Seattle startup Heard, which helps mental health professionals manage bookkeeping, payroll and related services, has raised $10 million in Series A funding.
The funding builds on $1.3 million the startup landed last year, as demand for mental health services ramped up during the pandemic. Heard’s software helps take some of the administrative load off of private practice therapists.
“Every hour that a therapist spends wrangling finances is an hour they’re not making money or doing work that fulfills and energizes them,” said CEO Andrew Riesen in a post Thursday announcing the funding.
Riesen, who previously worked at an internal incubator inside PwC, co-founded the company in 2019 with Victoria Li, previously an engineer at Fitbit, Lantern and Wefunder.
Individual therapists can sign up with Heard for $149 per month, and group practices for $249. Yearly subscriptions are discounted.
The startup is part of an ecosystem of mental health care startups in the Pacific Northwest that includes Eugene, Ore.-based Ksana Health, which is developing a “Fitbit for mental health” and Seattle-based WeConnect, which provides an app and peer support to people recovering from addiction.
Other companies are developing support platforms for health practices, with different areas of focus. New York City-based Capable Health provides patient onboarding, messaging and video chat, and Portland, Ore.-based Owl helps automate screening and monitoring of patients, and provides decision support.
The new Series A round of funding was led by Footwork, and included Founders’ Co-Op, Act One Ventures, and individual backers including Akins Van Horne, Cat Lee, Charley Ma, Cindy Bi, D’Arcy Coolican, Matthew Goldman, Nikhil Dixit and Nitya Subramanian.