Skip to main content

Maria Szandrach

Co-founder and CEO of Mentalyc, an AI-powered clinical documentation (AI scribe) platform for psychotherapists.

Sep 25, 2026

3:18
Did you have siblings?
3:20
Um, yes, I have a sister.
3:22
I initially, I guess, tried to hide it, but it didn't last long.
3:26
So then I-- Like, it basically kind of like move, uh, moved out of my control, so I didn't know even what to do.
3:34
So I was discussing with my parents that I, like, don't know how to handle it.
3:39
And, uh, it started from actually, like, a very innocent, um, like, play with my, like, girlfriends that, like, some of them were dieting, and then I felt like, "Oh, maybe I could too." I actually didn't need to because I was not overweight, but it was more of this like, "Oh, everyone does it." [chuckles] So, um, that's how, how I...
3:57
Like, I lost couple of kilos, and then I basically got yo-yo, and then I somehow started, like, um, obsessing about food, constantly being hungry.

5 MINS LATER

9:17
Did you do that?
16:39
How did you and Georgie actually find each other at Entrepreneur First?
16:44
So when I was working on the second business, the breath, as you mentioned, which was inspired by COVID times.
16:53
So that was the first time when I sort of like started looking into mental health again, because it was already a couple of years since I didn't have any symptoms.
17:02
And because of COVID, everyone was looking for therapy.
17:06
So I started again, like exploring, is there something that I could do to help with it? And Deep Breath was this attempt of bringing more self help tools to the patients or clients, however you want to call them.
17:20
It's a big debate, Brian.
17:23
They're like fans of one and the other.

15 MINS LATER

32:37
Where do you see therapists overstating, overestimate what AI can do, and where do they underestimate it?
2:38
So you know, who you are, what you do, and how did you get into what you're doing now and in this space of, of helping therapists?
2:47
Sure.
2:47
So I am, um, originally born and raised in Poland, and that's where I went to therapy as a teenager, mm, like fifteen years ago.
2:56
I'm thirty-two now [chuckles].
2:58
Um, and that was a very confusing experience for me and my family.
3:04
I had an eating disorder.
3:06
Mm, we didn't know which therapist would be the, the fitting one for me.
5:39
Yeah.

We value your privacy

We use cookies to understand how you use our platform and to improve your experience. Click “Accept All” to consent, or “Decline non-essential” to opt out of non-essential cookies. Read our Privacy Policy.