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StartTalking Secures Clients and Kansas Angel Investor Tax Credits
Kansas City start up offers online access to licensed psychotherapists and life coaches
Kansas City, Mo. – August 4, 2015 – StartTalking, a company from the 2015 SparkLabKC class, has secured a $150,000 Kansas Angel Investor Tax Credit and began booking clients for its mobile-enabled life coaching and psychotherapy service.
Mark Nolte, CEO of StartTalking noted that, “We have found the many people in need of therapy are reluctant to seek help for three reasons: reluctance to admit a problem, fear of being recognized at a therapist’s office, and fear of employers learning of the issue through insurance claims. We have structure our program to address these concerns and provide afford service.”
Clients connect with StartTalking online, complete a short profile, select at therapist or life coach, select number of sessions, select session lengths and select a text, voice or video connection. Payments are made online with a credit card. The company does not accept insurance.
StartTalking therapists connect with clients in HIPPA compliant secure online sessions. The company offers a menu of services from life coaching to psychotherapy, available in sessions ranging from 20 to 50 minutes. Sessions are available in several formats including text messaging and live video formats.
Nolte noted that clients have definite preferences for the technology used to connect online with therapists or life coaches. Some prefer the relative privacy afforded by text messaging. Others prefer face-to-face video.
The company is building the business via referrals from United Way’s 2-1-1 Program of Greater Kansas City, as a designated provider of counseling services, and via social media.
“At this time, we have interest from a number of organizations that see a definite fit with our company, including a women’s shelter,” said Nolte. He added, “ We believe that there are multiple channels for distributing our service and continue to explore those options.”
The Kansas Angel Investor Tax Credit applies to 50 percent of an investor’s cash investment in qualified securities of a qualified Kansas business. The full amount is available until August 30, 2015, after which the tax credit will be reduced in increments.
StartTalking is currently seeking investors and the $150,000 Investor Tax Credit will apply to qualified investments up to $300,000.
About StartTalking – StartTalking is an online psychotherapy and life coaching service that provides clients with a range of therapists and life coaches via a choice of video conferencing, voice or text messing. Services are provided by licensed psychologists, counselors and life coaches. Clients choose their therapist or life coach and their session length, with available sessions from 20 minutes ($25) to 50 minutes ($60). Services are provided via HIPPA compliant secure online connections. For more information see www.StartTalking.io
About SparkLabKC: SparkLabKC is an early-stage technology business accelerator based in Kansas City, Mo., created to help mid western entrepreneurs forge their ideas into successful companies. SparkLabKC selects 10 promising startups each year for a 90-day intense, in-residence, mentor-driven program that provides up to $18,000 in seed capital, business advisory services, free workspace and a formal demonstration day with potential investors. This is a proven accelerator program adapted to the Kansas City region.
SparkLabKC’s program focuses on helping each start up company operationalize their business concept.
The program builds on public-private partnerships and the strengths of the region’s vast entrepreneurial community. Startups that have been through this kind of program have a superior track record of generating new companies, new jobs and achieving a significant impact in their communities.
For more information go to www.SparkLabKC.com
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