In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus, we sit down with Tim Lewandowski, CEO of MindLab, a tech-for-good company launched from the Mental Health Association of San Francisco.

Tim shares how MindLab was created to bridge nonprofit mission with scalable technology, bringing evidence-based mental health tools to people worldwide without geographic barriers.

We explore Pocket Kado, MindLab’s first product developed with Stanford Medicine, a gamified cognitive behavioral therapy app designed to improve sleep and mental wellbeing. With a staggering 43,000-to-1 patient-to-provider ratio for CBT-I in the U.S., Tim explains why insomnia is one of the most underserved areas in mental health care, and how technology can help close that gap.

Topics we cover:

• How MindLab emerged from the Mental Health Association of San Francisco

• Why sleep plays a foundational role in mental health

• The shortage of CBT-I providers and what it means for patients

• How Pocket Kado uses gamification and mindfulness to build healthy sleep habits

• Designing technology that encourages people to put their phone down

• Balancing nonprofit ethics with for-profit scalability

• Using tech innovation to sustain mental health services amid funding cuts

Learn more:

• MindLab: https://mindlabmh.com

• Pocket Kado: Available on iOS and Android (learn more)