By Mary Dougherty 

This is the first in a semi-regular series that introduces the TechPoint ecosystem to new founders, their companies and the challenges they faced in getting their company to market., 

Like many founders, profound personal experience led Tiffney Vivo to establish her company, Therapprove. In her case, it was dealing with the unnecessarily complex and difficult process to properly care for her daughter, Avanelle, who was born with Down Syndrome in March 2020, that caused the former HR professional to become one of Indiana’s newest tech founders. 

More than 26 million children in the US are born with developmental or mental health disorders. Early intervention is vital if children with developmental, mental and genetic disorders are to achieve their best lives. But too many families with these children face unreasonably long wait times to receive any services.  And therapy providers are often burdened by a system of inefficiencies in managing referrals to get those services delivered. 

VIvo and her husband, Rey, bootstrapped the first phase of Therapprove.  With the encouragement and help of a close friend, Vivo was able to turn its first phase into a more tangible application by creating wireframes, making it easier to share the concept with others. Vivo then went on to win the Crossroads Pitch Competition with the Flywheel Fund and received funding from Elevate Ventures and received valuable support technical assistance from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.   

Therapprove offers a SaaS solution to help automate patient referrals and optimizes provider waitlists and is designed to help parents and guardians gain access to prompt, appropriate care.    

Vivo’s daughter needed occupational, speech and physical therapy, much of which was provided through First Steps, Indiana’s Early Intervention Program for children 0-3 with special needs. While First Steps provides early intervention for young children, if often struggles to tailor services to individual children. Especially given the enormous demand for services in Indiana and all following strict timelines outlined by the state of Indiana. After waiting months to be assigned a therapist, Vivo determined that a more streamlined, personal approach was essential. 

The experience led Vivo to create a better process for other families and caregivers. Therapprove is a first-of-its-kind platform for the parents and guardians of special needs children and the medical professionals who specialize in their care. It operates a bit like OpenTable and is free-of-charge to users. Children are placed on a single waitlist that is shared across multiple therapy clinics in their area. Clinics that use the platform and have openings that match children’s needs can reach out to parents and guardians directly to offer appointments. 

Currently, Therapprove has four employees, the founding team, an intern and two part-time support managers.  Vivo shared that one of the toughest parts of being a founder is selecting the right partners, vendors, and team members. Much like finding the right therapist for her daughter, she said selecting the right team, partners and vendors can take some time. 

Over the next year, Vivo plans to focus on growth acceleration and market expansion.  Therapprove is currently seeking investors who share the vision of the company.  Her current focus is on scaling the platform and improving the user experience for providers and families. Vivo expects to introduce new features, improve lead generation and test strategic pilot programs.   

Vivo’s daughter is thriving with her current therapies and school. She loves mimicking her mom, by taking “calls” from Therapprove team members. Watching her daughter grow and thrive continues to fuel Vivo and the growth of Therapprove.