Employee wellness has been a hot-button issue over the last several years as C-Suites look to keep employees engaged and connected. That conversation has spurred a new group of entrepreneurs, like Atlanta-based founder Jessica Thomas.
Thomas built up her career in the healthcare insurance space, which helped her realize what was missing in when it comes to employee wellness.
“Employers who do not prioritize the balance and wellbeing of their employees will pay for it in poor reputation, high turnover, and challenged business outcomes,” she told Hypepotamus. “Mental wellbeing is understandably top of mind right now for the HR and business leaders we have talked to. Specifically, they want to know how to address burnout and low morale in a virtual setting.”
Thomas built Wish For Yellow to help employers address these ongoing concerns.
The platform and app is designed as a team-based educational program. Teams learn about important topics, ranging from personal finance to building resiliency. Thomas said “Boosting Mental Resilience” is a popular learning path for early Yellow users.
Team-based learning around such important topics can have important benefits for employees and employers alike. The goal is to bring employees together, build rapport between coworkers, and improve collaboration efforts.
Teaching personal finance can have ripple effects for employees and employers alike, says Thomas.
“We are living in a time when there is a lot of financial stress and uncertainty. Not only can this stress result in lower productivity and increased absenteeism, but if unaddressed, can also lead to employees looking for better pay or benefits elsewhere,” she added.
Yellow is particularly looking to capture the small and medium sized business market, where Thomas says employee wellbeing is often overlooked. Companies only pay for employees who actually participate, and are given metrics and reports around how the platform’s business impact.
Launching Yellow
Thomas will be graduating from the It Takes A Village pre-accelerator program at Atlanta Tech Village later this month. Over the course of the last three months, Yellow has doubled the size of its team, wrapped up a series of beta engagements, acquired its first group of customers, and launched a live version in the App Store.
Moving into the spring and summer, Thomas said she is focused on product-market fit, growing partnerships, and adding more people to the team.
She also said she is working on “practicing what we preach” by prioritizing “our team’s well-being and enjoying the journey together.”
