From Pitchfest Winner to Fortune 50 Partner: Inside Spirence’s Scaling Journey

[00:00:00] We did close a customer as a direct result of Pitchfest. Oh wow! Yep, they saw us pitch there and we further introduced them to the platform. They demoed it and they are now a very happy customer with wonderful engagement. And then just generally, the past year has been a lot of momentum. We are thrilled with our pipeline and our results of this year's sales season. We have over half a million lives.

[00:00:27] In our active pipeline, we have been bringing on consistent customers. This year, you know, we're learning more about the sales cycle. So, steady growth. Everyone wants to see that hockey stick. This is the WorkTech Podcast. That was Laura Koontz, co-founder and president of Spirits, a prevention first mental health platform for employers.

[00:00:54] A year ago, Spirits took second place at Pitchfest. Now, Laura says a customer found them through that pitch and the pipeline has kept building since. We'll get into what happened after the stage, what it takes to sell a new category, and what she'd tell this year's Pitchfest class. HR Tech is just days away. Let's get into it. Hey, welcome back to WorkTech everyone.

[00:01:18] It's me, George LaRock, and we are in the crunch time to HR Tech in Vegas, the big global event for HR and WorkTech. And I'm really happy to have this conversation today with one of last year's two winners of the Pitchfest, Laura Koontz from Spirits. Thank you for being here. And I'm excited to check in and see how everything's going. Thanks. Thanks for being on the show. Yeah. Always good to see you, George.

[00:01:48] Excited to have the conversation. So for anyone that doesn't know you and or doesn't know Spirits, give us the intro. Let's start with you and then tell us all about Spirits. So I'm Laura Koontz. I'm the president and co-founder of Spirits, and we are a prevention first mental health platform at scale. I myself have a background in behavioral health care, so I've worked in the behavioral health

[00:02:16] care industry on the residential side for 17 years, and I'm very grateful to have co-founded Spirits a few years ago and gone into the employee benefits space. Yeah, it was really cool to meet you last year at HR Tech. And you were one of the two winners in the Pitchfest.

[00:02:39] And I think what really stands out about Spirits is, especially now, where tech isn't the moat anymore. Tech isn't that hard to develop any longer. Not that it doesn't have its challenges, especially to do it at scale, but the expertise and experience and context of the problem that you're helping solve is really the moat, is what we're finding.

[00:03:05] And that kind of sums up where Spirits is, based on your background, based on how and why the platform got its start. And did you get that? You were very, you're not like unique and off on an island at HR Tech, but it was a very unique kind of offering. Did you get that feeling last year at HR Tech? Definitely did.

[00:03:27] And I got the feeling that people are very hungry for a different approach to this problem. I mean, the workforce has had the same solution for mental health for over 85 years. And yes, we've seen innovation of that solution. But that solution is still for a very small percentage of the workforce, roughly 25 who would require clinical care, right?

[00:03:57] But then you have this other 75%. And what I really saw last year at Pitchfest is everybody else is seeing what we were seeing, looking from the outside in, from the behavioral health lens into the employee benefit space. But everyone else is seeing that 75% struggling more and more because the workforce is changing. The world is changing. There are increasing pressures on every worker. How are we going to support?

[00:04:24] Yeah, that was like a masterclass you just gave on differentiating yourself, you know, in the context of this show that's happening and what, you know, how I met you. It's like a sea of voices all saying a lot of the same things. And they're even across different categories sounding very much the same. And you zero right in on, you know, the problem you're solving and how and why you're different and how you've approached it.

[00:04:51] And I think that's for everybody thinks that's just for people selling things. But it helps the buyer. It helps the customer so much to quickly get to, okay, what is it and what makes it different from all the things that we've seen and used over the years. So thank you. Thank you for that. That's really helpful. You're welcome.

[00:05:14] And I'll tell you, HR Tech and PitchFest last year was our first glimpse into the real shift in the market, which we assumed would be coming based on the workplace mental health research studies that had come the two years before 2024 and 2025. They were all saying that same data. And so to us, it was like, it's only a matter of time before people. And maybe the studies prior to that had said that as well.

[00:05:42] We were just really focused on when we were building this where the market was and how we could uniquely bring what we know treating the sick to the masses and the workforce helping the well stay well. So it was really our first glimpse into the market response. And over the past year, we have seen that more and more where you're seeing those large and jumbo employers. You're seeing those potential strategic partners.

[00:06:10] You're seeing the payers say, we're starting to look at prevention. And we're like, good. You're listening to the people. That's great. I'm glad to hear that. So it sounds, you know, you were one of the winners at PitchFest. And did you get to walk through the airport with the big fake check? Did you do? Yeah. How fun was that? It was great. We had a lot of questions. We had a lot of congratulations. We had, you know, a lot of confusion.

[00:06:39] Now, do you go cash that check? Like, people have to process, you know, what they're saying. You have to sign it really big on the back. Yeah, it was fun. That's great. I love, that's one of the things I love checking in with people later is, you know, how was that? Because that, I haven't done it. I've only heard it every time, every year from folks like you. So maybe I need to start something up and go win PitchFest. But all right. So tell us about the last year.

[00:07:05] So what, you know, what's transpired for Spirits since that moment? Yeah, well, I'll give you the highlights. And then there are certainly lowlights as there are to anything. The highlights, you know, post PitchFest, we definitely felt the momentum. It very much helped us build credibility externally. And I have to mention, it also helped us build confidence internally.

[00:07:33] Just the whole process of writing the pitch. And, you know, you have to be a master in the executive summary in corporate sales anyway. But putting the meat of everything you're doing into three minutes helps you master that. So we used the pitch from PitchFest in another version throughout our entire sales season this year.

[00:07:59] It really, like you said, got to the root of the problem, the solution, and how we were uniquely solving it. So, you know, we, like I said, it helped us build credibility. It helped us build momentum. We did close a customer as a direct result of PitchFest. Oh, wow. Yep. They saw us pitch there. And, you know, we, you know, further introduced them to the platform. They demoed it. And they are now a very happy customer with wonderful engagement. Oh, well, congrats to you and them. Yeah.

[00:08:29] Yeah. So that was great. You know, and then just generally, the past year has been a lot of momentum. We are thrilled with our pipeline and our results of this year's sales season. We have over half a million lives in our active pipeline. We have been bringing on consistent customers this year. You know, we're learning more about the sales cycle, which I would say would be a low light. It's a challenge. It's patience on a level that I didn't know I had.

[00:08:59] Thankfully, our investors have. So steady growth, but everyone wants to see that hockey stick and you have to wait out the sales season. So, you know, and then the other low light is we are introducing essentially a new concept to a $60 billion market. So that has been very difficult because you have to have more conversations.

[00:09:21] And, you know, thankfully, we do have expertise in the overall landscape of mental health from our experience on the sick side. You know, treating the sick and residential care all of those years, you know, 17 years in the industry of behavioral health.

[00:09:41] So, you know, thankfully, we've been able to become somewhat of a subject matter expert to people and helping them really understand why the old products, they're just not seeing the utilization that they want to see. So what I would say is, you know, a low light has been just that learning curve and them being patient with us as they learn something new and us being patient with ourselves as we try to get them across the finish line and try and do what we've created.

[00:10:08] It sounds like there's a lot of learning going on. There is steady growth. So that's good. That's a huge silver lining to be going through that learning. And, I mean, these are, this is, it's enterprise, you know, sales and it takes time. And, you know, whether it takes time getting it right or it takes time just getting the deals done, even when you're getting it right, it is time. So I feel for you on that patience front.

[00:10:36] But tell me how you're, how's the market for you right now? It seems like when we've checked in a couple of times and it seems like that steady growth is there. There's, there's traction and you've got partners and, and it seems like you've got, you know, wind in the sails. Absolutely. There is no doubt about it. We have had steady growth. I can't think of a time this year when we didn't have several contracts pending.

[00:11:03] And, you know, when I say the challenges of enterprise sales, a lot of times they are pending for a while. They just need a while to close. And we've been really blessed to cross paths with people who've been at this a long time in this industry. You being one of them, they give us perspective. They help us understand it's not just us. And the fact that we have the at-bats that we have this early on, it's special. And, you know, I don't want to diminish that.

[00:11:32] The amount of at-bats we are talking to several, you know, we just had a Fortune 50 company, you know, renew their pilot with us. Oh, wow. They had a wonderful, it's Bank of America. I'm allowed to say that now. Oh, great. Good for you. I'm allowed to say it now. Oh, yeah. And, you know, then we have several others in our pipeline that are towards the bottom of the funnel. So, you know, we are absolutely seeing the market respond to what we're doing. It's interesting.

[00:12:01] Their heads were already there. They just didn't have the product. Wow. Wow. Well, congrats on everything this past year. Let's, you know, looking forward, starting with, you know, the show, what are you excited about for HR Tech? What are you, what are you, who are you looking to talk to at HR Tech and how can those folks find you? Well, I will say the app is wonderful. I have booked eight meetings through the app. All right. Yeah.

[00:12:31] So I'm very excited to meet new people, meeting with several heads of Total Rewards and heads of HR that, you know, I met through the app. And, you know, they looked at what we're up to. And so that's great. And meeting with several analysts, which I'm very excited about as well. Not just, yeah, obviously for them to hear about us, but to learn from them.

[00:12:55] That's something that I'm very much looking forward to with HR Tech is to take as much information in as I'm putting out. Because as president of Spirits, I definitely am always looking for whether or not we need to put more energy in one channel or another. Yeah. I'm so glad to hear you talk about, I mean, I'm excited that the app has turned up some great meetings for you on the customer front.

[00:13:21] But to hear you talk about the analysts, not just because I get thrown in that bucket a lot. But I think a lot of emerging tech companies and startups in our space go to sleep on the analysts. I tell everyone, you know, at this event, they're all looking to understand what's new and what's emerging. And if you ever had an opportunity to end up in one of their articles or posts, this is it. And it gets you on the radar. So good for you for pursuing that.

[00:13:49] I think you'll get something out of it for sure because you are, as we said, differentiated. And I think they'll want to share that. So is there anything that you would share, like a tip for any of these? You know, we're here talking about how you won the pitch fest. We'll have this up with a chance for the 33 that are pitching to watch.

[00:14:15] Is there one thing that you would tell them before they get up there and pitch that you would have liked to have known or just your wisdom from the whole experience? Yes. The one thing would be it's very easy to get stuck in your head in this process. Don't forget about your heart. I know that sounds cheesy, but we all believe in what we're doing. And the best way to translate that in my experience last year is the passion and the connection to what you're doing.

[00:14:45] So like I said, it's easy to. And, you know, I will say I remember talking to who ended up winning. You know, we were the runner up and there was the winner. And I remember talking to him briefly backstage before he went up. And I'm sitting there and I'm rehearsing. And, you know, he's just coming from his heart, right? Like he just was whatever, you know, he had the information he wanted to share. But ultimately it was what was meant to come out was coming out. And so that's my top recommendation. Nice.

[00:15:15] I think that's great advice because, you know, at this point the prep is done, right? And it should be done. And you've got the data. You've got the deck. And now you've got to come from with the passion. You've got to own it. I love that. You do. And it's people. You have to connect with the audience and connect with the judges. They are it. So don't forget about them. Look them in the eye and let them know what you're about. Yeah.

[00:15:43] Well, Laura, thank you so much for I know how busy you are. And we are in the crunch time into the show. I know what that means. It compresses everything. Thank you for sharing your time and sharing your story and experience here at WorkTech. Yeah. Thanks for having me, George. I really appreciate it. Yeah. And thanks to everybody for watching. We'll see you in Vegas. Make sure you find that Spirits booth and go say hi to Laura and check out Spirits. Until next time. This is the WorkTech Podcast.

[00:16:14] Thank you.