Meet the Former Buddhist Monk Who Launched a Successful Meditation App
Headspace has already attracted 31 million users in 190 countries.
-
CategoryExperiences, Makers + Entrepreneurs, Tech, Unwind
After a series of tragedies in his early 20s, British-born Andy Puddicombe made a life-changing decision. Once a personal trainer and competitive gymnast in London, Puddicombe left home for a Buddhist monastery in the Himalayas and initially planned to remain a monk “for life.”
According to CNN, Puddicombe did eventually depart the monastery in 2004 and returned to England with teachings he hopes to shares with a wider audience. He met advertising executive Rich Pierson through mutual friends, and in 2010, they founded Headspace as a meditation events company in London.
“The popularization of mindfulness—a therapeutic technique that helps people acknowledge their feelings while focusing on the present—coincided with a time when many felt under ‘increasing pressure,’ according to Puddicombe.”
The business has raised more than $75 million from investors, and they now have a strong foothold here in California, with offices in San Francisco.
Read more here.
Shiitake Happens: Mushroom Farming in Southern California
Hippies at heart and endlessly creative, the Parker family finds passion in mushroom farming.
Friday Finds: Oktoberfest in California
Let the beer steins overflow with fun.
Q&A With Facebook’s Matt Jacobson
The tech giant’s head of market development (and employee number eight) talks tech and style at his Desert Hot Springs home.
