The mental health crisis has a hidden toll on employers; depressed employees miss an increased number of workdays every year, employees with depressions lose 8% of work productivity on average, employees experiencing depression are two times more likely to leave a company than their non-depressed counterparts. With performance, engagement, and absenteeism all affected, companies are addressing the importance of providing mental health services to employees. Oliva is an online mental health platform that is designed for the needs of employers so that they can adequately address the mental well-being of their employees. The company uses a research-backed care model to provide service to employees rather than just connecting them with a therapy provider. Sessions can seamlessly be booked, with a slack integration, in just a few clicks where the employee is connected to a vetted specialist that is a part of the Oliva network and the employee is further supported by an in-house care team. Oliva also provides management training so that potential mental health issues can be detected early before they have a significant impact on operations.
London TechWatch caught up with CEO, serial entrepreneur, and Cofounder Javier Suarez to learn how his personal experience running a startup led to founding this company, the importance of investing in employee mental health, the company’s strategic plans, recent round of funding, and much, much more.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
Pre-seed round of $2.2M led by Moonfire Ventures, including various executives, founders, and operators from companies including Amazon, Hotjar, Typeform, TravelPerk, and more.
Tell us about your product or service.
Oliva is proper mental healthcare for employers who want to make a real impact on both their teammates’ lives and their organisation’s performance.
Our fully online solution combines a curated team of highly qualified mental health professionals, personalised therapist matching by real humans, dedicated training & support for managers, and a hassle-free digital experience.
What inspired the start of Oliva?
Before Oliva, I cofounded a startup called TravelPerk. Objectively speaking, it was a great startup success story. I was able to bring together a talented team, build a robust product, and employ hundreds of people.
However, the hidden side of the story is that I was struggling—big time. My anxiety levels were sky-high and my confidence rock-bottom. While I was able to build the foundations of a successful company, I neglected the foundations of my own mental health. Now I’m in a much better place, but it was really hard to find the support I needed. Much harder than it needed to be.
After TravelPerk, I wanted to solve a problem that was personal to me. There was no clearer problem than mental health.
I was introduced to Sancar Sahin, who led marketing teams at successful startups such as Typeform and Hotjar. We connected immediately on the problem that needed to be solved and how we could solve it—great tech, top team, quality care tailored to individuals, and a stigma-crushing brand.
We had both witnessed the problems that poor mental health causes first-hand within otherwise strong companies. It costs millions, damages team morale, and most importantly—it hurts people.
By creating a mental health solution specifically designed for the whole organisation (employees, managers, and company leaders alike), we’re able to make high-quality mental healthcare free for individual employees, as it’s completely employer-funded.
How is it different?
Oliva is a comprehensive mental healthcare solution specially designed for businesses.
We’re not a marketplace—we don’t just connect two people together and say goodbye. We’ve developed our own research-backed care model, which includes personalised triaging and therapist matching, and our in-house care team carefully selects every mental health professional we work with.
What market you are targeting and how big is it?
We’re best suited for businesses with between 50-1000 employees. In the not too distant future, offering dedicated mental healthcare as part of the benefits package will be as common as offering private medical insurance. So, the market is huge. Oliva is currently available in English.
What’s your business model?
We work with a per-employee, per-month (PePm) pricing model. Our price point sits below most other wellness perks and ensures that businesses don’t have any nasty surprises at the end of the month when they receive their invoice, as it’s a simple flat fee.
Working in this way, employers can have peace of mind that their employees have access to high-quality mental healthcare whenever they may need it. Some will need it now, others will need it later.
How has COVID-19 impacted the business??
The idea for Oliva was born before the pandemic and we didn’t really change much because of it. However, the pandemic has definitely highlighted the global mental health crisis. More people are talking about it than ever, which is a good thing because that’s the first step to tackling it.
What was the funding process like?
A mix of previous experience, a successful proof-of-concept, market timing, and a pinch of luck meant we were able to close the whole round in less than 20 days.
Pitching is always exhausting, especially when what you really want to be doing is building your business. However, we were fortunate to speak to some fantastic investors and to get various offers to choose from. Moonfire was the obvious choice for us for their early conviction, belief in our mission, and down-to-earth and talented team.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
Keeping our energy levels high while fundraising and building the product at the same time 🙂
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
You’d have to ask them ;)\
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
This pre-seed funding round has allowed us to build a polished platform, service, and brand from the get-go. From day one, we will offer personalised therapy courses, instantly bookable drop-in sessions, and support tailored for managers—all within our own secure digital platform. With typical SaaS products, being a bit scrappy early on can pay off. But with the stigma and emotional weight attached to mental health, we feel it’s vital to invest more time and funds from an early stage to make sure we get this right.
This pre-seed funding round has allowed us to build a polished platform, service, and brand from the get-go. From day one, we will offer personalised therapy courses, instantly bookable drop-in sessions, and support tailored for managers—all within our own secure digital platform. With typical SaaS products, being a bit scrappy early on can pay off. But with the stigma and emotional weight attached to mental health, we feel it’s vital to invest more time and funds from an early stage to make sure we get this right.
On the horizon, we’ll look to expand the range of services Oliva offers, enhance the online experience so it works even better for organisations, employees, and mental health professionals. For now, we’re so, so excited to begin helping organisations provide proper mental healthcare for their people.
What advice can you offer companies in London that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Take things one step at a time. If you feel you need capital to get to where you want to be, first focus on what you need in order to give someone the confidence you’re worth investing in. Often, getting to that point doesn’t need huge capital injections in itself. For example, before we raised our round at Oliva, we built a proof-of-concept. We self-funded it and kept it very simple. That simplicity ultimately allowed us to demonstrate where we could take the business if we had capital.
What’s your favourite outdoor activity in London?
When the sun is out, walking around one of the incredible parks.
