About Us

Scott Sandland explains how he and his friend Mark Braden came up with the idea for Bipolar Bear:

“Mark and I were talking about iPhone apps and how much money someone can make with a really stupid idea. We saw a fart application and another sophomoric app making tons of money. I jokingly said to Mark, ‘Applications that stupid should be required to give a portion of their profits to charity.’  Mark actually liked the idea of creating an iPhone app that raised money for a good cause, so we started throwing ideas back and forth.

During the development of the idea, Mark really got sick of me talking about Tom’s Shoes.  For every pair of shoes you buy from Tom’s Shoes, they donate a pair of shoes to a needy child. The thing I like so much about the Tom’s Shoes model is that it isn’t just donating to a worthy cause, it’s something you can take with you and show people.  When you wear the shoes, you advertise for the charity.  I wanted to make the iPhone app equivalent of that.

We went through a lot of ideas but eventually we settled on Bipolar Bear. As a certified medical hypnotherapist, I work with a lot of clients who are facing mental health challenges. And Mark had a loved one who suffered the effects of bipolar disorder.

It’s tricky to talk about a sensitive issue like bipolar disorder. But we believe laughter can be the best medicine and a great fundraiser to help worthy organizations search for cures and develop better treatment models.

Our goal is simple.  We want to make giving to charity a little more fun. We want it to be easy, and we wanted to create something that can start a conversation.  If the Bipolar Bear app can go viral, we can raise unbelievable amounts of money to help people with mental illnesses.”

Scott Sandland, C.Ht.
Newport Beach,California