Theodoric Chew, 28, co-founded mental health startup Intellect in 2019.
Theodoric Chew suffers from panic attacks and an anxiety disorder. But, he never let it stop him—in fact, it inspired him to help others struggling with the same.
Today, he is the 28-year-old CEO and co-founder of mental health startup, Mindwhich raised over $20 million.
“We’re not just an app, we’re not just a risk helpline,” Chew told CNBC Make It.
Intellect is a “comprehensive mental health care system that aims to address any level of risk and need,” he said.
“It could be as sharp and critical as a judgment call [where] you need to talk to someone on the ground… as small as you want to be more confident,” said the Singapore CEO.
Founded in 2019, the company’s services range from mental health screening tools and self-care programs, to clinician consultations and in-person clinics. Intellect has over 200 employees in 12 countries and says it has served over 3 million people by 2024.
High school dropout
From drop-shipping to ad arbitrage, Chew began experimenting with various online businesses during his teenage years.
“A lot of it started during secondary school (ages 12 to 16) … I was already working on a few things of my own at that point,” said Chew, who attended Raffles Institute, a well-known and prestigious school in Singapore.
At the age of 16, Chu decided to drop out of high school.
“Long term, I really didn’t see myself going down the path of … being a top student, going to a top university, or being a top lawyer or doctor,” he said.
But what he clearly knew was that he wanted to spend more time making things. “For me, it’s working in startups rather than, you know, the theory of it.”
Chew caught a few “lucky breaks” after overtime, he said.
By the age of 20, he had already founded and successfully exited his first startup, Existgreat, a self-help content platform that featured interviews with the likes of American entrepreneur and speaker, Gary Vaynerchuk.
After the acquisition, Chew went on to work at a few startups where he gained more experience.
Inspired by his own journey
Recounting his own journey with mental health, Chu said: “I had my first panic attack when I was 16.”
“That’s when I actually realized that something seemed a little off,” he added.
Chu sought help from a therapist and was later diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
Through his own experience, the Singapore native found a glaring problem: while mental health issues are prevalent in Asia, the space is largely underserved.
Theodoric Chew served National Service in Singapore for 2 years.
Courtesy of Theodoric Chew
According to the World Health Organization research“Nearly one billion people worldwide live with mental illness, of which approximately 260 million people live in the WHO South-East Asia region.”
In addition, about 82% of workers in Asia have a “moderate to high” risk of developing mental health problems, according to report from insurance broker Aon and Telus Health.
“For me, a few things started to come together,” Chu said. “It’s not news that Asia has one of the highest rates of mental health crises, but the stigma is extremely strong.”
Of course, there are cultural and historical nuances that shape how Asians tend to approach their own mental health. They tend to be less willing to share their feelings openly, Chew explained.
“This boils down to a broader, social focus of health care as well. A lot of investment and innovation is going into secondary, primary and tertiary care — we’re seeing hospitals being built,” but the mental health market lacks maturity, Chew said.
I don’t think I’m the smartest, I don’t think I’m the most capable, but … I’m naively ambitious, and I think that’s served me pretty well.
Theodoric Chew
Co-founder and CEO of Intellect
Chu saw that his friends were also struggling with their own mental health needs and didn’t know where to start.
There was “almost little to no innovation in mental health in Asia” at the time, he added.
“Not much has been done, but the issues are very real,” Chu said. “So that gave us a really good starting point: how do we go about this issue of helping people get started?”
And so, Intellect was born.
Expect challenges
“I think in the early stages, every founder has to be a little delusional,” Chew said. “I don’t think I’m the smartest, I don’t think I’m the most capable, but … I’m naively ambitious and I think that’s served me pretty well,” he said.
Throughout his journey so far, Chew has clearly been aware of his strengths and, more importantly, where he lacks. Knowing where his weaknesses lie, Chew delegates certain skills and jobs to employees.
“As a founder, especially a young founder, you have to be very aware of where you’re not good, rather than where you’re good, and be open to learning,” he said. “Our entire executive team is far more experienced and senior than I am.”
Intellect now offers in-person clinic visits.
Courtesy of Theororic Chew
Along with being “naively ambitious” and having high self-awareness, the key to Chew’s success was threefold: Having an innate interest in building things, the drive to experiment with ideas, and expecting challenges along the way.
However, the reality is that “it never gets too simple or easy for anyone, so there’s always that inertia that needs to be overcome,” Chew said. “I think so [expecting] that being part of the journey is also a very important thing.”
Shaping the face of mental health in Asia
Looking ahead, Chew wants to expand Intellect beyond Asia, aiming to be the “world leader in translocal mental health care,” he said.
“The journey has been very exciting and rewarding…I didn’t even expect how quickly we would be able to serve a very pressing need.”
When asked about how he manages the stress and anxiety of being a startup founder, he said he works on regulating his emotions and stress and tries to compartmentalize.
“Parking jobs at work are sometimes really required,” he said.
“I think having my own personal downtime in space is important to functioning for a long time.”
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