NeuroFlow wins $5,000 at mental-health tech conference

Don’t get Chris Molaro wrong, there’s nothing wrong with winning $5,000.

For the founder of NeuroFlow, makers of a biometric-tracking platform for mental health professionals, the win snagged by his company at the Psych Congress Elevate conference was important because of who was in the room.

“It’s always great to get five grand,” said Molaro, who started the company alongside COO Adam Pardes in 2016. “But these weren’t judges in a pitch competition, these are professionals and psychiatrists that are potential clients.”

NeuroFlow’s Star Trek-y headset and the technology behind it, which once got the attention of Mayor Jim Kenney, was favored on Saturday by 40 percent of attendees through a digital vote, beating out six other post-revenue companies at the crossroads of technology and mental health.

Congratulations to @neuroflowlive! Our #Elevate2018 pitch event winner! pic.twitter.com/ShqDj2KIQC

— OtsukaUS (@OtsukaUS) February 25, 2018

Per the cofounder, a former Army Captain who’s been vocal about veteran suicide prevention, the win at the Austin conference speaks of the startup’s growth.

“We’re at 26 clients around the country and one in London,” said Molaro. “We’re adding seven to 10 clients a month at this point. The product has so many capabilities that it’s hard to believe it so the conversion rate from actual demos to sales has been very good for us.”

In October 2017, NeuroFlow raised a $1.25 million seed round led by the Digital Health Seed Funding Initiative, a coalition made up of Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Safeguard Scientifics and IBX’s parent company, IHG. Based out of 1776’s Center City spot, it currently employs 15 between full-timers and contractors.

Last year the company made a splash at SXSW. This year, Molaro said they’re skipping the Texas mega-conference to attend “about 10” mental health–focused conferences across the country over the next eight weeks.