UC Berkeley · Econa Collaboration
The first-of-its-kind global effort to screen 5,000+ entrepreneurs for free — building a mental health safety net and performance on-ramp for entrepreneurs worldwide.
About the Initiative
A first-of-its-kind collaboration bringing validated mental health screening to the entire entrepreneur ecosystem — free, confidential, and powered by peer-reviewed science.
The Mission
FounderScreen uses the validated Entrepreneur Wellbeing Check (EWC) — a mental health screening tool designed and validated specifically for entrepreneurs — to build the first ecosystem-wide entrepreneur wellbeing solution set and dataset.
We're building the foundation so accelerators, VCs, and entrepreneur networks can understand and act on the mental health risks, and advance the human factors strengths of their communities. For the first time, solutions and actionable data-driven insights will exist to shift the curve — not just for individuals, but for the entire ecosystem.
The Method
The core Entrepreneur Wellbeing Check (EWC), every Econa learning lab, and your personalized resources are always free to entrepreneurs — you're never required to pay. The optional Econa Village membership (enhanced, wraparound support) is the only paid tier. Data is aggregated and anonymized before being included in any research. Data is not for sale; it is only shared with qualified university-affiliated academic researchers who aim to accelerate entrepreneur resilience, wellbeing and mental health. Ecosystem insight reports go back to the communities that participated.
Individual results are shared confidentially with each entrepreneur, along with resources and next steps. Aggregate insights go to ecosystem collaborators — never individual data.
The Framework
FounderScreen operationalizes Econa's core framework: population-level resilience-building and mental health improvement through systematic screening, detection, and proactive engagement.
The EWC screening reaches entrepreneurs at scale — through accelerators, VC portfolios, incubators, and entrepreneur networks. Every participant completes a validated, research-grade mental health assessment at no cost.
Validated screening identifies entrepreneurs who have room for improvement, and those who are struggling — before crisis. Early identification creates the window for intervention, connecting every entrepreneur, including those at the greatest risk of derailment, to support resources when it matters most.
Entrepreneurs at risk are offered relevant resources while being guided to clinicians and peer support. Entrepreneurs who are not at risk are connected with personalized resources for performance and wellbeing. Ecosystems receive population-level insight reports to inform how they support entrepreneur resilience, performance, wellbeing and mental health going forward.
Inside FounderScreen
The Entrepreneur Wellbeing Check does not end at a score — it points an entrepreneur toward the lab that fits what the check surfaced. Ten interactive, evidence-based learning labs are matched to your EWC results.
Learn › Try › Track › Resources › AI Prompts
Phase One
Phase Two
The Trauma Lab is one of the activity-based learning labs inside the FounderScreen app. Its purpose is to recognize and support entrepreneurs experiencing trauma-related symptoms, whether those symptoms were triggered by business events or by other life events. Entrepreneurs are routed to it from the Entrepreneur Wellbeing Check rather than signing up for it separately, and the lab offers recovery and referral resources.
Milestone Timeline
Built on validated science and established institutional partnerships, FounderScreen is moving from proof to scale.
Completed
EWC Validated & Published
Entrepreneur Wellbeing Check validated and published in peer-reviewed journal — International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research (IJEBR), 2026.
Completed
UC Berkeley Partnership Established
Dr. Sheri Johnson, Distinguished Professor at UC Berkeley — author of 275+ scientific papers — joins as academic partner.
Completed
Wharton Neuroscience Initiative Partnership
Partnership with Dr. Michael Platt and the Wharton Neuroscience Initiative established, expanding the research and institutional footprint.
In Progress — 2026
FounderScreen Launch Team Formation
Assembling the inaugural cohort of ecosystem sponsors, academic affiliates, and launch team members.
Target — 2027
Population-Scale Launch
First ecosystem-wide entrepreneur wellbeing demonstration project for 5,000 entrepreneurs screened. First-of-its-kind data-driven population-level insights released.
Future
National & Global Expansion
Replicating the population-focused model across major entrepreneur ecosystems in the US and internationally — scaling impact of the world's first data-driven ecosystem performance insights.
Get Involved
Three ways to participate in the FounderScreen Initiative — each designed for a different kind of ecosystem collaborator.
Sponsor free Entrepreneur Wellbeing Checks for the entrepreneurs who need them. Choose your sponsorship level — each one keeps the screening free:
Cohort 1 – applications now being accepted
Econa's flagship program: a one-year virtual professional development program for your firm's platform leaders and venture partners, plus confidential screening and unlimited free access to the FounderScreen resilience and performance optimization program for all of your portfolio founders, each paired with customized resources. Cohort members receive a collective insights report with actionable recommendations for improving your founder support offerings.
For faculty members affiliated with universities and research institutions. Access anonymized aggregate data for secondary research and deepen your entrepreneurship research program. Includes eligibility to consult on commissioned Econa ecosystem reports.
Current Partners
The FounderScreen Initiative is backed by some of the world's leading entrepreneurship institutions, research organizations, and ecosystem builders.
Launch Team & Supporters
Ecosystem Sponsors
Academic Partner
Interested in joining? Contact the FounderScreen team →
Data & Privacy
Entrepreneurs have every right to be cautious about sharing data related to their resilience, performance, wellbeing and mental health. Here's exactly how FounderScreen handles it — and what we will never do.
The EWC screening collects validated mental health indicators — identical to what is used in published clinical research. At onboarding, Econa also collects a non-identified demographic and business profile, and we ask you to be specific about your personal criteria for success. This information is never linked to your identity, never shared, and never sold. It is for your use only — to help you track your progress over time and spot opportunities for improvement.
All individual responses are anonymized immediately upon submission. De-identified data is aggregated at the ecosystem level before any population-level analysis. Individual identifiers are stripped and never linked to aggregate reports. No one — not sponsors, not Econa staff — sees individual results.
Ecosystem reports are designed to help your ecosystem learn how to help entrepreneurs like you succeed. From capital to community, there are many ways for ecosystems to support entrepreneurs and your participation helps them learn how they can make your life better. Reports present population-level statistics only: prevalence rates, distribution of wellbeing indicators across the cohort, trend comparisons to national benchmarks. There is no way to identify any individual from the reports — by design.
Individual mental health data will never be shared with sponsors, investors, accelerators, or any third party. Participation in FounderScreen will never be disclosed unless you choose to disclose your engagement to your loved ones, a coach, or a clinician.
FounderScreen is built around strict data privacy practices: individual responses are never shared, and ecosystem reporting uses only de-identified, aggregated data.
Econa's initiative to bring free, validated wellbeing screening to entrepreneurs at population scale through ecosystem sponsorship. Universal free access to the Econa FounderScreen Initiative is a fiscally sponsored project of MarinArts, a California non-profit corporation exempt from federal tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service #47-2571336.
Seed Round Sponsors contribute $10,000 and above — sponsoring 56 or more entrepreneurs — and receive public recognition as a Launch Team Member plus other sponsor benefits.
No. Data is not for sale; it is only shared with qualified university-affiliated academic researchers who aim to accelerate entrepreneur resilience, wellbeing and mental health.
Join the FounderScreen Launch Team as a sponsor, apply for Cohort 1 of the Portfolio Resilience Accelerator for VC Firms — Econa's flagship program, from $10,000 - $30,000 per firm depending on portfolio size — or apply to become an academic affiliate as a university-based researcher.
Interactive, evidence-based labs matched to your EWC results. Phase one: Triage to Acute Care, Burnout, Sleep, Emotion Regulation and Trauma (coming Fall 2026). Phase two: Resilience, Wellbeing, Relationships, Entrepreneuring and Thriving.
Through the Academic Affiliate program: faculty affiliated with universities and research institutions can access anonymized aggregate data for secondary research and collaborate with a worldwide community of academic entrepreneurship scholars.