Hurdle Raises $5 Million Series Seed to Accelerate Expansion of its Mental Health Platform with Special Focus on the Black Community

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hurdle, an innovative digital mental health platform company, announced today it has successfully closed a $5 million Series Seed financing co-led by 406 Ventures and Seae Ventures with participation from F-Prime.  Hurdle will use the new capital to strategically scale its evidence-based and tech-enabled platform, designed to support culturally diverse populations' behavioral health needs.

"With depression spiking in Black and minority communities, this year is an inflection point in mental healthcare. The events of 2020 present a unique opportunity for Hurdle to create solutions that work for anyone, but most importantly, for the most underserved populations," says Kevin Dedner, Founder and CEO of Hurdle. "With this financing, Hurdle will significantly expand its reach and be able to help corporate and payer customers cement their Diversity & Inclusion commitments by providing broader access to culturally-responsive mental health services."

The funding will enable Hurdle to expand its leadership team and solidify its position as the Gold Standard for Culturally Sensitive Teletherapy.  As Hurdle builds operational scale, it will offer its platform directly to insurers and large employers. 

Liam Donohue, co-founder and managing partner of .406 Ventures explains, "Kevin and his team have made impressive strides in a short amount of time.  We are excited about what the next few years will bring and look forward to working with Kevin and this team to expand Hurdle's capacity to meet a large and important unmet need."

Jason Robart, managing director of Seae Ventures adds, "Historically, the venture capital community has underserved women and minority entrepreneurs. At Seae, we are committed to doing something about this and are excited to support Hurdle. We believe the company is poised to execute on its vision to lead much-needed change in the mental health care landscape, especially for the Black community."

Hurdle uses a proprietary scientifically-validated tool to measure cultural responsiveness and provide appropriate training and coaching for its therapists. Research shows that therapists whose patients perceive them as having Cultural Humility deliver meaningfully improved outcomes. Hurdle's approach was developed by Dr. Norma Day-Vine, Johns Hopkins professor of Counseling and Human Development and advisor to Hurdle. Hurdle's suite of services includes:

• Self-care digital apps (daily motivations, mediations, assessments);
• Wellness workshops (managing stress, cultivating resilience, coping with grief);
• Teletherapy (individual, couples and group therapy).

Hurdle leverages technology to cultivate a virtual safe space with culturally intentional content and services that support self-mastery and well-being. 

About Hurdle

Established in 2018, Hurdle is a digital mental health platform revolutionizing mental health care by providing mental health services with a focus on culturally sensitive self-care support for People of Color. According to the American Psychiatric Association, African Americans often receive poorer quality of care and lack access to culturally competent care. Only one-in-three African Americans who need mental health care receive it.¹ Hurdle is working to break down the barriers to mental healthcare for People of Color to create an equitable behavioral health service with culturally responsive care and resources.

Kevin Dedner, MPH, founder and CEO of Hurdle, is a seasoned public health leader with more than 15 years of experience working on public health issues. Kevin is deeply connected to Hurdle's mission, having suffered his own period of depression where he found the biggest challenge and barrier to effective care was finding the right therapist who could truly understand and connect with his life as an African-American. This experience became the origin of Hurdle's mission: "We exist to ensure people can show up whole, operate with joy, and live with power."

For more information, please visit www.hurdle.co. 

About .406 Ventures

.406 Ventures is a Boston-based early-stage venture capital firm investing in healthcare and enterprise technology companies founded by visionary entrepreneurs. The firm was founded in 2005 and has over $1 billion under management across four core and two opportunity funds. .406 Ventures typically leads, or co-leads, early-stage investment rounds and will opportunistically invest in later stage rounds around a deep thesis.  .406 Ventures' healthcare theses focus on systems, technologies, and services that improve clinical delivery, with investments in companies such as Abacus Insights, AbleTo, Axial Healthcare, ClosedLoop.ai, Heartbeat Health, IMCS Health, Iora Health, Nomad Health, Redox and WelbeHealth. Learn more at 406ventures.com.

About Seae

Seae Ventures is dedicated to building and investing in early-stage healthcare technology and services companies primarily founded by Women and people who identify as Black, Indigenous and People of Color.

About F-Prime Capital

F-Prime Capital is a global venture capital firm investing in healthcare and technology. For the past 50 years, our independent venture capital group has had the privilege of backing great entrepreneurs building groundbreaking companies. With over two billion dollars under management and a global portfolio of more than 200 companies, we champion those dedicated to creating positive change in the world. F-Prime is headquartered in Cambridge, MA, with offices in London, UK and San Francisco, CA. For more information, please visit fprimecapital.com and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Media Contact:

An Phan

Pioneering Collective

Email: aphan@pioneeringcollective.com

¹https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/cultural-competency/education/mental-health-facts

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SOURCE Hurdle