How Steve Peralta Turned Burnout Into a $140M Company

Steve is the co-founder of Unmind, a workplace mental-health platform that’s raised $80M and scaled to serve companies worldwide. With a background as both a musician and entrepreneur, he’s now helping leaders design cultures where wellbeing and performance go hand in hand. In this episode Steve opens up about the morning his life short-circuited, the five-month breakdown that followed, and what it really takes to build a company without breaking.As always, if you enjoy this episode, make sure to like and subscribe 🔔Chapters:(00:00) Intro(00:59) The morning everything changed(03:01) “Not burnout — a full systems breakdown”(04:30) From musician to startup founder(06:37) Identity vs. the role: Who is Steve beyond “co-founder”?(07:23) Panic, A&E visits, and derealisation(09:54) Heavy metals, genetics & detox pathways(12:14) Healing: nature, rest, and reconnecting(13:23) Foundations: sleep, movement, journaling, morning pages(14:29) The eulogy exercise & values work(16:16) Play, inner child, and curiosity over comparison(18:25) “Not a machine”: Taylorism and the modern workplace(21:09) The two strands that led to Unmind(24:18) Toxic leadership, real costs & the spark to act(26:25) Meeting Nick Taylor and spotting the gap(27:41) Launching Unmind: proactive, stigma-breaking mental health(28:35) Mission vs. growth capital: naming the tension(29:52) Culture quadrants: clan, market, hierarchy, adhocracy(33:41) Polarity mapping: results & wellbeing as co-KPIs(35:12) Trust, visibility & psychological safety from leadership(37:00) Evidence: leadership wellbeing drives performance(38:15) Coaching founders: reconnecting to humanity(39:31) Escaping comparison; widening your sources of meaning(40:38) Steve’s sacred place: the woods and the tree(42:12) “What was it all for?” — honoring life⭐ Listener Suggestion – Software of the Week: Granola (AI meeting notes) - https://www.granola.ai/👍 Why subscribe?If you sketch business ideas on napkins, obsess over product-market fit, or dream of building humane, high-performance teams, this channel is for you.🔔 Tap the bell so YouTube tells you the moment new episodes drop 🔔#Startups #Founders #MentalHealth