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Selena Gomez and her mother started Wondermind back in 2021 to deal with mental health issue
Selena Gomez’s mental health startup Wondermind has recently been grappling with financial crisis after failing to pay employees and vendors since March.
According to a report by Forbes, Gomez’s mom, Mandy Teefey, told employees last week that she took out a loan against her home to pay back its outstanding debts in last few weeks.
For now, the Los Angeles-based company, which employs around 15 people to publish articles, interviews and podcasts about mental health topics, is reportedly “being kept afloat by the singer’s mother and Wondermind’s CEO.
The outlet reported that Wondermind’s employees have been repaid for one missing paycheck but they are still waiting on another.
As far as freelancers and vendors are concerned, they owed tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of dollars.
A Wondermind spokesperson claimed that the company “has rectified” the situation and that everyone who is owed money will receive it on May 12.
“Like many startups, Wondermind has been working through its own set of growing pains,” said a rep in a written statement to the outlet.
It read, “In the coming days we will be transitioning into a new chapter for Wondermind, and continuing our important work in mental fitness that helps hundreds of thousands of people.”
Founded in 2021 by Selena, mother Mandy and Daniella Pierson (founder and CEO of The Newsette, a women centric newsletter), Wondermind was inspired by the singer-businesswoman’s own mental health struggles.
The outlet learned about the startup’s financial crunch via emails, recordings and interviews with three employees.
Two employees told the publication, “Wondermind owes a PR firm around $60,000;” while other said, “tens of thousands of dollars are also owed to freelance writers”.
These employees mentioned that the financial woes started in January 2023 after co-CEO Daniella left the company and Mandy took sole charge.
Meanwhile, they added that Selena is not active at Wondermind even though on the company website, she is listed as the chief impact officer.
