to society in the form of lectures and workshops.
Expectations were met.
During the program, Nevyhasni expanded their team with 5 new volunteers, increased their reach and following, and had the opportunity to network with a number of companies. What else did participating in SIA help them with?
"We had expectations and they were fulfilled. We managed to come up with a business model and connected with a great mentor, Jan Burda, who is still helping us with the project. We also organized our first event, and I personally took the importance of asking for help."
The Social Impact Award kicks things off and moves them forward
The SIA program is designed for young people with ideas that they want to create sustainable socially beneficial businesses. During the program, they will receive support, contacts, a lot of new information and connections to the global community. How does Nevyhasni evaluate their participation in the program after a few months?
"The program was very beneficial for Nevyhasni. Not all workshops were interesting to us, but most were. In addition, SIA really encouraged us to take the project more seriously and get into it. It exceeded our expectations. In addition, we won the Public Award in the SIA competition. It was a real joy. The victory brought us great momentum, which has stayed with us to this day. We got into interesting media and more than doubled our viewership. In addition, we were able to go to the SIA summit, which inspired the entire project by meeting other interesting founders.”
Nevyhšaň started their career in the SIA program and thanks to their energy and determination, they are moving on to other things. What are their plans for this year?
"This year we want to focus on implementing the business model we have devised. We are actively approaching companies and trying to sell our services to corporations, which will bring us financial stability in the long term. We are also preparing an online portal with lots of interesting features. We are currently building a content team that will regularly add articles, signposts, contacts and all other information about burnout to the website. We are also planning a database of burnout stories and many other things."
The project does not belong in a drawer
Over the past 12 years, the SIA program has gone through over 100 projects that have become successful companies with social impact. For most of them, participation in our program was essential. The same is true for Nevyhasni's participation: "We would definitely recommend participation to young innovators. In addition to mentoring and workshops, SIA is such a commitment to really dedicate yourself to the project and not leave it in a drawer. It's a great motivation."
Rest is the path to a successful project
Burnout syndrome affects every 4th person in the Czech Republic. You are going full throttle, you don't notice the "red flags" and suddenly you just sit, lie and can't move. At this moment, the realization comes that something is happening to your body and soul. In conclusion, we asked David and Mikoláš what advice they would give to new SIA participants and other founders to avoid burnout syndrome when building their own projects?
"It's important to be patient and be okay with the fact that not everything goes right away and quickly. Everything has its time and it doesn't matter at all that something takes longer. It's important not to go to extremes in work in the long term (it's possible in the short term). Remember that the project will end without you, so it's your responsibility to rest for a while and focus on yourself. When you're resting, do it 100%. But most importantly, realize that burnout affects you too and if you don't slow down, something will happen sooner or later. Pay attention to the first signs. Chronic fatigue, cynicism about work (or project), psychosomatic pain, nausea, all of these can indicate that you have too much."
The next SIA, the 13th in a row, will take place March 14th at Impact Hub PragueThis incubation program is supported by Česká spořitelna and Erste Foundation as partners. The implementation of last year and this year is also supported by SAP and PwC.
Are you interested in what other ideas are being developed with the support of our incubation programs? Follow our LinkedIn.
