Here at Tide, our members are front and centre of everything we do, and our Member Spotlight series is no different! In this series, we share a little bit more about some of our brilliant members.
Today, we introduce you to Mahrukh, founder of Mind Ninja – an award-winning, mental well-being service for organisations.
Hi Mahrukh, can you tell us more about Mind Ninja and what inspired you to start the business?
Mind Ninja is a well-being business with a simple but powerful mission: to bring science-backed tools from mindfulness, positive psychology, and neuroscience into the workplace, so that teams can truly flourish and perform at their best. Our work involves leadership and well-being programmes, interactive workshops using Lego and games, and mindfulness products – this includes our much-loved Mind Flossing toolkit, designed to support everyday practice.
My journey into this work came from a very personal place. While working as an NHS dentist, I experienced burnout and depression. During my recovery, I felt frustrated by how much the system focused only on crisis point care, rather than giving people tools to strengthen their mental fitness at an earlier stage. I could see what was missing – not just in terms of preventing illness, but in helping people feel more engaged, resilient, and fulfilled at work.
That’s when the idea for Mind Ninja was born. I wanted to create a system of support that was proactive, practical, and woven into daily life: much like brushing and flossing for our teeth, but for our minds! It’s about maintenance, not just emergency care, so people can sustain their well-being and thrive long term.
Can you share more about how your personal experiences have shaped your journey in creating Mind Ninja?
My own experiences gave me more than just textbook knowledge – they gave me a lived understanding of what it feels like to struggle with mental health. That personal journey created a really strong emotional connection to the wider issue of poor mental health, especially in healthcare.
I was seeing colleagues facing burnout, depression, and even suicides, and it was heartbreaking. What struck me was how little was being done at an organisational level – workplace cultures were often toxic, and the responsibility was left to individuals to just ‘cope.’
That’s what drove me to create Mind Ninja. I wanted to be part of the change, to help build healthier workplace cultures and give people practical tools to protect and strengthen their mental well-being, before things reach a crisis point.
Can you tell us what mental well-being means to you and the practices that have helped your own mental health?
For me, mental well-being is really about feeling good on different levels: physically, emotionally, and psychologically, and also feeling a sense of satisfaction with life. I think many of us understand the physical side, but the emotional and psychological aspects are just as important.
Emotional well-being is about being aware of and managing our emotions, building resilience, and finding ways to navigate life’s ups and downs. Psychological well-being is more about the quality of our thoughts: being able to think flexibly, and having a sense of purpose and meaning in what we do.
In my own life, the practices that support me most are mindfulness, self-compassion, and gratitude. I also find huge value in time spent in nature, leaning into my strengths, and making space for creativity. These small, everyday practices really help me keep grounded and happier.
What has been your biggest challenge since launching Mind Ninja?
Since launching Mind Ninja, the biggest challenge has definitely been figuring out the right path to achieve our vision of reaching 100,000 professionals with science-backed tools. It’s taken a lot of experimentation, feedback, and pivoting to get to where we are now.
I’ve come to see that there really isn’t one clear-cut route to success: it’s more of a squiggly path, and that’s okay. Being part of supportive business networks like the Fearless Crew and Female Fusion has made all the difference. Having that sense of community has helped me navigate the challenges with more confidence and optimism.
What has been a highlight of your business journey?
When I first started Mind Ninja, I could never have imagined one of the highlights would be designing and leading the very first Resilience and Culture programme for NHS Midlands. I still remember meeting that first cohort of newly qualified clinicians and trainers: bright, dedicated, but already feeling the weight of pressure in their roles.
Since then, over 360 healthcare professionals have taken part, and this September (2025) we’ll be launching our third cohort. The results we’ve seen, such as improvements in performance, mental well-being, and emotional regulation, have been incredible. But beyond the data, it’s the stories that stay with me: clinicians sharing how they feel more resilient, more connected, and more purposeful in their work.
For me, that’s the most rewarding part. Witnessing both personal transformation and a shift towards healthier, more supportive workplace cultures. It’s moments like these that remind me why I started Mind Ninja in the first place.
What’s your top tip that you would give to anyone who’s looking to start their own business, particularly in the wellness industry?
Find a community to support you on your entrepreneurial journey. The shared learning, collective knowledge, and emotional support are invaluable. Business life can often feel incredibly daunting, and lonely at times – anything to counteract that will help you build resilience, and show up consistently.
Lastly, what’s next for Mind Ninja?
When I think about what’s next for Mind Ninja, I always come back to the moments that remind me why I started this journey: the conversations with leaders who tell me they finally feel equipped to support their teams, or the emails from professionals who say the tools we shared helped them through a tough week. Those moments make it clear that the next chapter is about scale and depth.
We’re focusing on partnering with forward-thinking organisations and brands to reshape workplace culture from the top down. A big part of that is our upcoming Train the Trainer leadership programmes, which are designed to put senior leaders’ well-being at the heart of their leadership style.
Because the truth is, lasting change doesn’t come from one-off workshops. It happens when well-being is embedded into leadership and strategy. Treated not as a perk, but as an ongoing investment in performance, retention, and culture. That’s when workplaces can create the conditions for sustainable, positive change – where both people and businesses thrive.
