Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Bloomberg
Speaker 1: Quick Takes Tim Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio Decis. They caught
Speaker 1: our attention last week thanks to Bloomberg's Julian Tan. She
Speaker 1: wrote about Cerebral. It's a startup that provides mental health services,
Speaker 1: and the company came out saying it's valuation roughly quadrupled
Speaker 1: to four point eight billion tim after raising three million
Speaker 1: dollars in an equity funding round led by soft Bank
Speaker 1: Vision Fund to Kyle Robertson is the CEO of Cerebral.
Speaker 1: Kyle joins us on the phone from Miami. Kyle, how
Speaker 1: are you doing quite well? Thank thanks for having me
Speaker 1: Carol and Tim. Yeah, thanks so much for joining us.
Speaker 1: We'll take us into this most recent round of funding
Speaker 1: that that values the company at four point eight billion
Speaker 1: dollars um. How difficult was it to raise that capital? Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's you know, a really great question. I mean we
Speaker 1: we actually weren't looking to raise capital, right. Um. You know,
Speaker 1: we're one stop shop for all things mental healthcare and
Speaker 1: we have a vision to fundamentally transform access to high
Speaker 1: quality mental healthcare SCAUP scale and our view is that
Speaker 1: all the companies in this space combined are barely scratching
Speaker 1: the surface of this overall market and this overall opportunity.
Speaker 1: So while we didn't need to raise capital, um, you know,
Speaker 1: we were really aligned with soft banks vision that we
Speaker 1: can build something really sick here, and when they came
Speaker 1: to us to potentially partner, we were really excited about
Speaker 1: it and what it could be for the path forward
Speaker 1: in terms of transforming access to high quality mental health care. Well,
Speaker 1: and take a step back for us, because I do
Speaker 1: feel like Kyle um, you know that the conversation around
Speaker 1: mental wellness mental health, even how we the words we
Speaker 1: used to describe it, it's no longer you know, oh,
Speaker 1: you know, kind of pushed to the side and we
Speaker 1: don't really talk about it. I feel like the pandemic
Speaker 1: has made it a much more um part of our
Speaker 1: conversation about our well being overall and the importance of
Speaker 1: it and having access to the right care. How has
Speaker 1: that impacted what you guys are doing at s A. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think I think the historical stigma around access to
Speaker 1: high quality mental health care has been really problematic. Right, Um,
Speaker 1: you have millions, really tens of millions of Americans who
Speaker 1: historically have suffered from mental health challenges and the vast
Speaker 1: majority of them haven't gotten the help that they deserved
Speaker 1: and needed, right. And I think that the pandemic, coupled
Speaker 1: with a cultural shift and recognition that anyone can face
Speaker 1: mental health challenges and there shouldn't be a stigma around
Speaker 1: it has been really powerful. And so I think, you
Speaker 1: know Naomi Osaka, the famous tennis players, while Simone Biles
Speaker 1: is now our chief impact officer at Cerebral. UM coming
Speaker 1: out and saying, hey, you know, I'm not okay, right,
Speaker 1: I can't continue doing this. And and seeing public figures
Speaker 1: like that say hey, it's okay to not be okay,
Speaker 1: and it's okay to get the help you deserve and
Speaker 1: need has been really really powerful UM from a de
Speaker 1: sigmentization perspective, and it's really a big part of our
Speaker 1: mission at Cerebral. Its destigmatizing access to high quality mental
Speaker 1: health care so that everyone will get the care they
Speaker 1: deserve a need. So we're really excited. Go ahead, No,
Speaker 1: And what I was curious about, So, Kyle, what's your approach?
Speaker 1: I mean, we all know kind of the traditional proach
Speaker 1: I guess to getting UM mental mental care mental health care.
Speaker 1: What's your approach specifically, how is it different? Yes, I
Speaker 1: think for us, it's really about building the one stop
Speaker 1: shop for high quality mental healthcare. So whether you need
Speaker 1: you know, wellness, meditation, clinical care, whether that be medication management, therapy, counseling,
Speaker 1: being able to access that from home right via telemedicine
Speaker 1: is really what Cerebral is fundamentally about. An unlocking supply
Speaker 1: of clinicians and lock stuff with demands such that we
Speaker 1: can take way times from traditional way times of two
Speaker 1: three months to quite literally minute, right. So we have
Speaker 1: something called instant live visits where we're able to know
Speaker 1: exactly how many clinicians we need at a a given time,
Speaker 1: with what licenses, with what specialization, such that a client
Speaker 1: or consumer of behavioral healthcare can come on to Cerebral
Speaker 1: sign up and actually be seen by a licensed clinician
Speaker 1: within fifteen minutes. That's really unheard of. And go ahead,
Speaker 1: and Kyle, it's all telemedicine, right, Yes, so we're fully
Speaker 1: telemedicine model. And um, this does a ton in terms
Speaker 1: of being able to unlock supply of clinicians and lockstoff
Speaker 1: with demand and driveway time. But what are the guardrails
Speaker 1: that are up because if if you're talking about prescribing
Speaker 1: medication as well, UM, what are the ways that you
Speaker 1: know you avoid abuse, because that's that's absolutely something that
Speaker 1: that can happen in situations like this. Yeah, I think
Speaker 1: I think one important thing to think about, right is
Speaker 1: the distinction between telemedicine in person care, right. And I
Speaker 1: think historically there has been a bias against telemedicine in
Speaker 1: despite the facts that all of the clinical research support
Speaker 1: that telemedicine outcomes are equal are actually better. UM and
Speaker 1: our chief medical officer, Dr David Moe Harvard Tain Psychiatrists
Speaker 1: actually recently published a white paper highlighting our outcomes and
Speaker 1: highlighting the fact that you know, outcomes as measured by
Speaker 1: symptom based rating scales like the PHQ, the GOD, the
Speaker 1: I s I are actually equal or better with telemedicine. UM.
Speaker 1: There absolutely need to be guardrails in place, and there
Speaker 1: absolutely are for Cerebroll and other telemedicine organizations. But I
Speaker 1: think it's important this recognition supported by clinical research that
Speaker 1: telemedicine actually leads to equal or better outcomes and most
Speaker 1: importantly that are access to care. Yeah, you do wonder
Speaker 1: and I think this has certainly been one of the
Speaker 1: conversations that we've been having over the last eight nine
Speaker 1: twenty months about, you know, people who haven't been able
Speaker 1: to access mental health care and and that by going virtual,
Speaker 1: it's really opened it up to a lot of people. Hey, um, Kyle,
Speaker 1: sit tight. We're going to come back and continue the
Speaker 1: conversation we have been talking with Kyle Robertson. He's the
Speaker 1: founder and CEO of Cerebral, and I will continue talking
Speaker 1: about it in their latest fundraise because what I do
Speaker 1: wonder too, is you know, what's the plans for growth
Speaker 1: Partnerships obviously a big part of what they are doing,
Speaker 1: and they're growth going forward. I also got to ask
Speaker 1: about licensing, because this stuff is different on a state
Speaker 1: by state basis, So do you have to match potential
Speaker 1: patients with providers who are in that same area. It's
Speaker 1: a good question. But the idea about the guardrails, I
Speaker 1: think is really important because because you don't, you want
Speaker 1: to make sure people are being diagnosed correctly, and sometimes
Speaker 1: that is something that face to face can be really crucial.
Speaker 1: All Right, We're gonna continue with him in just a moment.
Speaker 1: I want to get back to our guest still with
Speaker 1: us is Kyle Robertson. He's cerebral founder and CEO, and
Speaker 1: they are a mental health UM services start up and
Speaker 1: we are talking about them because our Jillian Tan wrote
Speaker 1: this great article about their valuation roughly quadrupling to four
Speaker 1: point eight million after raising three million in inequity funding
Speaker 1: around led by stopping Vision Fund. To Kyle, thanks for
Speaker 1: staying with us. You're there in Miami, UM, we just
Speaker 1: want to ask you. First of all, Jillian's story has
Speaker 1: this great picture of you there with Simone Biles, Olympic gymnast,
Speaker 1: incredible UM athlete who walked away from the Olympics putting
Speaker 1: her mental health above her crust for gold. Uh. It
Speaker 1: really stood out and she you know, I think it
Speaker 1: created and sparked a lot of conversations. I know, certainly
Speaker 1: for us in our newsroom. Talk us about the interactions
Speaker 1: and conversations you've had with her and understanding maybe as
Speaker 1: somebody who's running a company, but really understanding you know,
Speaker 1: what's involved and what's needed really by those who are
Speaker 1: trying to improve their mental well being. Absolutely, you know,
Speaker 1: I think I think Simone's voice when in Tokyo she said,
Speaker 1: I'm going to stop here, right, my mental health is
Speaker 1: more important than gold medals. It was really powerful, right,
Speaker 1: It was really powerful for a lot of people, my
Speaker 1: elf included as the CEO of a mental health company. Right.
Speaker 1: I actually was sitting in the hospital bed this summer,
Speaker 1: um because I was suffering from a mersa pneumonia induction
Speaker 1: when I was watching the Olympics, and I my mental
Speaker 1: health was suffering, right, Being locked up in a hospital bed, right,
Speaker 1: not knowing what was going to happen. And seeing her say, right, um,
Speaker 1: my mental health is more important here and I'm going
Speaker 1: to stop was so powerful for me. And I think
Speaker 1: when I saw that, and when our organization saw that,
Speaker 1: we knew we had to partner with Simone, Right. We
Speaker 1: knew we had to partner with Simone to tell the
Speaker 1: world that taking care of your mental health is more
Speaker 1: important than anything, right, and that it needs to be prioritized,
Speaker 1: it needs to be distigmatized, and people need to get
Speaker 1: access to the care they deserve and meat and that's
Speaker 1: what our organization is all about. That's what the real
Speaker 1: role is about. Um. So we're we're really excited to
Speaker 1: be partnered with Simone as our Chief Impact Officer and
Speaker 1: you know, even though we've only been working with her
Speaker 1: for a few months, she's had an incredible impact. I'm
Speaker 1: so curious about the relationships that you have with clinicians,
Speaker 1: with with providers, and how you're able to treat people
Speaker 1: in different parts of the country because there are there
Speaker 1: is this patchwork of rules and regulations. I mean, correct
Speaker 1: me if I'm wrong, doctor has to be licensed in
Speaker 1: a certain state. Correct, that's right. Yes, so there are
Speaker 1: licensing requirements, but one of the benefits of telemedicine is
Speaker 1: that particularly in rural areas where there's not a lot
Speaker 1: of access to high quality mental healthcare. Right. A small
Speaker 1: town in Appalachia may not even have a psychiatrist, right, Um,
Speaker 1: so we can get folks connected to the right level
Speaker 1: of care for them. Does the clinician need a state license? Generally,
Speaker 1: the answer to that is yes. However, our clinicians are
Speaker 1: largely cross licensed across multiple states, so they may not
Speaker 1: have to sit in the same state that the patient
Speaker 1: that they're providing care to is sitting in, right, but
Speaker 1: they do have to be licensed. That said, there isn't
Speaker 1: a movement today towards universal license are right, you know,
Speaker 1: we believe that it is a positive movement and that
Speaker 1: it would be good for society, right because it is
Speaker 1: a lot more efficient. Um. And there's no reason that
Speaker 1: with the proliferization of telemedicine that a clinician who's licensed
Speaker 1: in California but not licensed in New York or Georgia
Speaker 1: shouldn't be able to provide care to a patient. They're right,
Speaker 1: So it's definitely something we believe in. But we do
Speaker 1: take advantage of licensing clinicians up in states that they're
Speaker 1: not physically nomstiled in. Today, Kyle, you have more than
Speaker 1: twenty three clinicians signed up according to Jillian's article that
Speaker 1: that she wrote about your fundraise. Are these clinicians working
Speaker 1: full time for cerebral Are they doing this as kind
Speaker 1: of a side hustle in addition to seeing patients in person,
Speaker 1: perhaps are using other telemedicine platforms. Yeah, clinicians to to
Speaker 1: to clarify there, but um, absolutely, our clinicians are mixed. Um.
Speaker 1: So we have over clinicians across the country. They're a
Speaker 1: mix of you know, full time and part time. And
Speaker 1: that's intentional, right, because we want to meet the clinician
Speaker 1: where they're at and to be able to help them,
Speaker 1: UM fill in their schedules as needed. Right. Some clinicians
Speaker 1: want a part time situation right UM, where they can
Speaker 1: get supplementary income, where they can work from where they
Speaker 1: want when they want. Some folks want to work part
Speaker 1: time in general, right. Others that you want to work
Speaker 1: full time via telemedicine. So. UM. In short, it's a variety.
Speaker 1: Our average clinician works over twenty clinical hours a week
Speaker 1: with us, so UM it tends to be fairly evolved
Speaker 1: with our clinicians. However, UM, there is a variety of structures.
Speaker 1: So where do you see it all going? Ultimately? I
Speaker 1: know you've got partnering our partnerships with Signa and Anthem. UM.
Speaker 1: My understanding you know and just reading in for our
Speaker 1: time with you today, is that you are looking to
Speaker 1: be an in network resource for I think all insured
Speaker 1: Americans by the end of So what exactly do you
Speaker 1: mean and and how do you get there? And will
Speaker 1: you get there? Absolutely? So, I think that's an incredibly
Speaker 1: important question. UM. A year ago today, we were not
Speaker 1: in network with any of the insurance carriers, right. UM.
Speaker 1: We launched with Signa in January. UM. We we now
Speaker 1: are working with Etna signa United Health Group Luecrosse with
Speaker 1: Shield Medicare, etcetera. Right, Um, And our vision to your
Speaker 1: point is to be in network with every help plan
Speaker 1: in every state such that regardless of your insurance carrier,
Speaker 1: regardless of your geography, regardless of your income level, regardless
Speaker 1: of your race, you can come to cerebrawl and get
Speaker 1: the care you deserve and need and it's affordable. It's
Speaker 1: that convenient and it's high quality. Right. That's the vision
Speaker 1: for Cerebral, and we have the right team in place
Speaker 1: to to get us there. Unfortunately, I think regulators, clinicians,
Speaker 1: patients alike are recognizing the need for high quality care
Speaker 1: that enables patients to get the care they deserve, in need,
Speaker 1: when when they need it. Right. Um, So that's that's
Speaker 1: what we're focused on in the organization. Yeah. No, um no,
Speaker 1: it's pretty you know, and it's really pretty astonishing everybody
Speaker 1: that you're you're hooking up with in terms of the
Speaker 1: health care system. We're talking with Kyle Robertson, chief executive
Speaker 1: officer at Cerebral, on the phone from Miami, and uh,
Speaker 1: this is certainly one of the big topics of the year. Hey, Kyle, UM,
Speaker 1: help us understand what exactly do we have time? Actually, yeah,
Speaker 1: I want to make sure we have time for your
Speaker 1: coy um, do help us understand how you expand here
Speaker 1: geographically because the I know, you know, a big part
Speaker 1: of this is working in the United States and the
Speaker 1: patwork of regulation state by state. But how how do
Speaker 1: you have your eyes on international expansion? Really important question,
Speaker 1: right because mental health challenges don't discriminate by geography or nationality,
Speaker 1: and unfortunately access is really challenging across the globe. Right.
Speaker 1: So we are in all fifty states of the United
Speaker 1: States and working with a variety of different health plans
Speaker 1: as well as government program in the US, but we
Speaker 1: recently launched in the United Kingdom right and one our
Speaker 1: first contract with the National Health Service there right UM.
Speaker 1: The idea being that by starting to work with single
Speaker 1: payer systems like the NHS, UM, you know, we have
Speaker 1: a roadmap to grow and expand in Europe right where
Speaker 1: there are a lot of single payer systems. So in short,
Speaker 1: what I would say is that mental health access is
Speaker 1: a huge challenge, not just in the US but globally,
Speaker 1: and we absolutely have global ambition, which is why you know,
Speaker 1: within a year and a half of launching in the US.
Speaker 1: We launched our first international geography being in the UK. UM,
Speaker 1: So definitely a big priority across Europe, across Asia, across
Speaker 1: South America, UM, and definitely a focus moving forward. Kyle,
Speaker 1: just got about thirty seconds left here the capital raises.
Speaker 1: What are you going to use the money for? It?
Speaker 1: Is the plan also to go public? Just quickly? Yeah,
Speaker 1: absolutely important question, you know. For us, it's about building
Speaker 1: the one stop shop for high quality mental healthcare. So
Speaker 1: that means all products, all conditions, so expanding into more
Speaker 1: wellness products like meditation, UM, expanding into new new conditions
Speaker 1: like some use disorder like the freni end. Really being
Speaker 1: that one stop shop for pairs, consumers of behavioral health
Speaker 1: clinicians alike. That's a big focus for the fund raise,
Speaker 1: as well as continuing to expand our pair partnerships, expanding
Speaker 1: globally UM and and really leveraging data science more and
Speaker 1: more as we grow. All right, we'll have to get
Speaker 1: back to you about go in public if that's part
Speaker 1: of it. To Gyle Robertson, chief executive officer, founder of Cerebral,
Speaker 1: joining us on the phone from Miami, this is Bloomberg