Munich Startup: What does your startup Amind do? What problem do you solve?
Marius Merkle, Amind: The Amind brand is the flagship of Amind GmbH. Our primary goal is to provide evidence-based training to individuals and organizations in the field of Applied Mind Science. By promoting mindfulness, we strive to increase self-confidence and self-care, which in turn leads to sustained higher levels of performance at the individual and organizational levels.
Our approach is characterized by factually inspiring and data-driven language. We support organizations, employees, and entrepreneurs in sustainably improving leadership skills, performance, and team cohesion by promoting effective stress management, focus accentuation, strengthening relationships, and (self-)care.
Our programs focus on key questions: How can an organization grow profitably and sustainably while simultaneously strengthening individual well-being and building a positive organizational culture? While our programs do not replace psychotherapeutic interventions, they do achieve therapeutic effects. In times of uncertainty and technological advancement, we aim to provide individuals and organizations with a safe and humanized foundation: "The Secure Base." This safe and caring foundation promotes the maintenance and development of efficient, collaborative, and innovative organizational cultures.
Munich Startup: But there are already so many coaching offers!
Marius Merkle: Amind is not a conventional coaching offering; rather, we strive to share experiences together. We recognize that we can never know everything, and therefore we rely on intrinsic curiosity to better understand our partners' backgrounds, both cognitively and emotionally. Our goal is not to present prefabricated solutions through a fixed framework, as this would unnecessarily limit our partners' creative development process.
Companions in the process of self-development
The Amind Experience simply uses a few tools to support our partners in identifying, cultivating, and transferring their own secure bases. We see ourselves less as traditional coaches and more as supportive and empowering companions in our partners' self-development processes, so that they feel intrinsically more secure and can communicate this perceived security externally.
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Marius Merkle: During my studies at IIM-C in Kolkata (India) towards the end of 2017, I first encountered the phenomenology of mindfulness, particularly through formal sitting meditation practices. The insights I gained in these courses helped me survive a severe bout of dengue fever. I had to learn to accept situations without falling into lethargy. Formal meditation practice subsequently became a daily routine.
When I started my first full-time position at Meta (formerly Facebook) at the end of 2018, I was pleased to see that the first initiatives to support employees' mental health were emerging there, too. Free, self-help apps allowed us to work on our "soft skills" on our own initiative. However, I realized from my own experience that while trying things out for ourselves is an important first step, key aspects such as integration, reflection, and sharing experiences were neglected.
“Enabling sustainable and profitable growth”
For these reasons, I decided to work on a mindfulness-based consulting concept that fully integrates these aspects. After two years of behavioral therapy and a two-year training course to become an MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) instructor, I finally felt ready to translate my ambitions into an evidence-based consulting concept. This focuses on cultivating and teaching an inner secure base, as this secure base is what connects and unites us as humans: the need to feel safe. Only with inner (self-)security can we project security externally. This will be crucial for organizations and leaders to enable sustainable and profitable growth.
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Marius Merkle: In my professional career at companies such as Meta, Amazon and Tiktok, I have always had the opportunity to work with Startups from different industries. It was an exciting experience to support these young companies. However, from afar, I could never fully understand the constant insecurities and self-doubt that accompany a start-up. Questions like “What happens if my plan fails?” or “Why should I leave the safe boat of a permanent position?” I only became aware of these questions in the middle of the founding process. This isn't meant to diminish my conviction in my idea; rather, I view these questions as gifts to help me weigh options without bias.
Amind and the challenges in the founding process
The challenges of finding a "market" for my idea and translating its mindfulness approach, which is (falsely) dismissed as esoteric, into contemporary language were initially abstract, but have now become concrete tasks. From my previous freelance work, where my partners primarily grew organically, I now have to transition to targeted new partner acquisition in order to be profitable as a company. The focus is on creating cross-channel content and implementing effective marketing campaigns. What was merely theoretical during my time at Meta, Amazon, and TikTok is now becoming the practical and survival-preserving reality of my startup.
The uncertainty associated with the startup process is undoubtedly one of the greatest challenges. Looking back, I can't overstate my respect for all the young entrepreneurs I've worked with over the past few years. Courage and resilience are essential. However, my own meditation practice and the Amind experience help me create an inner, secure base and feel more secure amidst this perceived uncertainty.
Amind's socially conscious approach, both as a brand and as a company, is an unwavering guiding principle for us. As a company committed to the widespread concept of "social impact," we must skillfully balance philanthropy with profitability. While we don't consider ourselves pro bono, we are committed to making our consulting services accessible to organizations of all kinds.
In search of the business model
Munich Startup: Where do you want to be in one year, where in five years?
Marius Merkle: Over the next five years, my focus will be on further optimizing my consulting services and positioning them even more successfully in the market. I'm striving to develop a scalable business model, whether in the area of platform-based e-learning or fashion & lifestyle, for which I've already developed ideas. My self-image in this vision of the future is based on being in tune with my current state of development and not feeling "forced" to change.
It's essential for me to pursue the projects I've already initiated with full awareness. Especially at the beginning, the focus is on raising awareness and sharing experiences to illustrate the importance of perceived internal security (Secure Base) for individuals and organizations. My goal is to have implemented many of the necessary measures so that in five years' time, I can claim to have made a comprehensive contribution. If I succeed in gaining a foothold both in the consulting industry and in the area of my conceived ideas, I will not only be satisfied but may also be able to benefit personally from some valuable partnerships.
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Marius Merkle: Thanks to my network, which I developed primarily during my master's studies, I'm impressed by the variety of startups emerging in Munich. From deep tech to various SaaS solutions, I find the Munich startup ecosystem extremely diverse.
Amind’s mission: To admit so-called weaknesses and fallibility and to grow
Nevertheless, I must confess that I unfortunately never had the privilege of studying in Munich, let alone living in this beautiful city for more than four years. Therefore, I would by no means call myself an expert and therefore claim that I still need to gain much more experience before I can form a well-founded opinion. Yet that is precisely Amind's mission: to admit so-called weaknesses and fallibility in order to grow with intrinsic motivation. For this reason, I consider it a valuable learning experience to be able to learn even more about Munich as a startup location.
Munich Startup: Risk or security?
Marius Merkle: Counter question: Why not both? This allows me to maintain a sense of inner security in potentially risky situations and project this feeling outwardly. At the same time, it allows me to consider a certain residual risk in seemingly safe situations. The two aspects are not mutually exclusive. In my professional career, I have always sought "security" in permanent positions at large technology companies. Looking back, I can only guess whether I felt a sense of inner security in these positions.
However, I've now taken the first steps toward self-employment and can certainly imagine combining the two. This would be beneficial, as I would be able to gain firsthand practical experience as a manager in an organization, which could then be integrated into Amind's range of services. In my opinion, safety and risk are highly personality-related. Personally, I would describe my inclination as ambivalent, as I consciously seek risk in perceived safety while simultaneously intentionally finding safety in a risky scenario. Both perceptions are always self-contained and mutually reinforcing.
