A Madison healthtech leader has been named one of the Midwest winners in Ernst & Young LLP's Entrepreneur Of The Year awards program.
Bend Health Inc. co-founder Monika Roots has been honored as one of the winning entrepreneurs from Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. The prestigious award series recognizes top entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies.
Regional honorees earn the distinction of competing for the firm’s national, and eventually, world entrepreneur of the year awards.
Roots is the co-founder of Bend Health, a Madison startup that provides virtual mental-health services for children, teens and their families using a measurement-based, collaborative-care model. The firm's approach allows patients to access care much faster than is typical with traditional providers, and it administers its services in collaboration with the patient's primary care provider.
In early 2023, the startup announced it had raised $32 million from a lineup of companies that included Advocate Health, Foxconn, Johnson Controls International and Northwestern Mutual.
In naming Roots among the winner, Ernst & Young said Bend Health "is revolutionizing treatment through its unique collaborative care model that includes coaches, therapists, and psychiatric providers who work with families to provide comprehensive, personalized care plans that help children feel better today, and thrive tomorrow."
EY added that Bend’s services cover over 20 million kids through partnerships with insurers, employers, health systems and self-pay.
In November 2023, Roots was named by American Inno, an affiliate of Wisconsin Inno, as one of the 34 Female Founders to Watch, a collection of startup leaders behind fast-growing young firms.
Regional award winners move on to be considered for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards, set for November at the annual Strategic Growth Forum in Palm Springs, California, one of the nation’s most prestigious gatherings of high-growth, market-leading companies. The Entrepreneur Of The Year national overall award winner will then represent the U.S. for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in June 2025.
