David Gee, the Entrepreneurship Program Coordinator and Lecturer in Entrepreneurship for the College of Business and Economics at UW-Whitewater. Gee published the book “The College Student Startup Guide: 12 Steps To Building a Successful College Startup” during October in 2019. It has helped many student entrepreneurs and students who attend his lectures on the UW-Whitewater campus. Using what he’d written in his book, Gee has begun the process of focusing on mental health by creating HUG, an app that is being designed to help people struggling with mental health.

“One of the things that has been frustrating is that there aren’t enough therapists and psychologists. This is where I said we have to look at this problem differently and find people that are willing to provide the service but don’t want to work for a traditional healthcare provider. Whoever those folks are and maybe even train people that are retired nurses,” said Gee.

HUG is in the startup process as Gee is using the steps that he has created for entrepreneurs toward his own startup. The first steps are assessing the true motivations behind the start up, balancing priorities, and locating helpful resources.

“Usually when you launch your first company, it might be about yourself and independence and then usually over time it becomes altruistic. It’s all about giving back and thinking about other people before yourself,” said Gee.

Gee has become very passionate about helping others with mental health and providing a way to get young adults connected with people that can help. He has managed to stay updated with today’s technology and use that to his advantage as a way to connect people with one another. HUG will be designed for users to connect with people who have experience in the medical industry. With that being said, people who suffer from depression, anxiety, or any other mental health issue will have a way to connect with people that can provide help.

“My last venture is a personal one. I am now working on a startup idea to help improve and save the lives of young adults,” said Gee.

Once these processes are underway, it is important to pitch the startup at pitch competitions and innovation centers. This can get possible clients and endorsements for the product.

HUG is another resource Gee is providing for adults to help benefit their lives, whether it’s teaching how to start a business or using a startup to help save the lives of many.