Introducing Wired to Connect: Sustainable Mental Health Practices for Startup Work + Startup Life Artwork

Wired to Connect | Improving Relationships With Mental Health + Tech, One Episode at a Time

*2026 Update: We’re currently exploring whether the pace, scale, adoption of AI — along with the race toward AGI — is actually inevitable; or, whether we’re simply, not looking for alternatives. Is this really the future that we all want?! What possibilities emerge when we allow ourselves to consider that yes, changing course may be difficult; and yet, the current path may not be a foregone conclusion. We’re also looking to highlight examples of AI that facilitate — not destroy — human connection. If you have thoughts on either of these topics — or know someone we should connect with — please get in touch! You can email us at: podcast@strengthssquared.com

As humans, most — if not all — of us are biologically hardwired for connection. Yet, despite living in a world where technology makes connecting with others easier than ever, so many of us are feeling a sense of loneliness and experiencing disconnection, instead. This can wreak havoc on our mental health, especially at fast-moving, ever-changing startups. So, if you're tired of all the burnout, stress, and whiplash, that gets normalized in the tech startup world — or, the misconception that founders must sacrifice their own mental health for success — then, this show is for you! At the intersection of mental health + tech, 'Wired to Connect' will empower you to redefine success in the startup ecosystem. Wired to Connect. Improving relationships with mental health + tech, one episode at a time.

𖨆𖨆Co-hosted by: startup mental health therapist, Lisa Birnbaum + startup leadership coach, Marisa Birnbaum

♫Theme song by: Andrew Fisher

🎨Cover artwork by: Lou Brown, aka @Goodstrangevibes / goodstrangevibes.com

All Episodes

Wired to Connect | Improving Relationships With Mental Health + Tech, One Episode at a Time

Introducing Wired to Connect: Sustainable Mental Health Practices for Startup Work + Startup Life

May 24, 2022 • Lisa R. Birnbaum + Marisa M. Birnbaum

0:00 | 1:35

Join startup therapist, coach, and consultant, Lisa Birnbaum, for a preview of the weekly, startup mental health podcast featuring easily digestible lessons, skills, and stories, about what it takes to develop, build, and sustain a mentally healthy startup culture. If you’re listening in real time, the first episode drops on Tuesday, June 14, 2022. Tune-in and look forward to appreciating that we are all Wired to Connect.

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Hello & welcome to Wired to Connect, the startup mental health podcast that keeps you going every week, with our easily digestible lessons, skills, & stories, that you can put into practice immediately. I’m your host, your coach, your teacher, Lisa Birnbaum; I’m also a social worker, a therapist, & the Co-Founder of Strengths Squared: a therapy, coaching, & consulting practice, for startup founders & their teams, that I started with my wife & Co-Founder in 2021. The learnings we are sharing here, come from a combination of the lived experiences of the startup founders & startup team members we’ve worked with over the years, from our own lived experiences, & from research-backed strategies, too. And we are so excited to be able to share these insights here, with all of you now, about what it takes to develop, build, and sustain a mentally healthy startup culture. If you’re listening to this trailer in real time, our first episode will drop on Tuesday, June 14, 2022; and if you’re listening to this trailer after that, our first episode will already be available for you. You can access Wired to Connect, for free, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you’re listening now. Don’t forget to tap or click on the button labeled with the plus sign (“+”),-“Subscribe”,-“Follow”-or whatever word your podcast app uses to indicate you’d like to know when our episodes are released. We are really looking forward to connecting with all of you, as we will come to appreciate that we are all Wired-to-Connect.