# Ania Wysocka

> Founder of the world's #1 panic attack app. Writing about what it took.

## Pages
- [Now: What I’m Working On](https://aniawysocka.com/now/): What Ania Wysocka is focused on right now: growing Rootd, speaking and advocacy work, and the small businesses she's supporting.
- [About](https://aniawysocka.com/about/): Solo founder, Cartier Fellow, and BC Business 30 Under 30: Ania Wysocka on building Rootd from a personal panic attack into a global app.
- [Contact](https://aniawysocka.com/contact/): Reach Ania Wysocka — founder of Rootd, the world's #1 panic attack app — on X or LinkedIn, where she's most active.

## Articles
- [Chatting with Filmosity at Vancouver Startup Week](https://aniawysocka.com/vancouver-startup-week/) — 2026-06-16: Ania Wysocka, founder of the anxiety and panic relief app Rootd, talks with Filmosity after her fireside chat at Vancouver Startup Week.
- [DOWNLOAD INTERVIEW: How I Protect My Headspace as A Founder](https://aniawysocka.com/download-interview/) — 2026-05-05: Rootd founder Ania Wysocka shares two simple habits for protecting your mental headspace while building a business without burning out.
- [How I Built Rootd From a Panic Attack](https://aniawysocka.com/how-i-built-rootd-from-a-panic-attack/) — 2026-04-20: Ania Wysocka built Rootd — the world's #1 panic attack app — after her own panic attack in university. The full origin story, MVP to 4M downloads.
- [I'm Heading to ViVE 2026 in Los Angeles!](https://aniawysocka.com/vive-2026/) — 2026-02-11: Ania Wysocka is heading to ViVE 2026 in Los Angeles — the digital-health event connecting the people building the future of healthcare.
- [Reflecting on 2025](https://aniawysocka.com/reflecting-on-2025-a-year-of-growth-and-impact/) — 2026-01-01: C100 Fellow, Frontier Collective Pitch Summit winner, VIATEC Emerging Leader: Ania Wysocka reflects on a year of recognition and Rootd's growth.
- [What Trail Running Teaches You About Business](https://aniawysocka.com/trail-running/) — 2025-09-19: What five hours uphill teaches you about starting a company. Ania Wysocka on the real lessons from a 29km trail run and 1,572m of climbing.
- [Rootd: We're App of the Day!](https://aniawysocka.com/app-of-the-day/) — 2025-09-18: On September 18, 2025, Rootd was named App of the Day on the Apple App Store — a milestone for Ania Wysocka's bootstrapped mental health app.
- [How I Came Up With Rootd's Mascot Name](https://aniawysocka.com/ron/) — 2025-08-04: How Ania Wysocka named Rootd's anxious-but-steady blue mascot — a quiet Ron Swanson nod, and an unexpected meeting with a Parks and Rec actor.
- [My Bike Ride with Richard Branson](https://aniawysocka.com/my-bike-ride-with-richard-branson/) — 2025-07-01: What Ania Wysocka learned from a grueling bike ride with Richard Branson on Necker Island — quiet leadership, and giving credit where it's earned.
- [My Favourite Richard Branson Quotes](https://aniawysocka.com/richard-branson-quotes/) — 2025-06-26: After a week on Branson's private island — including a brutal bike climb — Ania Wysocka shares 10 Richard Branson quotes that stayed with her.
- [Sharing Rootd's Story at Vancity and Frontier Collective's Event](https://aniawysocka.com/rootd-frontier-collectives-event/) — 2025-06-02: Rootd won the $20,000 Vancity Innovation Pitch Competition at Web Summit Vancouver — Ania Wysocka on sharing the stage at Frontier Collective's event.
- [VIATEC Awards: Emerging Leader of the Year](https://aniawysocka.com/viatec-awards/) — 2025-05-08: Ania Wysocka on receiving the Emerging Leader of the Year award at the VIATEC Awards, and what it meant to speak a few words about her late mother.
- [My Week at TED 2025](https://aniawysocka.com/ted-2025/) — 2025-04-18: Ania Wysocka at TED 2025: front-row talks, a Sam Altman interview, and robots from Norway — highlights from a week she calls transformative.
- [Celebrate Small Wins](https://aniawysocka.com/celebrate-small-wins/) — 2024-03-30: Why pausing to celebrate small wins matters — Ania Wysocka on building a healthier relationship with progress instead of rushing goal to goal.
- [The Path of Bold Founders](https://aniawysocka.com/the-path-of-bold-founders/) — 2025-03-07: Ania Wysocka on the Path of Bold Founders panel: building Rootd on intuition, ignoring conventional startup advice, and what paid off.
- [My First TED Conference Experience](https://aniawysocka.com/ted-conference-experience/) — 2024-04-23: Ania Wysocka on attending TED for the first time — and why watching speakers share vulnerably reinforced her commitment to building Rootd.
- [Rootd: C100 Fellows Program 2024](https://aniawysocka.com/c100-fellows-program/) — 2024-09-20: Rootd was accepted into the 2024 C100 Fellows Program, connecting promising Canadian startups with the Bay Area tech ecosystem for mentorship.
- [When Rootd Became App of the Day](https://aniawysocka.com/rootd-app-of-the-day/) — 2024-10-24: Rootd was named App of the Day on the App Store for World Mental Health Day — Ania Wysocka shares the user message that made the moment real.
- [2024: A Year of Clarity and Impact](https://aniawysocka.com/2024-recap/) — 2025-01-09: Ania Wysocka's 2024 in full: 5.8 million panic attacks resolved via Rootd, speaking in 5 countries, 30 books read, and the setbacks she's candid about.
- [The First Session Podcast: Anxiety, Growth and Transformation](https://aniawysocka.com/the-first-session/) — 2024-01-23: Ania Wysocka on growing up across Poland, South Korea, and Canada, her mother's death, and building Rootd as a solo bootstrapped founder.
- [My DTC Podcast Interview](https://aniawysocka.com/dtc-interview/) — 2022-12-22: DTC Podcast interview with Rootd founder Ania Wysocka: ASO strategy, the 6x revenue unlock, and bootstrapping a mental health app past $1M.
- [Cartier Women's Initiative](https://aniawysocka.com/cartier-womens-initiative/) — 2023-04-10: Ania Wysocka named a 2023 Cartier Women's Initiative fellow for building Rootd, a bootstrapped mental health app now used in 150+ countries.

## Categories
- [Best Posts](https://aniawysocka.com/category/best-posts/): Start here -- how Ania Wysocka built Rootd and what drives her work.
- [Rootd](https://aniawysocka.com/category/rootd/): Everything about building Rootd, the anxiety relief app I created after my own panic attacks pushed me to do something about it. Product news, behind-the-scenes decisions, and the stories that come with growing something from nothing.

When Rootd became App of the Day, I was so excited I could barely type the post. That kind of recognition from Apple felt like the whole world was finally seeing what we'd been building.
- [Recognition](https://aniawysocka.com/category/recognition/): Awards, fellowships, and milestone moments for me and Rootd. I don't write about these to brag. I write about them because each one came with a story worth telling.

Last May 1st, I received the Emerging Leader of the Year award at the VIATEC Awards. Standing on that stage felt like a long way from where I started, and I wanted to document what that moment meant.
- [Media](https://aniawysocka.com/category/media/): My media appearances, press features, and interviews live here. Podcasts where I get into the real story behind Rootd, a Google film crew following me around, and the headshots people use when they book me for speaking gigs.

On The First Session Podcast, I talked about growing up across Poland, South Korea, and Canada, and how that shaped my approach to mental health. It's a conversation I'm proud of because it gets into territory most founder interviews skip over.
- [General](https://aniawysocka.com/category/general/): The posts that don't belong anywhere else end up here, and they're some of my favorites. Reflections on the year behind me, unexpected parallels between trail running and business, and stories from my time with Richard Branson on Necker Island.

In "Reflecting on 2025," I took stock of the year as we settled into a new one. It's something I try to do honestly, looking at what worked, what didn't, and what I want to carry forward.