The Future of Work in Mental Health: Two Sides, Same Coin
How technology can go after big problems in mental health from completely different directions
December 4, 2020 by Clint Chao, Moment Ventures
One of the more gratifying things about establishing the approach we have for investing in the Future of Work is discovering groundbreaking startups in the same industry tackling big problems from different angles.
We didn’t deliberately set out to focus on mental health, but the opportunities came our way as we began looking for specific types of Future of Work startups after launching our most recent fund. Of course, mental health has become one of the more important segments of healthcare of late given that one in five U.S. adults suffers from some form of mental illness each year, yet only 2% of the U.S. healthcare budget goes towards mental health treatment.
And if COVID hasn’t convinced you that we desperately need to focus our attention and investment dollars into improving the situation in mental health, just think about how much you spend on maintaining your bodies versus taking care of your minds.
Tackling Mental Health in Two Different Ways
In the past year, we’ve been fortunate to join the teams of two really innovative technology startups targeting different aspects of the mental health industry.
Rune Labs combines neuroscience with data to help develop advanced therapies for serious mental health ailments. Advekit applies technology to help people find the right therapist and establish a personal relationship, all while simplifying booking, insurance, and payment. Again, two completely different ways to tackle mental health. Rune: develop advanced therapies for those afflicted with many of our misunderstood mental health ailments. Advekit: help us find a way to get through life’s challenges with a healthy mind.
The Future of Work in Mental Health
So why do we classify these as Future of Work companies? Well through our lens, we see both providing technology that empowers the skilled workers in the mental health industry, and that helps keep things vibrant, stimulating and rewarding for our hard working mental health industry professionals.
For Rune, they enable scientists, medical device makers and pharma professionals to analyze and apply neural data from patients to get them that much closer to finding advanced treatments for Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, depression and more.
Advekit dramatically simplifies business operations for therapists, helping them efficiently run their practice. With Advekit, therapists can focus more on building relationships and practicing therapy and less on patient lead generation, insurance paperwork and technology tools to manage in person or telehealth sessions.
Read more about why we love Rune Labs.
Read more about why we love Advekit.
An important side note: In these difficult times, if you or anyone you are close to is experiencing anxiety of any type and would like to find a professional mental health therapist to speak to, don’t let the maze of confusion in finding a therapist deter you. Go to Advekit, answer a few simple questions, and they will match you with 3 therapists that you can look into. As for payment, you just cover the out of pocket deductible (which is calculated based on your specific insurance situation) and Advekit manages the rest. The process is designed to be simple and low cost enough that you can try out different therapists until you find one that you're really happy with. Both in person and telehealth sessions are available. Your mind is an incredible thing to take care of!
Bring Us Your Coins
What makes our job so satisfying is that we get to look across every industry to find similar examples where talented entrepreneurs can use technology to tackle a massive industry-specific problem from a unique angle or perspective. That way, if it comes down to determining which side of the coin can solve a specific problem, hopefully there is someone out there building something innovative that has it covered.
To learn more, read about our Future of Work investment approach.
Do you know of an early stage Future of Work technology startup building something transformative in industries such as healthcare, logistics, food, oil & gas, construction or more? Thanks in advance for thinking of us!
Clint Chao is a General Partner at Moment Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund based in Palo Alto, CA. You can reach/follow him on LinkedIn, Medium and Twitter.
