{"id":294856,"date":"2026-06-03T20:13:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T20:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/294856\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T20:13:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T20:13:11","slug":"burnout-became-a-badge-of-honor-nowful-wants-to-change-that","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/294856\/","title":{"rendered":"Burnout became a badge of honor. Nowful wants to change that."},"content":{"rendered":"

Ang\u00e9lica Fuentes has spent decades operating in rooms where exhaustion was often mistaken for ambition.<\/p>\n

The Mexican business leader helped run massive corporations across 17 countries and built a career many people would describe as wildly successful from the outside. But somewhere along the way, she realized something uncomfortable: high performance without recovery eventually starts to hollow people out.<\/p>\n

That realization became the foundation for Miami-based wellness startup Nowful<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re living in a very fast-paced world where we forget to connect with who we are,\u201d Ang\u00e9lica Fuentes told Refresh Miami. \u201cWe are in this incredible disconnect, and we really have not learned how to live.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nowful, which launched in August 2025, recently landed a spot on Newsweek\u2019s ranking<\/a> of top mindfulness apps, placing third behind Calm and ahead of platforms like Headspace. But Fuentes does not speak about wellness the way many startup founders talk about optimization and peak performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing is that we focus on alleviation, not optimization,\u201d she said. \u201cI believe many people today are exhausted with a culture that is constantly telling all of us to do more, achieve more, push harder.\u201d<\/p>\n

That philosophy shapes the product itself. The app centers around short meditations, breathwork, journaling, mindful check-ins, and personalized prompts designed to fit into small moments throughout the day. Most sessions take less than ten minutes.<\/p>\n

Fuentes said she intentionally built Nowful for people who feel overwhelmed by wellness culture itself. \u201cWellness has started becoming another form of pressure,\u201d she said. \u201cAnother task on the to-do list.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2713<\/p>\n

Check your inbox for a confirmation email.<\/p>\n

The app is also part of a broader wellness system that includes adaptogen supplements, magnesium sleep balm, essential oils, and AI-powered affirmation cards connected to the platform. The company currently has a team of 15 people and is building more AI functionality into the product, including a virtual version of the physical affirmation cards.<\/p>\n

For founders and startup employees running on little sleep and constant pressure, Fuentes\u2019 message may feel especially relevant. She pointed to a recent interview with Jeff Bezos in which he discussed prioritizing eight hours of sleep and not scheduling meetings before 10 a.m.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to sleep better. We need to reduce overstimulation. We need to learn to slow down,\u201d she asserted.<\/p>\n

That tension is part of why Miami became the right place to build Nowful. Fuentes moved to Miami from Palm Beach less than a year ago after considering both New York and other places in South Florida. What she found here was a city full of energy, ambition, and nonstop movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see people constantly chasing the next opportunity,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I also see a lot of exhausted people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fuentes believes companies focused on restoration instead of relentless acceleration will only become more relevant as burnout continues to spread.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsistency is way more powerful than intensity,\u201d she said. \u201cEspecially when we\u2019re talking about well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

READ MORE IN REFRESH MIAMI:<\/p>\n

\"Riley<\/a> <\/p>\n

I am a Miami-based technology researcher and writer with a passion for sharing stories about the South Florida tech ecosystem. I particularly enjoy learning about GovTech startups, cutting-edge applications of artificial intelligence, and innovators that leverage technology to transform society for the better. Always open for pitches via Twitter @rileywk or www.RileyKaminer.com.<\/p>\n

\"Riley<\/a>Latest posts by Riley Kaminer (see all<\/a>) \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ang\u00e9lica Fuentes has spent decades operating in rooms where exhaustion was often mistaken for ambition. The Mexican business…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294857,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-294856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=294856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}