Meha Agrawal

“Write it all down.” ✏️ Maybe you’ve heard that prompt from a teacher or therapist before, but didn’t know what exactly to put on paper. Journaling is known to have incredible mental health benefits like reducing anxiety, making sense of your emotions, and so much more, but it can still be hard to start your journal journey. Enter: Silk + Sonder, a monthly self-care planner and journal subscription service aimed to help you personally plan and reflect.

We chatted with founder and CEO Meha Agrawal (she/her) about how the company came to be, and why it wasn’t easy at first for her either. “As the daughter of South Asian immigrants being raised in a household where law, academia, engineering, and medicine were the only routes to success, I initially followed what was expected of me—landing a degree in Computer Science and Business Administration and eventually working as a software engineer and product manager for companies like Goldman Sachs, Stitch Fix, The Muse, and Fueled,” she says.

“After overcoming a career and personal rut in my mid-20s, I had built a facade that life was great, yet still woke up feeling empty and under fulfilled. I faced anxiety, burnout, and a lack of fulfillment in the tech industry, and channeled my own self-care journey to found Silk + Sonder with the mission of putting personal wellbeing and development in our own hands.” Using her personal and professional background, she blended her creative, analytical, and people skills to create a tool that not only combined reflection, intention, and action, but also provided a personalized program that was accessible, approachable, and community-led.

Now, let’s see what Silk + Sonder is all about.

So, how does your product work?
Silk + Sonder offers monthly wellness planners and a companion mobile app that houses personalized journaling prompts, audio-guided rituals, a private social network, and virtual classes to strengthen personal wellbeing and personal development. These offerings work together to proactively and holistically address emotional health hurdles such as depression, anxiety, and burnout, help cope with life events such as loss, life transitions, career and relationship instabilities, and strengthen general personal development, habit-building skills, and goal achievement.

How does the app help with one’s mental health?
In a digital age where social networks can increase feelings of isolation, 95% of our users reported that Silk + Sonder improved their mental health, provided a sense of connection and was a more productive use of time over other social networks such as Facebook, IG, and TikTok.

Sonder Club offers a safe space for individuals to foster deeper conversations with themselves and others by celebrating each other’s wins, exchanging tips and tricks on personal development, and uplifting one another to boost accountability.

Speaking of tips, do you have any for those who are new to journaling or hesitant to try it?
Our guided journaling techniques help make the practice more approachable, make it easy to start, and don’t take much time out of your day. Prioritizing time each day for yourself to journal is a step in the right direction! Don’t beat yourself up and be flexible with your expectations!

And finally, do you have any advice you wanna share?
If you’ve got the entrepreneurial itch or wake up feeling like your dreams are still on the wayside, listen to your intuition. It’s never too late to start exploring how to fill that void—all you need is the ability to dream and observe, a pen and piece of paper to write down your intentions, and the discipline to take action. And if you’re lucky enough to stumble upon an idea that you’d like to bring to life, just start. Forget the business plan, forget all the “hows” and “what ifs”—take that first step. Whether it’s a baby step or a long leap, every step counts.