Frame Raises $3M Seed to Simplify Therapy & Practice Management

The Rise of Online Therapy and Frame's All-in-One Solution

The integration of therapy into mainstream wellness practices is increasing, however, the year 2020 presented a significant disruption. The necessity to transition from in-person sessions to online platforms proved challenging for many therapists. Frame addresses this complexity by providing a comprehensive portal designed for both clients and therapists, consolidating listings, essential tools, and management software for the industry’s numerous small businesses.

Origins of Frame: Addressing a Growing Need

Kendall Bird and Sage Grazer, longtime friends, found themselves uniquely positioned to respond to this evolving landscape. Their startup’s core proposition – a fully online practice encompassing sessions, bookkeeping, and scheduling – resonated strongly with the emerging demands of the time. They recognized, however, that this need had existed for quite some time.

Grazer, a practicing therapist, personally encountered the difficulties associated with establishing a new practice.

“Starting my practice in 2016, I was deeply committed to the clinical aspects, but I felt overwhelmed by the business setup, marketing, and financial management,” she explained. “Our aim was to alleviate these burdens for other therapists.”

A reconnection between Bird and Grazer sparked the realization of an opportunity for improvement.

Kendall Bird (left) and Sage Grazer. Image Credits: Frame

Understanding the Therapist as a Small Business

“Therapists often operate as individual practitioners, but they are fundamentally small businesses,” Bird stated, drawing on his prior marketing experience at Snapchat, Google, and YouTube. “They are frequently overlooked and lack the support systems available to other healthcare professionals. They aren’t typically trained in business administration, making a scalable SaaS solution a logical step to empower them to work independently.”

The healthcare industry, including therapy, comprises both client-facing and practitioner-facing components. While some online services integrate both, many function by recruiting therapists as contractors. Establishing an independent practice typically requires a combination of specialized scheduling, telehealth, and billing tools, all adhering to stringent medical privacy standards.

“The current landscape of therapy tools is remarkably fragmented – the average therapist utilizes 5-7 different platforms, and many of these aren’t specifically designed for the nuances of therapy,” Bird noted.

Challenging the Status Quo of Therapist Discovery

Psychology Today, a well-known publication, serves as a prominent resource for finding therapists, offering extensive listings that often dominate search results. However, these brief profiles may not provide potential clients with sufficient information to make a well-informed decision, given the personal and significant nature of this choice.

“We envisioned a more approachable experience, employing language that is inclusive and avoids overly clinical terminology,” Grazer explained. “Many individuals seeking therapy feel isolated and confused, and may not readily identify with specific diagnoses or labels.”

Image Credits: Frame

Frame's Approach to Connecting Clients and Therapists

Frame moves away from the conventional “search therapists near me” approach, instead utilizing a concise quiz – not a diagnostic tool, but a series of basic questions – to narrow down options to a curated selection of local and suitable therapists. Users can then immediately schedule free introductory video calls. Should a connection be made, the entire therapeutic relationship can be managed through the Frame platform, with the potential for in-person sessions to resume as circumstances allow.

To provide transparency, the company also hosts livestreamed sessions featuring volunteer clients and therapists, offering a glimpse into a typical therapy hour. (Confronting personal challenges in therapy requires courage, and doing so publicly demands even greater bravery.)

A Comprehensive Solution for Therapists

For therapists, Frame aims to be a centralized hub. Beyond marketing and telehealth, the platform incorporates features such as scheduling, note-taking, billing, and notifications, all specifically tailored to the demands of the profession. The shift to online services, while accelerated by recent events, was a long-anticipated development.

Image Credits: Frame

“We developed this platform before the COVID-19 pandemic, launching in March 2020 with telehealth as an option, anticipating limited adoption,” Bird said. “However, the vast majority of American therapists were not conducting online sessions at that time… but following the pandemic, all of them are.” They are now actively seeking tools to leverage the benefits of telehealth for their businesses.

The Enduring Shift to Online Therapy

Grazer highlighted that many therapists, initially hesitant to embrace the transition, are now discovering numerous advantages. The flexibility offered by virtual meetings, mirroring trends in other industries, has proven liberating and, in some cases, financially beneficial. This change is expected to be permanent.

Currently, the platform operates in a closed beta within a specific region of California, due to state-specific regulations governing therapist practice. The company faces the typical challenges of building a comprehensive professional service. A recent $3 million funding round, led by Maven Ventures, will facilitate product development and expansion to a wider audience, with participation from Sugar Capital, Struck Capital, Alpha Edison, and January Ventures.

The funding will be “almost entirely allocated to engineering.” The immediate goals are to broaden the beta program, extend coverage to the rest of California, and subsequently expand to other states, incorporating feedback from the initial rollout.

“Sage and I share a strong conviction that the most effective way to enhance access to therapy in America is by supporting therapists,” Bird concluded.