My successes.

When mental health therapist Wendy McSparren expanded her group practice during COVID-19, she never imagined it would lead to launching a tech startup. But sometimes the best business ideas are born from the most frustrating problems.

“The need for mental health services during COVID was so great, and I made the decision to expand”, Wendy explains. “In doing so, the administrative burden of managing referrals and vetting clients with their insurance and trying to match them with the best clinician to help them was all manual and was very cumbersome.”

After 36 years in mental health practice, Wendy knew this wasn't just her problem. It was an industry-wide challenge. The thing that burns out clinicians isn't caring for clients. “It's all the administrative and regulatory burden that burns you out and makes you question why you should keep doing this.”

Enter her husband, John, a software developer and former CTO for several SaaS startups. “We tried to toggle a bunch of systems together, trying to get things to talk to each other so things could be more simplified,” Wendy recalls. “We finally realized there's just nothing out there, so we decided to build a software solution specifically for mental health practices to help manage client referrals.”

Initially, they built the system—now called Admirra—solely for Wendy's practice. But when she shared the concept with her professional networking group, colleagues immediately wanted access. That informal interest became their alpha and beta testing group.

Around this time, Wendy enrolled in Chatham University's “Concept to Launch” program, where advisors recommended she connect with SCORE for mentorship. She was paired with Tomas Richter, who became instrumental in their journey.

“Tomas is an excellent sounding board, mentor and supporter,” Wendy says. “His business sense has been really great.” The guidance didn't stop there. “I try to gobble up as many of the trainings as I could through SCORE, so I take those courses regularly to help John and I conceptualize our business,” Wendy shares.

In addition to his guidance, Anne Flynn Schlicht, Director of the Center for Women’s Entrepreneurship, suggested they apply to AlphaLab, a software accelerator. The advice proved fruitful. They were not only accepted for six months but later invited to join as a full portfolio company.

Today, Admirra serves 60 customers and recently merged with a competitor, absorbing their client base. They're even expanding into Canada.

“Whoever thought that being in our homes during the pandemic would lead John and I to have our worlds collide,” Wendy reflects. For her husband, building something that impacts people's lives so profoundly has brought unexpected satisfaction.

Looking back on her SCORE experience, Wendy offers this advice: “Get a SCORE mentor because that person can help you vet what learning opportunities exist within the SCORE library based on your coaching sessions.” Even when Tomas couldn't directly help, he'd connect her with other resources.

“It's like the hero's journey,” she says. “There are all these helpers along the way.”