WeCounsel focused on bringing mental health therapy to underserved
Harrison Tyner is a Chattanooga native who has joined with two other friends to launch a new company – WeCounsel Solutions, LLC – in their hometown.
During a recent visit to CO.LAB, we met Tyner, the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO). WeCounsel is one of the seven start-ups participating in the 2013 “Gig Tank” accelerator.
“The story of the gig is a natural play into our space,” he explained in referencing the availability of gigabit capacity to every home and business in the service area of the Electric Power Board of Chattanooga.
Tyner said that he and his partners are focused on improving access to and quality of mental health therapy. It is a personal passion that each founder has, and they have developed an approach that uses enhanced telemedicine technology to address the need.
The trio also includes Riley Draper, who oversees communications, marketing and sales, and Joshua Goldberg, the company’s Chief Technology Officer.
Their goal is to fill the void that occurs when convenient and regular access to therapists is challenging for patients. Some patients live in remote areas; others might have scheduling challenges during normal work hours for the therapists.
Anyone with a computer that has a built-in camera would be able to utilize the WeCounsel service. Most laptops today come with this capability.
“This is our first time attempting to start a business,” Tyner said. They saw “Gig Tank” as a way to get access to mentors and specialists. During our visit, we were able to see firsthand the interaction of Tyner with his mentor – David McDonald, CEO and Co-Founder of Lift1428.
The trio formulated the idea for WeCounsel while they were in different colleges – Tyner at the University of South Carolina, Draper at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and Goldberg at the University of Georgia.
“We started building the product last September,” Tyner said. Work accelerated after he graduated in December with majors in finance and supply chain management.
About 40 therapists have pre-registered to use WeCounsel.
