Motivo, a provider of a HIPAA-compliant online platform for clinical supervision for mental health therapists, announced that the company had raised $2.2 million in seed funding. Motivo plans to gain the first mover advantage in the tele-supervision space by connecting recent graduates to a clinical supervisor to fulfill state licensure requirements as a therapist, counselor, social worker or psychologist.
New graduates and mental health clinics can select from a robust list of state-approved supervisors for tele-supervision. For supervisors, Motivo provides a back-end solution for managing one’s online supervision practice.
“Obtaining these hours is more difficult than one might think,” said CEO and founder, Rachel McCrickard in a company press release. “For a therapist, getting your degree is actually the easy part. It’s becoming licensed that is hard.”
The company recently signed a partnership with the AAMFT, the largest association for marriage and family therapists, after also signing the American Counseling Association earlier this year.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 55% of U.S. counties – all rural – have no practicing mental health professionals. By providing an accessible path to licensure for incoming therapists, Motivo has a direct impact on increasing the mental health provider population in traditionally underserved communities.
The seed funding round was led by Cox Enterprises, which also saw participation from Techstars, SEI Ventures, ECMC, Great Oaks VC, The Jump Fund, Emmett Partners, and Next Wave Impact Fund, along with multiple angel investors.
Motivo will use its seed funding to grow the team, acquire contracts with mental health agencies and clinics, and sign channel partnerships with therapist associations and universities. Thus far, Motivo has identified 12 credential types in the healthcare industry that require supervised hours, representing a $6.5 billion dollar market opportunity.
Other telehealth deals that received funding included:
- Quartet Health, the developer of a HIPAA-compliant telepsychiatry platform, raised $7.5 million in Series D funding from Echo Health Ventures, a strategic collaboration of Cambia and Mosaic Health Solutions and Deerfield Management.
- Snapclarity, an online platform providing on-demand mental health assessments and personalized treatment plans via its app, received an investment from Relentless Venture Fund.
- Meru Health, a provider of digital clinics offering an app-based mental health treatment program, secured $4.2M in Seed financing from Freestyle Capital, Bonit Capital, Y Combinator, Lifeline Ventures, and IT-Farm.
Telehealth companies raised $663 million in 15 deals in Q3 2019, according to Mercom’s Q3 & 9M 2019 Digital Health Funding and M&A report. Since 2010, telehealth companies raised over $4.7 billion in VC funding. Click here to learn more
