Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has thrown his support behind a new technology start-up designed to support burnt-out high-achieving executives with mentorship and coaching as well as more unconventional offerings such as comprehensive health diagnostics and blood tests.Turnbull has spent much of his pre- and post-politics career focused on technology start-ups, pouring money into the likes of SafetyCulture, SunDrive and Myriota.He’s working with The Komo Club, an online program designed to help executives and start-up founders combat burnout and better maintain relationships with friends and family members.Turnbull, who has not financially invested in the start-up but will facilitate workshops for participants, has previously spoken about his mental health struggles including bouts of depression, particularly after the defeat of the republican referendum.The Komo Club is the brainchild of Rohit Bhargava, who has struggled with burnout.The Komo Club is the brainchild of Rohit Bhargava, the host of The Startup Playbook Podcast, who has founded two start-ups and struggled with burnout and the pressures of running a business. Its launch comes amid a dire period for technology start-ups, more closing their doors in 2024 than each of the six years before. Research from Techboard this week found an investment decline in early-stage start-ups over the past 12 months.The first cohort of Komo Club’s eight-week program will kick off in March with speakers including Turnbull, former SKINS chief executive Jaimie Fuller and Marketplacer CEO Jason Wyatt.Participants will receive weekly workshops as well as full blood tests, DEXA scans and personalised health and fitness plans through a partnership with preventative health start-up Everlab.“A number of people said to me in the nicest way possible ‘dude, you look terrible’,” Bhargava recalls his own struggles. “I felt like I was just trying to keep the lights on, and I knew I needed to fix it, but I didn’t know where to start.“In the technology start-up space, there’s so much focus on monthly growth and meeting expectations, but that means that other parts of our lives are often overlooked, and we neglect health, friendships and unfortunately even our relationships with our kids.”Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has spent much of his pre- and post-politics career focused on technology investments.Credit: Louise KennerleyBhargava previously co-founded One Future Football, a fantasy football start-up backed by sports stars Steve Smith, Nick Kyrgios and Naomi Osaka, which last year had its valuation written down to $0 by major investor Blackbird Ventures. It had raised $3 million in funding.One Future Football, which is still operational, is a global virtual sports league that simulates soccer matches with fictional players. Last year, the company laid off staff and Bhargava departed.The executive said he left the company due to a disagreement in strategy, as well as a realisation
Malcolm Turnbull backs health start-up for burnt-out bosses
