A Columbia mental wellness firm whose client list includes Google’s startup program has raised $3.3 million to launch an expansion push.
Forte CEO Vineet Rajan hopes to use the capital to hire additional staff and expand the company’s software capabilities. Rajan plans to target a wide range of industries ranging from schools to the fast food sector for growth as companies look to offer more wellness services to employees after the pandemic.
The round was led by Tom Blaisdell, the head of Los Altos, California firm, AlignPact, with participation from Dallas firm Cubit Capital, Fairbridge Park in New York, and Atlanta private equity firm Sovereign’s Capital. Forte, based out of Maryland Innovation Center, previously raised $1.5 million in 2022 under its old name Paraclete.
Forte takes a different approach toward well-being than mental health applications like BetterHelp that get people in touch with clinicians. Forte offers something similar to life coaching, a practice that focuses on helping people improve their lives without diagnosing or treating a specific condition like depression or anxiety. Many companies have expanded mental health benefits during the pandemic to deal with rising rates of mental illness, but Rajan believes those services are not used by many staff members who could still benefit from talking to someone about their problems.
“The gap [in care] is not in clinical interventions,” Rajan said. “The gap is for addressing the 95% of our life that doesn't require clinical intervention.”
A worker dealing with an awkward conversation with their girlfriend is an example of something Forte would be equipped to handle, Rajan said. The client may not require the skills of a psychiatrist for something relatively mundane like an argument, but they may not want to discuss it with friends and family out of embarrassment. At this point, Forte can provide the client with someone to talk to who can help resolve the issue.
Forte functions as a benefit that a company purchases for its employees, not a subscription service one person can sign up for. The company counts Google for Startups, the tech giant’s network of accelerators and other entrepreneurial-focused programs, and Aleo, a tech firm backed by over $200 million in venture capital, among its customers. Forte has 11 staff members, not including its network of guides that talk with clients. Forte would not disclose the number of guides that work with the platform.
A Forte guide is often more flexible than a traditional therapist, Rajan said. Forte calls can be brief at around 15 minutes and are available within two days of a customer request, Rajan said. All calls are kept confidential. Forte does offer employers companywide data about what staff is concerned about, like pointing out that many workers are concerned about family life.
The quality of staff is a major problem in the unregulated life coaching industry with clients often critiquing firms for not having properly prepared workers. Forte requires coaches to have two years of experience, including six months under the direct supervision of a supervisor, and a professional background in a field focused on well-being like life coaching, pastoral care that focuses on religious communities or traditional therapy.
Forte also has an in-house philosophy called “SoulCare” that provides a template for how guides approach clients, focused on practices like meditation, engaging in the community or slowing down work. Forte has focused on hiring a diverse group of guides fluent in multiple languages to appeal to a wide customer base.
“We're humans, right?” Rajan said. “We're going to talk to people we think we have something in common with.”
