Dedicated to changing the way we tackle mental health.
Behind Bravely is a team of passionate and determined entrepreneurs, researchers, user behaviourists, and designers — who are above all, human beings who know what it’s like to struggle with their mental health.
read the full story behind Bravely scrollWhy we’re
called Bravely
The idea of Bravely was born one day while daydreaming about “what would you do if you could snap your fingers and make something magically just exist?”.
What if there was something in your pocket that helps you? That teaches you to understand your mental health with evidence-based scientific methods, so you can live a happier, healthier life?”
That was a very easy “yes, let’s build it.”
We racked our brains to find a name — going from Soothe to Bettermind to Wisemind — none of them stuck. They described part of what we were building, but didn’t carry enough heart. They failed to encapsulate the spirit of the people we’re building this for.
In embarking on this mission, we’ve spoken to many people who have been open, brave and vulnerable in sharing their stories. Talking to these incredible people have made us realise one thing.
Everyone who found issues with their mental health, all had one thing in common: they were struggling.
And they had to brave their struggles and their pain. They had to brave a world that isn’t equipped to help them, and a society that has let them down with their ignorance. They had to either brave the stigma or brave struggling through it alone.
The fact that you have to fight, battle, wrestle and struggle, already means that you are bravely doing so. So once we wrapped our heads around what it means to bravely endure, to bravely fight, to bravely go, or to bravely try, it felt honest and it felt right.
And that’s why we’ve named ourselves Bravely. Because that’s what we want to be.
behind Bravely
The current landscape of mental health isn’t working.
The road to recovery is stacked against you
The current solutions available consist primarily of therapy and counselling - which have a high-barrier to entry in terms of 1) cost, 2) availability, 3) accessibility, and most underrated of all 4) approachability.
Society isn’t doing enough, (and the stigma still sticks)
Whether it’s a relative who thinks “it’s all in your head” to governments with healthcare systems that have no place for mental healthcare, there isn’t enough being done in the world today for everyone who needs help.
Why is therapy the only option?
With a limited number of therapists available, and fees that many can’t afford, many are left living their day-to-day struggling with their pain and distress.
We want to help fix it.
Bravely democratises your access to help — making help and knowledge available to anyone who needs it.
We’re working hard behind-the-scenes to bring a modern day solution to you
Melissa Ng
CEO & Co-founderMelissa is an entrepreneur and product designer with a decade of experience. Her first business is Melewi, a 9-year old global product design studio with clients like McDonald’s, Samsung and Visa. Melissa and her team work fully remotely all around the world, and she’s been featured in The Straits Times, Forbes, Channel News Asia, The Business Times, Les Echos, and more.
As someone who has struggled with mental health for most of her life, Bravely was born out of her determination to create something that will truly make a difference for people going through the same pain and challenges.
Rackley Nolan
COO & Co-founderRackley hails from New Zealand, but has explored the many adventures the world has to offer. Armed with a Masters in Geology and leadership experience from 15 years involvement with Surf Lifesaving, he’s accumulated a wide range of experience from building, consulting in operations & leadership, to being a dog-sled handler in the Arctic Circle!
With a keen interest in technology and science, as well as his determination in driving impactful change in communities, he’s embarked on Bravely’s mission to help as many people as possible by making a change in mental health care around the world.
Jay Meistrich
Lead Developer ContributorJay is the lead developer at Bravely, and is also the co-founder of Legend.
With an early background in game development, he has previously worked at Microsoft where he helped start the Surface tablet project and worked on Windows, Windows Phone and Xbox. He’s a nomad, travelling and pursuing his loves of food and photography in his free time.
S. B.
Senior DeveloperS. B. has five years experience in developing with react native, and has spent the last three years building a successful product from early stage to 100,000s of users across South East Asia, starting as the sole front end developer.
He loves football and eating biryani.
Somya Agarwal
Product & Research WriterSomya is part of our content team, browsing through various studies to accumulate helpful resources for improving mental health. With a Masters in Applied Psychology and significant experience in research, she believes she can help in bringing a change in the mental health field with Bravely.
In her free time, she loves reading historical fiction and Japanese literature novels. And, gets her utmost validation from getting affection from cats!
Milica Markovic
Psychology & Content StrategistJoining us from Belgrade, Milica is a practicing clinical psychologist, she brings many insightful perspectives from her experience working with clients.
Robert Cartwright
Psychology Writer & ResearcherRob is part of both the research and the content team. After helping with the beta testing research project, Rob has started creating and advising on the content for the Bravely app.
By using his background in psychology and tech start-ups, Rob is super excited to combine the two and contribute to the Bravely mission of improving mental health and wellbeing globally!
Rob is split between the UK and New Zealand, and loves travel, coffee, socialising and anything food-related.
Laura Anderson
ResearcherLaura has been contributing to Bravely since early 2020. As part of our research team, she has been helping us with the planning, executing and processing of our long term research project.
She is currently working on a PhD at Victoria University of Wellington. Laura is based in New Zealand and also loves everything food related unless it has gluten.
David Thorne
Neuroscience writer
UK-based David has been working with us since early 2020. With a master’s in neuropsychology, he has been contributing to the written content, and digging up many of the interesting science articles that can be found in the app.
His years of experience of completing literature reviews for businesses, charities and healthcare teams, coupled with his passion for improving global wellbeing, made Bravely a perfect match for him.
He has a love for the sea, is a sourdough aficionado, and is the proud owner of 41 house plants!
Samuel A.
Frontend DeveloperSam is Bravely's superstar front end developer, with a love of table tennis, good food and great television series. He has quickly become an integral part of the team, both with his talents, but also his sharp sense of humour.