Techstars: Meeting Customers’ Needs

Cox Enterprises is proud to partner with Techstars Atlanta as a supporter of its third annual cohort. The ten companies chosen to participate in the 12-week startup accelerator program this year represent best-in-class entrepreneurs from six U.S. states and Israel. The program is housed at Ponce City Market in Atlanta.

The best businesses capitalize on an unmet need in the market. And that’s exactly what Techstars Atlanta’s Motivo is aiming for as the company moves into its sixth week in the exclusive entrepreneurship boot camp.

Motivo is an online platform that helps mental health therapists receive their credentials in a faster, easier way — a “very niche, but very defined market,” explains Rachel McCrickard, the CEO and founder.

What is Motivo?

Mental health therapists (therapists, social workers and psychologists) are required to be under clinical supervision for two years after they graduate. The supervised hours with a seasoned clinician are designed to give the new mental health therapists guidance as they begin treating clients. But the supply of recent graduates in need of hours far exceeds the number of credentialed supervisors available to help them — particularly in rural areas. Fifty-five percent of counties have no practicing therapists, social workers or psychologists.

And that’s where Motivo fills the gap. The platform is a sort of Match.com for supervisors and the approximately 120,000 soon-to-graduate or recently graduated mental health therapists who are seeking credentials annually. Rachel estimates it is a $1.4 billion market.

“We know exactly who our customers are,” said Rachel, who is also a licensed marriage and family therapist.

What’s next?

Currently, all the Techstars Atlanta companies are focused on refining their product. For the small but mighty Motivo team — Rachel, lead developer James Hernandez, head of sales support Melissa O’Shea and licensure consultant, Dr. Carla Smith — that means identifying the needs of their ideal customer by conducting customer interviews and refining their website.

The program culminates in a Demo Day Oct. 15, where the company founders pitch their unique business plan to hundreds of potential investors and community supporters.