Gaithersburg-based social wellness startup Givhero is using the $600,000 it raised over past three months to beef up its marketing to potential clients, both directly and through third-party brokers.
Givhero, which partners with employers to help boost workers' engagement in wellness programs, has raised a bridge round of $400,000 and received $200,000 from Maryland Technology Development Corp’s. (TEDCO) social impact fund. With the funds, the company plans to hire three employees to help build out its network of partner companies looking to bolster their own employee benefit programs.
Givhero's tech ties employee wellness to workers' favorite causes. Through Givhero's mobile-first platform, employees raise money for their charities of choice through an employer donation-matching process by participating in company-sponsored wellness initiatives or just by doing healthy activities, like going for a bike ride.
Givhero's clients include the Brick Companies, an Anne Arundel County real estate developer, and Tysons, Virginia, software company Appian Corp., according to its website.
In the past five months, the company has hired seven people, including Chief Revenue Officer John Sheehan, and now has 15 employees.
Co-founder and CEO Vishal Chintawar said the 6-year-old Givhero has historically marketed directly to employers but is now starting to work with third-party insurance brokers to help it attract more employers to its platform. Sheehan, a veteran of two other startups focused on employee wellness, was brought in to develop and nurture those relationships, he said.
"These brokers already work with hundreds and thousands of employers,” Chintawar said. “John's experience with previous companies, his network and his understanding of the nuances of how these partnerships work, will be really helpful for growth this year and beyond.”
Chintawar declined to disclose revenue or growth figures but said revenue roughly doubled from 2021 to 2022.
Chintawar said among Givhero's biggest challenges is attracting talent. The same pitch he gives to clients about offering more than just financial incentives to attract and keep employees is the same one he makes to prospective hires. It’s all about being mission-driven and preaching a proper work-life balance, he said.
“I don't have to work 12 hours a day, seven days a week to make an impact," he said. "I can work smarter. I can give time to my family. I also need the mental break. If I'm just stressed out all the time working, it's just hard-working, not smart working.”
