Michael Acton Smith

on finding flow, combating burnout, and supercharging the future of mental health care.

- CHRISTINE LAGORIO-CHAFKIN

A San Francisco software startup hawking the stuff of ashrams seemed pretty far out in 2012. Over a decade later, guided meditation company Calm has expanded its app's offerings to sleep-inducing stories, mental health products, and soothing music. The app has been downloaded by more than 150 million people, and Calm Business-the company's fastestexpanding product-is now used by 10 million employees of 3,500 firms. We asked co-founder Michael Acton Smith how he finds flow, tunes out, and you know-stays calm.

You weren't a lifelong student of meditation before starting Calm. How did it become personal for you?

There was a time I didn't fully understand meditation or mindfulness. My previous startup, Mind Candy, which made Moshi Monsters, was growing like crazy for years. We were the hottest London startup; everyone thought we were the next Disney. Inside, it was starting to lag. I could feel it; I'd wake up at 4 a.m. in a cold sweat. We'd end up doing layoffs-five rounds of layoffs-which are pretty much the hardest thing you have to do as an entrepreneur. When you run a company, your identity is entwined with it, and you have responsibility for so many people.