Alma’s $8MM Series A to fuel continued improvements for mental health professionals

Since launching in October 2018, Alma, a co-practicing community of therapists, coaches, and wellness practitioners, has made impressive strides providing proper business tools, technology, and functional workspaces to the 700,000 mental health professionals in the U.S. With its new $8 million Series A led by Tusk Venture Partners and joined by us, Sound Ventures, First Round Capital, and Box Group, Alma will continue to improve and extend the support it offers members, as well as expand into additional locations.

In a world with no shortage of location-based businesses funded by venture dollars, we’ve found starting with a physical concept and expanding it to a digital and broader community-driven model compelling. Founder and CEO Harry Ritter was clear from the beginning that Alma’s mission to take care of the mental health professionals who take care of us extended beyond Manhattan, LA, or other major markets. He was determined to find a model that could improve the lives of providers in Fresno, Worcester, and everywhere in between. Harry and team have leveraged Alma’s initial Midtown Manhattan location to experiment with, to develop a community to learn from, and to fuel an expansion in a more scalable way. This drives a bigger impact for both the financial profile and mission of the business.

While we couldn’t be more thrilled that the first physical location is doing even better than hoped it would, it’s far more exciting to think about how the space unlocks the idea of creating a larger community.

With the launch of Community Memberships, Alma now offers providers networking and referral opportunities, as well as participation in events and peer supervision groups. By also including marketing support to fuel practice growth, complete with client matching, professionals are able to focus on their patients instead of fretting about business logistics.

Harry’s relentless standards as he builds his team and laser focus on Alma’s mission have been key drivers of the company’s success to date. In response to the Series A, Harry has said: “We remain inspired by the compassion, commitment, and professionalism of the community we serve and driven by the idea that together we can change the way we think about and access mental health care in our country.” We look forward to supporting and cheering Harry and his team on as they continue to bring the community, tools, and platform to mental health professionals so that more consumers can access the support and care that we all deserve.

For more on Alma, visit their website, and for more about the announcement, head on over to CNN.

— Brad Svrluga, General Partner and Co-Founder