"You need to know who you are and what you can do well. And based on the business you're trying to build, list the key capabilities that you can't live without. Then build the team to do that."
Alma
Imagine if anyone could access high-quality, affordable mental health care.
Today, Alma is a membership-based network that helps tens of thousands of mental health providers across all 50 states build successful independent practices.
But when founder Dr. Harry Ritter pitched First Round back in 2017, the vision looked a bit different: physical co-practicing spaces in Manhattan. Here's what founders can learn from the twists and turns in their journey:
- Founder
- Harry Ritter
- Initial Partnership
- Seed
- Category
- Healthcare
- Partner
- Hayley Barna
- Location
- New York
Alma
- Founder
- Harry Ritter
- Initial Partnership
- Seed
- Category
- Healthcare
- Partner
- Hayley Barna
- Location
- New York
THE FOUNDER STORY:
Dr. Harry Ritter on launching as a non-technical solo founder & pivoting through a pandemic
From validating his idea by interviewing therapists while he was still at Oscar, to losing 70% of revenue in one weekend, Harry dives into Alma's founding story and dramatic pivot from physical co-practicing spaces to a fully virtual platform:
As the VP of Care Delivery at Oscar, Harry built out the brick-and-mortar and telemedicine programs before starting Alma.
2017
Treat customer interviews like a diagnosis
During customer discovery, Harry created interview guides based on the approach from med school: asking both narrow questions ("What application do you use for finding new patients?") and open-ended ones ("What are your biggest challenges?"). After 50 conversations, he uncovered a surprising insight: Beyond running a business, therapists were struggling with loneliness as solo practitioners.
- Harry Ritter, Alma Founder
Sometimes the best co-founder is no co-founder
While conventional startup wisdom often pushes for founding teams, Harry chose to go it alone — not because he thought solo founding was inherently better, but because he didn't have an obvious potential co-founder with whom he deeply connected. Instead, he honed in on the problem and made his first key hire CTO Nick Thuesen.
2020
Finding PMF, take two
In early 2020, Harry had millions invested in NYC real estate — just as the pandemic hit. Alma closed their physical locations, quickly ramped up their insurance program and doubled down in their investment to support teletherapy. This pivot ultimately accelerated their growth, expanding from serving providers from one state to all 50 in under three years.
