Hurdle, a digital health platform offering culturally competent therapists, raised a $5 million seed round in January.
Backed by 406 Ventures, Seae Ventures, and F-Prime Capital, the Washington, D.C.-based company has beaten the odds. In the past, Hurdle, formerly known as Henry Health, has been included in accelerators and incubators like StartUp Health and the Morgan Stanley Multicultural Innovation Lab., less than 2.4% of VC funding has gone to Black and Latinx founders. Of that, less than 1% has gone to Black founders since the website's data dating back to 2015.
Hurdle's digital health interface will soon incorporate culturally relevant meditation and motivation tools.The idea for Hurdle was borne out of Dedner's own struggles in finding a therapist he was able to connect to and build a working clinician-patient relationship with. The one he stuck with had something different than the others: a level of cultural humility and an ability to ask questions that made Dedner feel heard.
Since then, people have become much more honest about the experiences of Black people and other people of color. "What investors will look for is someone who is willing to adjust their ideas," Dedner said."I was quite frankly very stubborn about my ideas." Considering the disparities in mental health access and outcomes, there's a sizable untapped market for providing BIPOC with therapy options that fit their backgrounds, he said.
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