# Antelope Recovery

Essential mental healthcare for teens

- Canonical URL: https://wefunder.com/antelope
- Entity ID: wefunder:company:123545
- Last updated: 2026-06-22T05:03:39Z
- Generated at: 2026-06-22T15:30:10Z

## Quick facts
- ❤ Growing market. In the US, 10 million teens need IOP, and 90% are currently unable to access it.
- ❤ Now is the time. Telehealth regulations have transformed post-COVID, opening the door for change.
- ❤ The founding team has 60+ years of experience in healthcare.
- ❤ Less than 10% of teens with an addiction receive help.

## Active fundraises
- wefunder:fundraise:71048: 4(a)(6) successful (USD)
- wefunder:fundraise:71049: 4(a)(6) successful (USD)

## Story
Learn more about the teen mental health crisis: A detailed article written by our team on the teen mental health crisis. One of our favorite books that provides insight into how the mental healthcare system got here. Our teens need help. We can do so much better for our teens. At Antelope Recovery we can build essential emergency healthcare infrastructure for teens in need. We are developing remotely accessible intensive outpatient programs for teens struggling with severe mental health disorders. We can help families who usually wouldn't have access to these services stabilize, heal, and recover. What is Virtual Intensive Outpatient Therapy (vIOP)? IOP is an emergency mental healthcare service for struggling teens. It is extensively research backed. It is for teens that need more than one hour of therapy per week. 5-20 hours of therapy per week30-120 days of treatment Includes 1:1 therapy, family therapy, group therapy, and psychiatric support. (This assumes we can grow at the capacity to accept 15 new clients per month and that we can maintain at least at 75% capacity. This assumes our families and insurance companies will pay for the standard rate of IOP). We need funding in-order to launch this program. Understandably, the teen mental healthcare industry has high barriers to entry. Getting off the ground is a critical challenge. This is our "zero to one" moment. We are undergoing extensive legal processes to ensure our program is safe and high quality. We need financial support in-order to build this essential healthcare infrastructure for our teens. How we can address what is missing in mental health care: Precision and measurement-based care: 90% of programs do not track client data. Learn more about our data strategy in this article, written by our head of Data. Even implementing simple data practices could transform mental healthcare - a field that does not have the luxury of utilizing different biomarker's - and allow us to develop a precision model for treating mental illness. 2.Servicing large industry gaps: There is a huge need for this type of infrastructure. Building a mental health company, is not about client acquisition. It is about organizing providers effectively, and scaling those providers successfully. 3.Highly accessible online programming: Online therapy is extensively research-backed and has been studied for decades. Online programming does not mean that teens are sitting in front of a screen for 20 hours a week. We are building a program that includes creating an "ecology" of support nested in teens lives. Teens will be connecting with teachers, coaches, and local communities as a part of treatment. 4.Building a stable and strong clinical team: Often, mental healthcare workers have terrible mental health. We get that providing healthcare in the current model is extremely challenging to do long-term. We know that prioritizing the health of our caseworkers and clinicians is one of the only ways we can ensure the highest quality healing for our clients. By offering competitive pay, we can address these long-term issues in the mental health field. Because our program is designed by clinicians, we know what clinicians need to thrive in their work. Technology:Megan Rose, our current head of Data and Security, is currently providing us with tech leadership and we are excited to see what is in store for us as we grow. We are currently using Kareo as our electronic health record system (ehr), billing system, and client dashboard. There is an immense opportunity for developing tech solutions that can support service companies like ours in streamlining therapeutic tools and empowering clients and clinicians with access to data. Join us in providing this essential healthcare service to teens and families. Through Antelope, we strive to help struggling teens and families get the care they need, regardless of where they live.

## FAQ
1. **What’s your perspective on Charlie Health as a competitor? What makes you different from them?**
   - Great question! Charlie Health is a company we've been watching. We generally feel that competition like this helps to build the overall market and instigate positive consumer behavior changes such as higher treatment engagement and less stigma. Because the market is so desperate for these services - options for quality of care haven’t really been explored. People are so relieved to have any service available, that quality of care hasn’t come into play. We’re looking forward to seeing how thi...
2. **Is there any way for folks who may want to contribute but who can't meet the $100 threshold to donate? Also, are there any special perks for especially large donations, e.g., $5,000 or $10,000?**
   - Thank you for your question! Yes - There are three things you can do that don’t cost any money, that can support our campaign. 1. Follow our campaign on Wefunder! 2. Follow us on social media and like, comment + share on our ads and posts. 3. Introduce us to influencers, podcasts or anyone in the space who you think should know about us. You can connect them with me directly at Shelby@AntelopeRecovery.com! We don't currently offer any additional perks for larger investments, but we'd be happy...
3. **Also, just out of curiosity, what made you all decide to use Wefunder instead of raising funding from traditional VC’s or getting a small business loan?**
   - Great question, Lorraine! Given our industry and the stage of our company, Wefunder has many advantages for us and our community over a VC firm or a small business loan. Since the mental health tech boom in 2020, we have seen many mental health companies scale too quickly and cause harm to their clients in the process. These companies were trying to keep their investors happy and in the process ended up causing a lot of harm by over-prescribing or failing to provide the care they promised. Be...
4. **What is the market like currently for IOP programs specifically?**
   - Great question, Maria! There is a large market need for IOP programs right now. In the US, there are an estimated 10 million teenagers who need IOP care, 90% of which currently do not have access to care options. The primary players are traditional hospitals, who are location based. These centers are largely failing to address current needs due to high brick-and-mortar costs and the inability to reach teens who live over 45 mins away. In addition, most therapists live in urban areas, leaving ...
5. **What a wonderful initiative! I'm wondering what you anticipate the next 5 years to look like after you establish a presence in the community and begin the process of engaging teens in this work.**
   - Thank you! This is a great question. After building a presence in the community, and increasing engagement in teens, our goal is to scale both of those outcomes. Our first year open, our goal is to develop and execute a strong IOP program in the state of Colorado. Our second year open, we plan to begin the process of on-boarding additional states. Depending on changes in regulation over the next few years - that process could be as slow as a few states per year or as fast as 10+ states per ye...

## Team
- Shelby Robbins (Founder & CEO)
- Katia Nikitina, MSW (Head of Quality and Compliance)
- Anh Nguyen, LPC (Clinical Director)
- Megan Rose (Head of Data and Security )

## Recent posts
- Thank You for Supporting Antelope! (2023-07-14T13:50:00Z)
- We're so close to our goal! (2023-06-22T01:20:25Z)
- It's Working! & Final 20k Sprint (2023-05-19T17:51:01Z)
- Secured first deposit, and rolling close initiated! (2023-04-11T19:24:23Z)
- Investors make a difference: Celebrating the $50k Milestone! (2023-02-06T22:02:56Z)
- Warm Wishes from Antelope! Our New Year Update. (2023-01-10T03:26:31Z)
- Launch Update! (2022-11-29T18:22:30Z)

## Q&A
- Q: Hi, its awesome that you guys are doing this! Just wondering how you go about getting a return on an investment? Like do you have the ability to sell your shares in the future or is there some kind of annual payout based on the percentage of company growth? How does that all work exactly?
  - A: Thank you! And great question! Because we are in such an early stage of our company we are considering multiple options for what returns on investments will look like. When you invest, you receive a safe note, which converts into equity when we raise our next round of funding. Once that happens, there will likely be multiple chances to receive a return on investment. I ultimately envision and aim for a sale to a mission-aligned strategic partner (I see this as likely to be to a health tech company also committed to the health of families, or a large hospital, whose resources could give our clients an even fuller access to a continuum of care). We may instead elect to buy back shares at fair market value. The operating leverage of the business is such that it has the potential to become highly profitable in a way that could support share buybacks (approved by the lead investor) or potentially substantial dividends. If we decide to distribute earnings as dividends, you’ll get your portion of the dividends per share. Investing is always a risk, and Antelope Recovery is no different - there's no *guarantee* that you'll get your money back. Hope that helps and let me know if you have any other questions! Warmly, Shelby
- Q: When does the ability to invest in this project close?
  - A: Great question, Alex! The opportunity to invest ends on March 10th, 2023. Best, Shelby
- Q: This is such a hard time for teens, with so much access to information and life-altering choices that can be made. I’m glad Antelope Recovery is stepping up at such a critical time. Why might a parent send their teenager to Antelope Recovery over a different program? What is unique about Antelope?
  - A: We’re glad to step up, also! One of the biggest differentiators between us and other programs is our focus on data. Currently, no-one is tracking treatment outcomes to the degree necessary to meaningfully improve and provide treatment protocols. 90% of programs do not even track clinical data at all. We are building data utilization into our program from the ground up because we believe that it is our duty to improve treatment options as much as is possible. We also have explored how to integrate “off-screen” clinical interventions for an online program. Integrating animal and nature based therapies to make online IOP more accessible and effective for this age group is one of our differentiators. We have an excellent clinical team that is making great progress on this front and we’re excited to share with the community what we learn! Best, Shelby
- Q: What a wonderful initiative! I'm wondering what you anticipate the next 5 years to look like after you establish a presence in the community and begin the process of engaging teens in this work.
  - A: Thank you! This is a great question. After building a presence in the community, and increasing engagement in teens, our goal is to scale both of those outcomes. Our first year open, our goal is to develop and execute a strong IOP program in the state of Colorado. Our second year open, we plan to begin the process of on-boarding additional states. Depending on changes in regulation over the next few years - that process could be as slow as a few states per year or as fast as 10+ states per year. One of our primary goals over the next five years, that we believe mental health tech has not been focused on enough, is to increase engagement in the populations that need help most. Often, the individuals who most need mental health treatment tend to be the least likely to seek it out. Almost two-thirds of people who die by suicide and more than half of the young people who make suicide attempts have not been receiving mental health care. Any visit to a public or private mental health facility finds little attention on the patient’s journey, and even less concern towards the needs of their families. By understanding client’s experiences, and building programs for (and with) them, and not just for payers or providers, we are hoping to dramatically increase engagement and develop programs that actually work. Digital communication technologies have shown the potential to increase outreach and engagement as well, and play a key role in our mission. By focusing on increased engagement with appropriate clients who have a strong need for services, our hope is to increase effectiveness of care. A big challenge in mental health tech has been responsible scaling with acute populations, and reaching the "right" clients for the treatment options you provide. By focusing on those two issues, our hope is to set Antelope (and our clients) up for a healthy future. I hope this helps! Warmly, Shelby
- Q: What is the market like currently for IOP programs specifically?
  - A: Great question, Maria! There is a large market need for IOP programs right now. In the US, there are an estimated 10 million teenagers who need IOP care, 90% of which currently do not have access to care options. The primary players are traditional hospitals, who are location based. These centers are largely failing to address current needs due to high brick-and-mortar costs and the inability to reach teens who live over 45 mins away. In addition, most therapists live in urban areas, leaving teens in rural areas out of luck even if there were more location-based programs. Online programming allows us to reach more of the families that location-based programs are failing to serve. Considering the inability of hospitals and traditional outpatient programs to meet the current demands, we see the market for Teen IOP telemedicine as wide open, however new it is. We’ve seen early companies begin to step into this space who are still struggling to address the demands for these services and scale effectively. We have strong 2nd mover advantages and believe we can integrate early lessons of digital healthcare to do better. Warmly, Shelby
- Q: Also, just out of curiosity, what made you all decide to use Wefunder instead of raising funding from traditional VC’s or getting a small business loan?
  - A: Great question, Lorraine! Given our industry and the stage of our company, Wefunder has many advantages for us and our community over a VC firm or a small business loan. Since the mental health tech boom in 2020, we have seen many mental health companies scale too quickly and cause harm to their clients in the process. These companies were trying to keep their investors happy and in the process ended up causing a lot of harm by over-prescribing or failing to provide the care they promised. Because we are dealing with a very vulnerable population, we want to make it as easy as possible for us to grow at a responsible and sustainable rate. For this reason and others, we did not feel that taking business loans or traditional VC money was an appropriate strategy at this time. In addition, we wanted to share this investment opportunity with friends, family and the larger community. We like that equity crowdfunding offers everyone access to a market that was formerly reserved for high-net-worth investors and institutions. We know that teen mental health is affecting nearly everyone, and making it possible for our customer base (primarily parents) to make money off of the money we make is very appealing to us. Let me know if you have any additional questions! Warmly, Shelby
- Q: Is there any way for folks who may want to contribute but who can't meet the $100 threshold to donate? Also, are there any special perks for especially large donations, e.g., $5,000 or $10,000?
  - A: Thank you for your question! Yes - There are three things you can do that don’t cost any money, that can support our campaign. 1. Follow our campaign on Wefunder! 2. Follow us on social media and like, comment + share on our ads and posts. 3. Introduce us to influencers, podcasts or anyone in the space who you think should know about us. You can connect them with me directly at Shelby@AntelopeRecovery.com! We don't currently offer any additional perks for larger investments, but we'd be happy to discuss a one-off arrangement — shoot us an email at Shelby@Anteloperecovery.com and we can discuss from there. Let me know if you have any other questions! Best, Shelby
- Q: What’s your perspective on Charlie Health as a competitor? What makes you different from them?
  - A: Great question! Charlie Health is a company we've been watching. We generally feel that competition like this helps to build the overall market and instigate positive consumer behavior changes such as higher treatment engagement and less stigma. Because the market is so desperate for these services - options for quality of care haven’t really been explored. People are so relieved to have any service available, that quality of care hasn’t come into play. We’re looking forward to seeing how this evolves. This leaves a tremendous amount of opportunity for us both to thrive. We’ve learned a lot about mental health tech startups like Charlie Health since Covid, and in many ways we are coming into the market with some strong 2nd mover advantages - we have learned a lot from watching these early companies and are ready to integrate what they’ve missed and improve upon their strategies to create “digital healthcare 2.0”. We are primarily focusing on two missed opportunities: 1. Data collection and program evaluation. Measurement and feedback may be one the most important innovations for digital mental health. Tech companies may actually be too good at collecting data and using feedback to iteratively improve performance. A part of this culture could go a long way to improve a field that lacks any biomarker and has yet to embrace objective measurements of mood, cognition, or behavior. As with every other aspect of medicine, better quality will require measuring results of treatment, and improving practice based on this feedback — none of which has been standard in traditional mental health care. No other significant competitor that we know of is focused on program evaluation and data collection like our company. 2. Engagement. As digital mental health companies disrupt brick-and-mortar mental health care, they can use tech’s demonstrated potential to reach and engage people by understanding client’s’ experiences and building programs for (and with) them, not just for payers or providers. People who need mental health treatment the most tend to be the least likely to seek it. Almost two-thirds of people who die by suicide and more than half of young people who make suicide attempts have not been receiving mental health care. Any visitor to a public or private mental health facility finds little attention to the patient’s journey, and even less concern for the needs of families. No competitor is demonstrating an ability to increase engagement in the way we need to in order to successfully get the resources we have to the teens who need it. Data analysis and engagement may seem like relatively insignificant features of Antelope, but again, it means the potential is huge to become the leader when it comes to improving the quality of care, improving engagement and ethics. So, we welcome our competitors! They increase awareness...and as we grow and gain traction (using these investment dollars!), then people will start to learn that Antelope offers something unique. Let me know if you have any other questions! Best, Shelby
- Q: Would love to invest, and I love what y'all are doing. Here are a couple questions I have: 1. When do y'all intend to reach a $2.4M valuation? 2. What are the metrics you'll need to hit in order to be at that valuation? (ie. Users/Hospital systems/insurance provider acceptance ,etc. 3. Data (Where does it live, how is it stored, how do you protect it). 4. What is the worth of the company today? (Can I reach out directly to invest outside of wefunder?)
  - A: Thank you! These are great questions, and I hope this helps to clear some of it up. On our Valuation: Pre-seed valuations are challenging for founders and investors alike because the company has no revenue yet - so the valuation is based on the experience of the team, growth potential, and the IP. We received our valuation from Equidam. They valued our company at over $8Million in October 2022. They use 5 different methods to inform their report. You can read more about it here: https://www.equidam.com/methodology   We lowered our valuation to 3M, with a discount of 2.4M, to give our family, friends, and community a better deal. Our valuation was so high primarily because our TAM is extremely large. If we decide to raise more funding after this round, sell the company, or need to make a strategic decision regarding equity, we would hire another external, unbiased accountant to do an appraisal of the company. This process takes weeks and is an in-depth look into our finances, business model, projections, expenses, etc.  Right now, valuation metrics are not our primary focus. For the rest of 2023, we are focused on opening our doors, starting to earn revenue, and onboarding insurance panels to unlock insurance revenue streams. To onboard a single insurance panel can take 6 months and can be a challenging process that involves negotiating with insurance companies for reimbursement rates. Partly why we are raising money at all is to help us survive through the insurance process. Additionally, we are now selling our program to families that can afford private pay IOP care for their teens. We are tracking # of qualified leads, client conversion rates, and # of enrolled clients.  We currently have the capacity for 20 clients. Our clinical team has additional metrics they are using to track the quality of care, such as AWOL rates, attendance rates, relapse rates, etc. You can read more about how we think about measurement-based care here: https://anteloperecovery.com/measurement-based-care-is-the-future/ We are very open to taking investments over $5,000 outside of the WeFunder platform. If you'd like to use a SAFE or another financial instrument outside of WeFunder, let's discuss it! My email is Shelby@AntelopeRecovery.com. I'm happy to set up a zoom or phone call. Of course, the benefit of using WeFunder is that the more we raise through the platform, the more we can harness the power of the "crowd" and use the platform to gain more investment money.  As for data- right now, we are using Kareo as an EHR system that hosts all of our PHI. Megan, our head of data, is building out data systems in Tableau, Snowflake, and Google Cloud.  We have strong endpoint security policies developed, are HIPAA compliant, and are working on our HighTrust certification and becoming SOC2 compliant. Data security is a painfully expensive investment because there is no immediate or obvious ROI outside of avoiding theoretical disasters. Every clinical program I've ever worked with has been hacked, so data protection is close to my heart - we want to avoid that reality as much as we possibly can, so we've been biting the bullet and investing strongly in data privacy up front. I hope this helps! Feel free to contact me if you need more clarity on any of these points :)