Ryan Greene at Rainier Wearables

This case provides a platform for discussing mental health and depression in entrepreneurship. Why do entrepreneurs have more mental health issues than other professions? What can an entrepreneur do if they face a situation where their mental well-being is being negatively affected by work? What should a colleague or manager (of someone going through these issues) do?
The case examines the journey of Ryan Greene, a 28-year old high-performing employee at a startup, and his struggles with anxiety and depression. In 2013, after graduating from business school at Harvard, Greene starts working remotely for a Seattle-based startup, Rainier Wearables, as VP of Business Development. The next one year is trying for Greene on many fronts. Following a few failed business meetings due to product demo problems, Greene starts to question his own ability to deliver. Coupled with aggressive and (almost) impossible targets set by an inexperienced CEO, Greene equates failure of the business to a personal failure. A split with his fiancé aggravates his anxiety, and he sets on a downward spiral of self-doubt, low confidence and negative thinking.
On his last day at the company, Greene musters up the courage to make a public announcement of his issues, and receives an immense amount of support. Towards the end of the case, Greene has to decide between four job opportunities: a role at an early startup, a later stage growth company, a large corporation, and the consulting firm he had worked at before business school. Greene has to carefully think about what he should look for in a job—and ensure that he stays on a healthy path going forward.