Some parents had voiced concerns about Hays' "background," he told Business Insider. In 2020, he started What If Ventures, a venture firm focused on investing in mental health startups. Hays's new public persona as a staunch mental health advocate also puts a certain pressure on him to perform his recovery — "and I hate that," he said. He wants to show people struggling with their own mental health that working to get well is good enough. Advertisement"I don't just want to destigmatize addiction and mental health issues — I want to destigmatize the journey of getting better," he said.

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Persons: —, Stephen Hays, Hays, couldn't, didn't, They'd, it's, Christine, he'd, Amit Etkin, Etkin, he'll, that's, Stephen, Christopher Kim, Kim, Hays doesn't, It's Organizations: Service, Little League baseball, Business, Neuroscience, Ventures, West, Space Ventures, Atlantic City, Magazine, Deep Space Ventures, Alto Neuroscience, BI, Argosy Strategic Partners, Argosy Locations: Dallas, Texas, Atlantic, Las Vegas, Colorado, Wickenburg , Arizona