Led · Equity · Jul 2020

Ahead is an app focused on teaching emotional intelligence via brief, active exercises and 2–4 minute sessions covering topics such as anger management, assertiveness, charm, and empathy. Onboarding is described as simple, and sessions include practical drills to apply learnings to real-world situations. The company emerged from stealth and is currently beta testing with thousands of users globally. Ahead plans to launch in English-speaking markets and additional markets where English is widely used (the Netherlands was cited as an example) later this year. The founding team includes Kai Koch (ex-Helpling co-founder / Casper Sleep VP) and John Roggan (ex-ChefsList co-founder). The company recently closed a $1.3 million pre-seed funding round to support its growth and product rollout. Ahead operates a hybrid telehealth and in-person psychiatry platform that connects patients with psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. The company hires its healthcare providers as full-time employees and runs its own clinics to promote continuity of care and stronger provider–patient relationships. Ahead focuses on conditions often treated with medication—primarily ADHD, as well as depression and anxiety—and currently has one psychologist on staff with plans to expand therapy offerings. It provides a patient portal with prescription visibility and delivery times and offers a tightly integrated, free prescription delivery service in partnership with investor Truepill; refill requests through the portal will launch soon. Ahead does not currently accept insurance for visits (insurance can be applied toward medication costs); first visits are $275 with lower prices for follow-ups. Operating metrics in the article: 1,100 patient visits last month, 15 full-time healthcare providers, and a 33-person total team; hiring providers is cited as the company’s greatest challenge.