Seattle-based teletherapy startup Joon Care is looking to rapidly expand.
CEO Emily Pesce said Joon has 19 employees but could double or triple its headcount in the next year or two. She added that the company hopes to raise a Series A round before the end of the third quarter.
"Joon was born when there was an observation that there was a growing crisis, as the surgeon general called it an epidemic, around deteriorating mental health among teens and young adults," Pesce said. "My dad would often say a good measure of society is how well we take care of our most vulnerable, and we are not doing a good job right now."
Joon first started seeing patients in 2020. The company provides virtual therapy appointments for teens and young adults through a smartphone or tablet, while the therapist sees patients through a desktop. In addition to providing tech tools, Pesce said, Joon provides evidence-based guidance to its therapists so they can provide better care. On its website, Joon says it is accepting patients between the ages of 13 and 24.
Pesce said Joon's services are especially important with the growing mental health crisis facing teens and young adults. She added that 81% of U.S. counties don't have a teen or young adult therapist. Allowing teens and young adults to connect with a therapist virtually, she said, can remove barriers and stigmas.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, roughly half of adolescents are estimated to have faced a mental health disorder at some point in their lives. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meanwhile, says an estimated 9.4% of children between 3 and 17 years old have been diagnosed with anxiety, and 4.4% have been diagnosed with depression.
Joon doesn't have office space for now but does try to meet as a team at least once a quarter. Pesce said the company also has a student advisory board of about 15 young people that the company meets with weekly to help itself stay grounded.
Pesce joined Joon last year after spending more than two years at the education tech company Nerdy. She spent roughly six years at Amazon earlier in her career, according to her LinkedIn page.
Pesce said Greg Gottesman, managing director of Seattle-based Pioneer Square Labs, approached her about leading the company, as the firm had invested in Joon through its venture arm. She said she was attracted to Joon's mission but didn't have a health care background, so she insisted on a challenge from leadership at PSL and Joon.
"I need you need to interview the shit out of me. Make this impossible. The leader of this company has to be great," Pesce said about the experience.
