Inspirational Woman: Anne Welsh | CEO & Founder, Painless Universal

A former investment banker, Anne is now an author, entrepreneur, and the CEO and founder of Painless Universal – a digital brand that covers every aspect of pain management, from online communities to corporate workshops to tech solutions to apps — all of which have wellness firmly at their core.

Anne’s journey was initially inspired by her experiences of living with sickle cell anaemia — and her company has been featured by the likes of BBC World, Jeremy Vine, and the Daily Mirror. Her 2019 book, Pain-Less: Living with Pain, Finding Joy, was endorsed by the likes of the Director-General of the WHO, the Archbishop of York, and the UK’s Chief Medical Officer.

For Anne’s corporate clients her platform offers a chance to improve wellbeing and productivity, by promoting happiness over stress, creating a more open, sustainable, and far healthier work environment than we have been led to believe is possible in the past. For the five million people who visit Anne’s online platform every month, it’s a chance to connect both with themselves and others through videos, podcasts, music, and guided meditations.

Tell us a bit about yourself, background and your current role

I’m an entrepreneur, author and the CEO and founder of Painless Universal. Painless Universal is a tech-led brand that covers every aspect of pain management, from digital communities to corporate workshops to tech solutions; allowing people to become pain free and perform better in everyday life.

My background is Investment Management.

Did you ever sit down and plan your career?

From a young age, I was very keen to go into Finance as my dad was an Accountant. Hence this is why I studied Accounting and Finance as a first degree then investment Management as post-graduate degree. After this, I went on to work for the investment bank, Lehman Brothers. However, as a person living with Sickle Cell Anaemia, health and wellbeing is a passion of mine. This led me to found Painless Universal.

Have you faced any challenges along the way?

I have faced a lot of challenges along the way including ill health and rejections. But I choose to embrace those challenges and learn from the experience. To grow you must fail as failure allows us to evaluate our choices and make improvements. Also, we must find our own joy, this is what will keep us going in difficult times. For me I have so much joy from being surrounded by my family that loves and supports me.

What has been your biggest achievement to date?

Founding Painless Universal and writing my memoir Painless: Living with Pain, Finding Joy are among my biggest achievements.

 What one thing do you believe has been a major factor in you achieving success?

Changing my mind set to believe that I can accomplish anything and detaching myself from negative thoughts.

How do you feel about mentoring? Have you mentored anyone or are you someone’s mentee?

Mentoring is very important to me as it could potentially help someone achieve their personal goals. I have been fortunate to be mentored, and that encouraged me to be where I am today. Often, listening and empathy is all we need from a mentor who can then help us choose the best path forward.

If you could change one thing to accelerate the pace of change for Gender Equality, what would it be?

To accelerate the pace of change of Gender Equality, people must accept that individuals are diverse and welcome inclusion – this will lead to empowerment of women. Practically there is a need to better understand current gaps, acknowledge bias and set targets.

If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self what would it be?

Respect yourself! When you love yourself, your choices reflects this. At all times be confident.

What is your next challenge and what are you hoping to achieve in the future?

I am working to grow Painless Universal to help individuals, companies and governments approach pain management in a way that prevents the pain from happening in the first instance.