Jake Cooper: A Different Way to Access and Afford Mental Health Care

Hi folks! I’m Spiffy, your interplanetary journalist reporting from Planet Earth, back with a new guest. Jake Cooper, the Chief Executive Officer at Grow Therapy, is going to tell us about his committment to making a difference in how people access mental health care. Let’s see how he’s doing it! 

Spiffy: Welcome Jake, can you tell me what Grow Therapy is all about? 

Jake: Grow Therapy enables therapists to launch thriving in-network practices. By empowering providers, we're creating an affordable care network to massively expand accessibility.

Spiffy: I see! What motivated you to do this?

Jake: We founded Grow Therapy because our friends were struggling with the complexity of starting their own practices, and our loved ones were priced out of care due to a lack of in-network options.

Grow Therapy team photo. (Image courtesy of Grow Therapy)

Spiffy: How would you say you are working to create a more equitable world? 

Jake: Well, Spiffy, the pandemic has increased rates of anxiety and depression by more than 300%, yet access to care is utterly lacking. The main barrier is affordability, with 42% of Americans citing cost and poor insurance coverage as the top obstacle to access healthcare.

Spiffy: Can you tell me about a recent milestone you’ve reached? 

Jake: We have established one of the largest behavioral health groups in Florida, empowering hundreds of practitioners to provide in-network care to tens of thousands of clients.

Spiffy: Before we sign off, can you tell me about a time when you faced failure and didn't give up. What did you learn from failure? 

Jake: Sure, Spiffy, we've faced a series of obstacles in working with insurance companies, and have learned the importance of establishing mentor and advisory relationships and risk mitigation by diversifying our partners.

Spiffy: Those are important lessons to learn. Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me today, Jake. It’s been an honor.

Jake Cooper, CEO of Grow Therapy, is a healthcare entrepreneur committed to empowering providers and making care affordable. Prior to Grow, he was a private equity investor at Blackstone and Apollo. (Nominated by Harvard Innovation Labs)