Asim Amin

Plumm

I wanted to create something that truly helps people and businesses thrive. 
That's why I built Plumm.

I founded Plumm with a mission to address the growing issue of poor mental health in the workplace, which costs UK employers around £56 billion a year. What started as a mental health platform has now evolved into a comprehensive HR solution — while keeping mental health at its core.

Plumm is an all-in-one HR platform that simplifies managing employee records, performance, leave, Payroll, ATS, LMS, and automates key HR tasks — all powered by AI.

What sets us apart is our seamless integration of mental health support. We provide access to 1:1 therapy, coaching sessions, and self-help resources through a global network of 170+ providers, available in 35+ languages.

I believe that when businesses get HR right and support their team’s mental wellbeing, everyone wins.

Founder & CEO

Immigrants Building Companies

Host

London & Partners

International Trade Program

NatWest Business

NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator

Business Growth Program

VentureOut

NY HealthTech Hyper Accelerator

Founder & CEO at Plumm | Empowering Minds & Building Thriving Workplaces | Passionate Mental Health Advocate

I’m the Founder & CEO of Plumm, the all-in-one HR platform with mental health at its core.

HR today is fragmented, companies juggle payroll, performance, compliance, and wellbeing across too many tools. Plumm brings it all into one platform, helping organisations cut costs, save time, and look after their people. Because no HR strategy is complete without mental health.

Plumm started as a mental health solution and has grown into a full-service HR platform, used by companies worldwide. Our mission is clear: make workplaces more productive, inclusive, and human.

I’m also the host of the Immigrants Building Companies Podcast, where I speak with immigrant entrepreneurs who’ve built companies against the odds, sharing lessons on resilience, growth, and leadership.

If you’d like to:
🚀 Book a demo with Plumm: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0mJb040 
🎙️ Discuss podcasts, speaking, or media features: taslynn@heyplumm.com

Poor mental health costs UK employers up to £56 billion a year.

And yet, when employers invest even just £1 in preventative employee wellbeing, they see an average return of £5.30.

We’ve seen case after case, that happier employees make for a healthier business.

It’s why we developed Plumm: a seamless all-in-one, evidence-backed mental wellbeing solution for employers and their teams.

We support your team through our global and diverse pool over 200 accredited therapists and coaches, who can cater to their individual needs, preferences, and circumstances, regardless of where they are in their wellbeing journey.

Whether they can benefit from group learning, need professional help and personalised 1:1 therapy or coaching, or self-help resources, we've got it covered.

Ready to level up your team's wellbeing? 👉 https://www.plummhealth.com/request-demo

Yesterday was World Heart Day.
I never thought I’d be writing this post, but here I am.
 
On the 17th of Feb this year, my life changed forever.
I woke up with pain in my left arm and chest, shortness of breath. Paramedics came.
Long story short, I was diagnosed with blocked arteries, had an angina attack, and got two stents placed.
 
For most of my life, I’ve eaten clean, trained hard, preached health to others. I thought that was enough.

But here I am on life long meds.
 
I sometimes get asked: “What’s the point of all that discipline if that still happens?”

That’s the wrong question. 
The real one is: If it happened to me, it can happen to you too.
 
Some facts to wake us up:
→ In the UK, 1 in 8 men die from coronary heart disease.
→ Coronary heart disease causes about 66,000 deaths in the UK each year around 180 every day.
→ Deaths in working-age adults from cardiovascular disease have jumped 18% over 4 years.
→ Men under 75 are killed by heart disease more than twice as often as women.
→ And 1 in 5 heart attack patients today are under 40. It’s not just “older people’s disease.“
 
Health isn’t just about avoiding bad habits.
It’s about vigilance.
Early detection.
Respect for the body.
Respect for the signs.
 
So here’s what I want you to take away:
→ Don’t dismiss weird aches, pains, odd breathlessness.
→ Get your heart checked (cholesterol, blood pressure, arteries).
→ Keep training, eating well, but know that’s not a guarantee, just your buffer.
→ Understand genetics, stress, sleep, inflammation all play roles.
→ If you ignore signs until they’re overwhelming, the outcome can be far worse.
 
Grateful to the NHS, the doctors, nurses, paramedics, my family and my team, thank you for being there at my lowest 💙

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Talks about #startups, #leadership, #mentalhealth, #entrepreneurship, and #workplacewellbeing

Founder & CEO at Plumm | Speaker | Advisor | Podcast Host

AI is making us dumb.
And MIT just proved it.
 
People using ChatGPT showed 40% less brain activity and struggled to recall what they’d just written.

Researchers warned of “cognitive debt.” 
Lazy brains. 
Digital atrophy.
 
Sounds terrifying, right?
But this movie has played before.
 
When calculators arrived, people panicked:
“Kids won’t know maths anymore.”
“Basic skills will vanish.”
 
What happened instead?
We reached calculus younger.
We solved bigger problems.
We put humans on the moon.
 
Einstein: “Never memorise something you can look up.”
 
AI isn’t here to kill our thinking.
It’s here to shift what we think about.
Less effort on mechanics.
More effort on meaning, creativity, building.

For me, AI means less mental grind at mindless work and more energy left for the gym, family dinners, late night walks.
 
If my EEG looks weaker while my life feels stronger… I’ll take that trade every single day.
 
Is AI making us dumber or freeing us to be more human?

I have a HUGE announcement and it involves YOU.
(Yes, YOU!)

Building a company is hard. 
Building it in a country that isn't your home? 
That's a different level entirely.

The visa anxiety. 
The cultural code-switching. 
The "prove yourself twice as hard" mentality. 
The wondering if you truly belong.

This is something I can relate to because I'm an immigrant founder who has lived this journey, and I know I'm not alone.

This is a big reason why I started Immigrants Building Companies, a space for brilliant immigrant founders sharing their real story.

We're getting ready to film Season 2, so I'm opening the floor to YOU.

I know how easy it is for founders to overlook their own stories. 
You think, "Who wants to hear about my journey?"

 But here's what you don't realise, your story could be the one that changes everything for the next founder wondering if they can do it too.

The struggles you faced. 
The barriers you broke. 
The moments you almost gave up. 
That's not just your story, it's permission for someone else to keep going.

So I'm asking YOU now.
You know someone. Maybe it's you. 
Maybe it's your co-founder. 
Maybe it's the founder you admire who built something incredible after relocating to the UK.

I want to hear about:
→ The journey that brought you here
→ The business you built against the odds
→ Your real story, failures, breakthroughs, and everything in between

This is your sign to:
→ Like for reach
→ Comment below if this is you
→ Tag a founder whose story needs telling

The next founder needs to hear your story. 
Let's tell it together.

Remote work has created a new obsession: productivity tracking software that monitors keystrokes, tracks mouse movements, and measures "active time."
 
But most companies are measuring the wrong things.
 
Someone just solved their company's biggest client problem in 20 minutes of thinking.
Then they went for a walk to clear their head and plan what comes next.
 
The productivity software flagged them as "unproductive."
Meanwhile, a colleague spent eight hours clicking through spreadsheets, moving their mouse, and looking busy.

The software thinks they're amazing.
 
Companies are measuring activity, not results.
Motion, not progress.
Hours logged, not problems solved.
 
Productivity isn't about being busy.
It's about moving things forward.
 
The best remote workers know when to step away from the screen to think clearly.
Their best ideas come during walks, conversations, or while doing something completely different.
 
But productivity software sees this as "inactive time."
 
If a company needs to track every keystroke to know if someone's working, they've either hired the wrong people or created the wrong culture.
 
Trust and results beat surveillance every time.
 
What's your experience with remote work, do these tracking tools actually help?

The hardest person I've ever had to be honest with has been... 


ME

I built a mental health company while ignoring my own.

Every time things got tough, I told myself:
"It's part of the process."

Every time things got tougher, I told myself:
"I'm more resilient than others"

Every time things got even tougher, I told myself:
"I'm leading people, if I don't push through, who will? This. is what good leaders do"

But you know what good leaders actually do 
They are honest with themselves! 

I was burnt out, I knew it, but I was in denial. 
And as a founder of a mental health first company, I needed to first practice what I preach. 

That's when I booked a therapy session
Best decision I have made as a founder.
Not a quick fix, a steady practice.

Running a company is HARD.
And as founders, we constantly feed ourselves with these lies of how resilient we should be and how growth should come at any cost 

This mindset is important but not at the cost of your health. 
If your mental health is not in check, then you are no good to yourself, your business, your team or anyone around you. ,

If you have been putting this off, book one session and treat it like training for your mind.
You don't have to wait until something breaks to maintain the very tool you use to lead.

When did you last ask for help, and what changed after?

No one really tells you how strange it feels to start over in a new country.


I spoke to Jane Fisher, an immigrant founder who moved to London with nothing but an idea and the drive to rebuild.

No network, no family, no familiar faces.

Most people think the hardest part is sorting out the paperwork or finding a decent flat.

But actually, it’s finding where you fit in.

Belonging is built from scratch.
It happens through small things.

Someone remembering your name.
Getting a real invite to coffee, not just out of politeness.

Jane told me how, at first, she felt like no one noticed her.
But over time, each chat, each new connection, made London a bit more familiar.

It stopped feeling like just another city and started to feel like somewhere she might stay.

That’s why spaces for immigrant founders matter.
Places where you’re seen, heard, and understood.

Sometimes, one real welcome is all it takes to make someone feel at home.

Ever felt like an outsider?

How did you find your place?

Listen to the full episode at: Immigrants Building Companies

World Mental Health Day is more than a date on the calendar.
For me, it's personal.

For years, I watched my mum rebuild her life as a therapist, helping others find their footing after tough times.
But I didn't really get it.

Not until my own world turned upside down, my mental health, my confidence, my sense of self, all shaken at once.

You never think you'll need help, until the moment you do.

Those invisible battles we all carry.
To work, to meetings, even to family dinners.
So much goes unsaid behind a smile and a quick "I'm fine."

Things can get better.

Reaching out isn't a failure, it's the first step to finding your way back.

And when someone finds support, the impact spreads to families, colleagues, and whole communities.

This journey inspired me to start Plumm.

We wanted to break down the barriers that keep people from reaching out:
→ The costs
→ The waitlists
→ The fear

Now, Plumm gives countless people access to mental wellbeing tools and expert support, wherever they are and whatever they're facing.

So if you're struggling, you're not alone. 

Things can change for the better and usually faster than you think.

Travel weeks drain me more than they used to.
But doing these things help..

The fatigue is real. The schedule is packed and your body feels it.

My Whoop is all over the place this week - some nights decent, most nights rough.

What's keeping me functional:
→ Plant based protein powder comes everywhere
→ Hotel gym at 6:30am
→ Tracking my sleep quality and consistency (even if its crap)
 
You cant really avoid tiredness. 
But you can try and not make it worse

Same shake. Same 45 minutes movement. Same basics every day.

Travel chaos is part of the job. 
But feeling completely wrecked doesn't have to be.

Small things compound, especially when everything else feels unpredictable.

Anyone else find certain habits anchor them during busy stretches?

I cannot count the number of times I've heard people saying they're leaving the UK.
But what they're not seeing will surprise you.

This week, the UK and America signed the Technology Prosperity Deal. £31 billion worth of commitments.
→ Microsoft alone is putting in £22 billion
→ Nvidia is deploying 120,000 GPUs
→ OpenAI is launching "Stargate UK" right on our doorstep

I'm not saying the challenges aren't real. 
But this reminds me of something we've done before.
250+ years ago, whilst the rest of the world was still farming,

Britain was busy creating the Industrial Revolution.
→ Steam engines
→ Mechanised textiles
→ Factory systems

We didn't wait for someone else to take charge. We just got on with it.
And now we're doing it again.
The world is wrestling with AI transformation, and instead of sitting back, the UK is taking action.

→ We're pulling in the biggest tech investments on the planet
→ We're building infrastructure that other countries can only dream of
→ We're creating thousands of high-paying jobs

People want to talk about who's leaving. I want to talk about what we're building.
If you really want to understand what the UK is made of, ignore the noise. 
Look at what's actually happening. Look at where the world's smartest companies are putting their money.

Are we watching Britain's next great technological revolution?

Something's changing in 9 months that most HR teams haven't prepared for.

On the 7th of June, 2026, the EU Pay Transparency Directive kicks in.

If you have employees in the EU (yes even as a UK company), you'll need to disclose salary ranges in job ads, provide pay data when employees request it, and publish gender pay gap statistics.

If your gender pay gap exceeds 5%, you'll need to take action to fix it.

The salary ranges on job posts? 
That's already happening in some places, so not a massive shock.

But the employee pay data requests part is different. 
Your team can ask to see what their colleagues earn for similar work. 

And you have to provide it.

For companies that have grown quickly, this could get interesting. 
Different hiring markets, different salary bands, different times when budgets were tight or flush. 

All of that becomes visible.

Some questions worth asking yourself: 
→ Can you explain your current pay decisions? 
→ Are there gaps you'd struggle to justify? 
→ What would happen if your entire salary structure became transparent tomorrow?

The directive isn't trying to catch anyone out. 
It's pushing for transparency across European workforces. 

But transparency works best when you've prepared for it rather than having it forced upon you.

Worth getting ahead of this one.

The AI panic in HR is missing the point entirely.


People are worried about machines taking over HR. 

But AI isn't replacing good HR, it's highlighting how much admin has been drowning the human side.

Think about what AI is actually automating: repetitive admin, basic screening, template responses, data entry.

These aren't the parts of HR that matter most. 
They're the parts that have been eating up time that should be spent on people.

Real HR work is:
Understanding why someone's struggling, having difficult conversations. 
Building trust, creating belonging, none of that's getting automated anytime soon.

But many HR teams have been forced to spend most of their time on bureaucracy and compliance rather than the human elements they actually want to focus on.

AI is giving us a chance to reclaim what HR should be about.

The teams embracing it aren't losing their humanity, they're finding it again. 
Using AI to handle the admin so they can focus on what actually matters, helping people thrive.

AI isn't the threat to HR. It's the opportunity to get back to being human-centred.

Maybe instead of fearing the technology, we should see it as a chance to do more of the work that drew us to HR in the first place.

What's your take, could AI help HR teams focus on the human side again?

You'll have days where you question everything.


Not just your business model or strategy. Everything. 
Your decisions, your sanity, whether you're cut out for this.

You'll celebrate wins that nobody else understands. 
Closing a £500 deal will feel bigger than some people's £50k months because you know what it took to get there.

You'll become an expert at pretending you have it all figured out whilst secretly googling "how to do payroll" at 2am.

Your friends will stop asking how the business is going because they're tired of hearing "it's complicated."

You'll discover that "work-life balance" is a myth.
It's more like work-life chaos that somehow works.

You'll have conversations with yourself. A lot. 
Your internal monologue becomes your most trusted advisor.
You'll realise that most "overnight successes" took about 5 years and nearly killed someone's mental health along the way.

You'll become comfortable being uncomfortable. 
Uncertainty becomes your new normal.

You'll learn that the biggest skill isn't knowing what to do, it's knowing what not to do.

You'll have moments where you remember why you started, and they'll carry you through the weeks when you forget.

Being a founder isn't glamorous. 
It's necessary. 

Someone has to build the things that don't exist yet.

Companies talk about the importance of mental
But most just do that "talk"
They really don't actually give a sh*t
 
Because if they did, there would be more budget allocated towards workplace mental health support
But there isn't
 
What if mental wellbeing was treated like any other business risk.
Monitored, resourced, and reviewed.
 
We budget for cyber risk and financial risk, we run scenarios, buy insurance, train teams.

Human risk deserves the same seriousness, because stress, burnout and attrition are not random, they follow patterns we can measure and change.
 
A practical model:
→ Workload that matches capacity,
→ Role clarity that leaves room for judgement,
→ Managers trained for hard conversations with support behind them,
→ Access to qualified help, confidential and quick,
→ Fair flexibility, measured by outcomes, not chair time,
→ Clear progression, so staying makes sense.
 
Add governance so it lasts:
→ Set quarterly reviews with HR and leaders, look at absence, turnover, workload signals, and internal moves.
→ Publish what you will change, and by when.
→ Give managers a simple playbook for tricky moments, and a person they can call.
→ Resource it like it matters, not only during a crisis.
 
None of this sits with HR alone.
It needs leadership ownership, budgets, and time.
When that happens, you see fewer preventable exits, steadier teams, better decisions under pressure.
 
Treat people risk with the same respect you give every other risk.
Your culture, and your numbers, will reflect it.
 
Start somewhere small this week, and build from there.

Your competitors have the same tools as you.
The same market access. The same budget.
So why do some hit £10M whilst others get stuck at £500K?

This is a pattern I keep seeing:
Companies spend months perfecting their product roadmap. 
Weeks planning their next marketing campaign. 
Days obsessing over website copy.

Their team development plan? 
A vague conversation during annual reviews.

You're investing in everything except the people who actually build and sell your product.

The best investment you can make isn't in your next feature.
It's in your team.

When you actually invest in people:
→ Your best people stay longer and bring other talented people with them
→ Teams perform better when they feel valued, not just managed
→ People innovate when they're not afraid to fail
→ Future leaders emerge from within instead of needing to be hired
→ Your company becomes known as a place where people want to work

Two founders launch the same product, but the one who invests in development, creates safety to take risks, and builds actual culture will win every time.

Once you start genuinely investing in your people:
→ Teams go beyond what's required because they actually care
→ Knowledge stays with you instead of leaving when people do
→ Top performers come to you instead of you chasing them
→ Everything you build into one person multiplies across your whole team

Your product will get copied. 
Your people won't.

What's one thing you're doing to invest in your team this quarter?

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This £18K mistake is happening in your company right now.

Most HR teams track the obvious expenses. 
Salaries, benefits, recruitment fees.

But the budget drain happens in places that don't show up on your P&L.

The CIPD found that only 17% of respondents calculated the cost of labour turnover and just 12% collected data to evaluate and improve retention initiatives.

3 costs eating your budget silently:

→ Manager time on problem employees. 
When you inherit underperformers, your managers spend 15+ hours monthly on performance management, difficult conversations, and damage control. 

That's £3,000+ in opportunity cost per problem hire.

→ Productivity gaps during transitions. 
When good people leave unexpectedly, someone has to cover their work. 
Overtime costs, temp agencies, delayed projects.

→ Cultural repair after toxic departures. 
After finally managing someone out, your team needs months to rebuild trust and processes. 

The recovery usually costs more than the original bad hire.
For HR teams managing 50-200 employees, these hidden costs are probably bigger than your recruitment budget.

The challenge isn't just hiring better people. 

It's building systems that help good people stay and perform.
Track these costs next quarter. 

Once you see the real numbers, your business case for better people processes writes itself.

Ever given an answer that made the whole room go quiet?
That happened yesterday at Pollinate’s AI Disrupt Month.

The question: “How did you get your team to embrace change?”
I could feel the room waiting for the big reveal..
a complex framework,
a consultant-led programme,
or some glossy transformation playbook.

But my answer was far simpler:
We just talked to people.

Not about AI features.
Not about roadmaps.
About what change really meant for them in their roles.

Because what we’ve learned:
- Technology isn’t the blocker, behaviour is.
- Most leaders move straight to strategy, while their people quietly worry about their jobs.
- Change fails not because teams don’t understand the tools, but because they don’t feel seen in the process.

At Plumm, we chose to start there.
We acknowledged the fear, the uncertainty, and the questions.
We made it clear that growth comes through discomfort, trial, and learning, not from waiting until things feel “safe.”

That’s why events like these matter.
They cut through the noise and create space for the honest conversations leaders need to have right now.

AI and disruption aren’t waiting for our permission.
The only choice leaders have is whether to bring their people with them, or get left behind.

So let me ask you:
In your organisation, what’s harder, understanding the technology, or helping people adapt to it?

A big thank you to Jennifer Longden FCIPD and the Pollinate team for creating space for honest, practical conversations like this. 
Already looking forward to the next one.

Pollinate

Senior HR leader with an empathetic and engaging leadership style that unlocks potential, enables growth, and helps businesses transform and achieve the results they deserve through their people

You can have the best product under the sun but if no one knows about it, it doesn't matter. 

If I had a choice, I would just be building product. 

But on my trip, there were two main objectives. 

Objective 1: 
Build a product that will disrupt the HR space (team, this has to disrupt the HR space 😅).

Objective 2: 
Film our launch campaign. 

Attention is the biggest commodity. 

Never would I have thought we'd have a full production but here we are, each one of us pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones, imposter level 100.

Failing. Learning. Growing. 

We're so close to launching our biggest (.....) YET.


Watch this space!

I had to tell my team that everything we'd built was about to change.


I got the team together and I told them, listen, this is where we're at and we have to pivot. 
And the pivot is not just add another service, we have to move into an entirely different space.

That conversation was one of the hardest I've ever had as a founder.

When we move too fast and when things move so fast, inevitably, you know, things break. 

And when I say things break, it's not the processes or the structure or the product, it's the people, because it's the people behind your product.

The pivot wasn't just emotional for me, it was emotional for the entire team. 
You have to manage everyone's feelings, not just your own.

Moving from mental health into HR was deeply personal. 
But sometimes protecting your people means making changes that (might) hurt.

Being transparent with your team about where the business stands isn't just good leadership, it's survival when everything's uncertain.

Sometimes the pivot you don't want to make becomes the best decision you never planned.

Have you ever had to make a change that felt wrong but turned out right?

Every morning, I wake up feeling like I’m already behind...
No matter how hard I work or how many hours I put in, I still can’t catch up. 
And the core reason behind the way I feel is these two letters.

AI

In 2025, over 53% of all global VC funding has gone to AI startups.
Investors won't even look at your pitch deck unless you mention artificial intelligence somewhere. 

So every startup is suddenly "AI-powered."

But when you look closer, most of these “AI revolutions” are just old software with a chatbot stuck to the side.

→ Customer service platform + chatbot = “AI-powered customer experience.”
→ Project management tool + assistant = “Intelligent workflow automation.”
→ Basic dashboard + AI suggestions = “Predictive insights.”

There's nothing wrong with chatbots. 
They can be useful.

But calling every piece of software with a text interface "AI-powered" is like calling every website with a search box "Google-powered."

Real AI integration changes how the product fundamentally works.

It doesn't just answer questions - it makes decisions, predicts outcomes, or automates complex processes that humans usually do.

And I’ll be honest as a founder, it sometimes feels like we’re losing the race.

We didn’t start “AI-first.”

But then I have to remind myself AI isn’t a company, it’s a technology.

If you’ve been solving real problems through tech, you’ll naturally evolve into AI.

The best founders I know are building products that would be valuable even without the AI buzzword.

The AI just makes them impossibly good at what they do.

What do you think, are we in an AI bubble, or just the beginning of something massive?

Nearly 1 in 4 UK employee plan to quit their jobs in 2025. 
While everybody is panicking about AI, this crisis is actually costing you money.

AI isn't your biggest threat. Employee turnover is.

While competitors worry about AI automation, smart HR professionals are using technology to solve the retention crisis that's actually draining budgets.

The opportunity right now:
→ AI handles administrative tasks so you can focus on people strategy. 
→ Predictive analytics help you spot flight risks before exit interviews. 
→ Automated pulse surveys give you real-time team health data. 
→ Digital tools streamline the employee experience you're responsible for delivering.

The companies winning aren't the ones avoiding AI. 
They're the ones using it to become more strategic, not more administrative.

Your leadership team doesn't need you to be a better administrator. 
They need you to be a better strategist.

AI can handle the paperwork. 

You handle the people decisions that actually drive business results and reduce employee turnover.

The future of HR isn't about competing with technology. 
It's partnering with it.

Taplio

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