Companies to Watch: New York Founders Expanding Access to Mental Health Services
The explosion in demand for virtual care options is an obvious reaction to our sudden reliance on them during the pandemic. Just like with other primary care services, mental health providers had to quickly adapt to virtual solutions at the exact time the need for their services was skyrocketing.
With mental health moving to the forefront of the conversation, mental health startups have sparked a new surge of investor interest — established companies like Talkspace went public last year, and since 2020, another class of mental health startups, many of them founded since the pandemic began, have closed more than $1 billion in VC investment for the first time.
NYC has launched several programs to address New Yorkers’ mental health needs in recent years, but according to a report by the Office of the Public Advocate, services are struggling to scale enough to reach those who need help. Tech is stepping up to narrow the gap, and experts almost unanimously agree that telehealth will keep its position as a more regular feature of healthcare offerings from providers, insurance companies, employers, and more.
For the latest edition of our Companies to Watch series, we talked with a group of New York founders building digital health tools to expand access to personalized mental health resources.
MANTRA HEALTH
What does your company do?
Mantra Health co-founder and CEO Ed Gaussen: Mantra Health is a digital mental health clinic that aims to improve access to evidence-based mental healthcare for young adults. We aim to improve the mental health of over 40 million young adults through partnerships with higher education institutions and health insurance plans. We provide students with comprehensive mental health solutions, including virtual therapy and psychiatry, evidence-based wellness content, moderated peer-to-peer community support, and 24/7 crisis care, supporting all students across their entire mental health journeys. The Mantra program has been deployed across 105 campuses with over 800,000 students, including Penn State, MIT, Cornell, and Miami Dade College.
A question we love to ask every founder: why New York?
EG: The energy, the talent, and access to funding. New York has become one of the leading hubs for digital health.
We’ve seen a boom in mental health apps and other products, especially in the last couple of years, but all doing something slightly different. Why was it important to you that Mantra Health’s services focus on university students?
EG: One of my siblings dropped out of college because of her mental health, and my co-founder Matt was able to succeed in his undergrad thanks to a counselor on campus. While there’s an abundance of solutions tackling the pediatric and employer populations, we didn’t see anybody trying to build a mental health and wellness pathway for young adults. Their challenges are unique – it’s the first time in their life they are responsible for their own healthcare, and they go through the first of many experiences.
Studies have shown the downstream cost to the economy of university students dropping out. We think there is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a solution to ensure every young adult can succeed during university and well after they graduate.
What’s one top thing you think mental health providers — be they traditional or virtual — in the field need to change to better serve patients?
EG: So many things … for one, we need more of them. It’s crucial to better promote mental health career paths in K-12 and higher education. Our country is suffering from provider burnout, and in many settings, that’s because they are taking on too much caseload. I’m also eager to see better measurements of outcomes be introduced – there are many companies working on building the mental health biomarker of the future, and hopefully, we’ll soon be able to measure someone’s mental health the same way we measure their blood pressure or temperature.
You’ve raised seed and Series A funding since the pandemic began. Did the impacts of COVID-19 power up more investor interest in the mental health space? What do you think startups like Mantra Health need to do to have long-term staying power?
EG: COVID definitely sparked up investor interest in the space, which makes sense given the aggregate demand shift that happened to virtual care once the pandemic hit, combined with the actual prevalence of mental health issues that also increased. We’re now settling into a new norm of hybrid care, where people want to consume healthcare the way they shop – both virtually and in-person. The long term winners will be those who can best integrate with healthcare ecosystem players in that new world and make sure that quality and outcomes remain at the forefront of their strategic decisions.
Okay, some rapid-fire questions. First: where do you get your favorite pizza slice?
EG: Rubirosa in Nolita – get the tie-dye.
What’s the best place in New York for a coffee or lunch meeting?
EG: Felix Roasting Company in Soho.
What’s your favorite hybrid/remote work office hack?
EG: Make space for team building virtually. It’s hard, and it will never be as fun, but it’s necessary to build a community at work. Our People Ops team is super mindful of that – we organize a lot of online activities and keep people engaged through Slack channels.
What’s one non-tech mental health practice every New Yorker should adopt?
EG: I’m a big believer in better prevention as a way to fix our mental health crisis, so I’d say exercise! Clinical benefits for your mental health have been well researched and documented; make space in your day to keep moving.
HOPSCOTCH
What does your company do?
Hopscotch co-founder and CEO Marla Beyer: Hopscotch increases access to pediatric behavioral healthcare by connecting insurance-covered providers with families of children and adolescents. We also offer parents/caregivers digital tools and free, expert-backed resources to support their kids at home.
A question we love to ask every founder: why New York?
MB: I love being surrounded by creative and driven people who are doing trailblazing work in so many different fields. New York is a mecca for a variety of industries – including finance, real estate, fashion, and, of course, tech. By living in New York, I’m constantly exposing myself to new people, ideas, and trends outside of healthcare, which in turn, sparks creativity for our company.
You got your start in more traditional medical settings, including hospitals in upstate New York. What made you want to pivot into the startup world?
MB: My prior experiences at John R. Oshei Children’s Hospital in Buffalo, New York, opened my eyes to how, within more traditional academia and healthcare settings, trailblazing research and work oftentimes tends to stay housed within the walls of the institution. I realized that in order to truly revolutionize the pediatric behavioral healthcare space and to scale a solution, I would be able to do that in a more impactful way by working on a startup. Leveraging technology as a tool to bring innovative solutions to market was appealing because I know it would enable me to reach more providers and families in need.
One of the real unique value points of the Hopscotch platform is it integrates with many insurance plan providers. We’re also in peak open enrollment season. Has the pandemic shifted what those plans look like? Are you seeing the increased demand in digital mental health reflected in 2023 plan offerings?
MB: We’re heartened to see that plans are prioritizing integrating digital offerings into their suite of services. The pandemic has shifted the uptake in virtual care a decade ahead of where we could have expected, and health plans are rising to the occasion, recognizing that telehealth and digital health is here to stay. The next wave will be ensuring payment parity and continuing to review the regulatory landscape to make sure this care is delivered safely so we are prioritizing the consumer experience.
What’s one top thing you think mental health providers — be they traditional or virtual — the field needs to change to better serve patients?
MB: One word: reimbursement. It needs to be financially attractive for providers to work with health plans. We need to be paying providers what they’re worth and ensuring that they’re being compensated fairly for the work they’re doing – and not having to choose between expanding access and making a fair wage.
You closed a seed round a couple of months ago (Congrats!). How are you using the new funding? What’s next on Hopscotch’s roadmap?
MB: Our team is heads down on continuing to sign additional insurance health plan partners and growing our network of clinicians to serve more families. We’re also investing in tools, and community offerings to invest back into our phenomenal providers and expanding the suite of expert-backed resources we offer to families.
Okay, some rapid-fire questions. First: where do you get your favorite pizza slice?
MB: L’Industrie in Williamsburg – hands down.
What’s the best place in New York for a coffee or lunch meeting?
MB: I was recently introduced to Gotan in Tribeca – big fan. Cool, industrial space and everything I’ve tried has been super delicious, but also healthy!
What’s your favorite hybrid/remote work office hack?
MB: Recently I’ve started off my days by blocking two hours first thing in the morning for focused work time. Early mornings are when I’m most productive and can get through my most important tasks early on without being interrupted.
What’s one non-tech mental health practice every New Yorker should adopt?
MB: Probably leaving New York every so often! Every three-ish months I try to get away for a week or so – usually somewhere with nature – and spend time exploring, hiking, snowboarding, etc. Living in New York it’s really easy for me to get caught up in the madness, so giving myself some peace and quiet is really important for me (and also allows me to appreciate New York more!)
BLOOM
What does your company do?
Bloom co-founder and CEO Leon Mueller: Bloom is the world’s first self-guided therapy platform that empowers users to be their own therapist. We give users the tools and techniques used by the best therapists to access guided and interactive video programs that improve their mental health day by day.
A question we love to ask every founder: why New York?
LM: My co-founder and I are originally from Germany and started working on our first apps together when we were roommates in Berlin. As consumer mobile founders, we knew the US would be the better launchpad, and New York has always been that magical and fascinating place where ideas are born that change the world. New York also has a diverse pool of talent, and as we started producing and writing our own video content, we tapped into that pool of great creative talent.
Bloom describes itself as a “self-therapy” startup. How is that different from other virtual mental health products?
LM: Self-therapy is about empowering you to do therapy yourself. It’s about shifting the power to the user. Virtual therapy connects you with another person, which requires scheduling and for users to open up and build a relationship of trust. Bloom offers pre-recorded video programs designed by the best therapists to guide you through therapy exercises. You can practice it anytime and anywhere, and it’s much more private and discrete.
Digital health very suddenly became a lifeline for many during the pandemic. Do you think it’ll have staying power beyond the pandemic? Are people willing to think beyond visits with a therapist the same way they think beyond a trip to the doctor’s office?
LM: Yes, the pandemic has accelerated conversations around mental health and made everyone realize that we all deal with emotions. And that’s what makes us human. Emotions are influenced by how we think and what we do — that’s why cognitive behavioral therapy is so powerful. And it will get more and more normalized over the next ten years.
Think about the ’70s when people didn’t know what “jogging” was, and people were getting stopped by the police on the street for it. What happened to physical health, the same will happen to mental health.
Besides serving as CEO, you’re also still working as one of the company’s product managers, right? What’s it like switching between those two functions?
LM: My co-founder is still involved in a lot of product development, and I am a product designer by heart, so I deeply care. But my CEO duties have kept me busy with building the company and making all teams more successful. I am involved mostly on the strategic and idea level these days.
What’s next on Bloom’s roadmap?
LM: We’ve just realized more programs and our Bloom mental health assessment, two exciting big features. Over the next 6-12 months we’ll have some exciting new content and program releases, and we’ll continue to improve the core experience and invest in personalization to give people the best product experience they’ve ever seen.
Okay, some rapid-fire questions. First: where do you get your favorite pizza slice?
LM: Prince Street Pizza (but only on Mondays when it’s raining and there’s no line).
What’s the best place in New York for a coffee or lunch meeting?
LM: I like walking meetings — get a coffee at La Colombe and then walk.
What’s your favorite hybrid/remote work office hack?
LM: Go for a walk in the morning to imitate the walk to the office.
What’s one non-tech mental health practice every New Yorker should adopt?
LM: Go for a stroll and just observe your surroundings. Be aware of the moment and appreciate life.
