Alongside

# Alongside: A Mental Health Platform for Schools

High-Level Overview

Alongside is a Seattle-based mental health technology company that develops a mobile app designed to support adolescent mental health in school settings[1]. The platform combines AI-powered chatbot interactions with evidence-based mental health resources, offering students access to therapy exercises, journaling tools, breathing techniques, and peer support content. The company serves middle and high schools looking to expand their mental health support infrastructure, addressing the critical gap between student need and available counseling resources.

Founded in April 2022, Alongside completed a $5.5 million seed funding round led by Trilogy Equity Partners[1]. The company operates on a B2B2C model, with schools and districts purchasing annual per-student licenses. This positions Alongside within the growing edtech and digital mental health sectors, where demand for scalable, accessible youth mental health solutions continues to accelerate.

Origin Story

Alongside was founded by Jay Goyal, Anish Mehta, and Scott Freschet, all alumni of Actively Learn, a Seattle-based curriculum platform that Goyal previously led as CEO and founder before its 2018 acquisition by Achieve3000[1]. The founding team brought deep experience in educational technology and student engagement, which informed their pivot into mental health support.

The company's third co-founder, psychologist Elsa Friis, serves as head of mental health, ensuring clinical rigor underpins the product[1]. This blend of edtech expertise and mental health credentials reflects a deliberate strategy to build credibility with schools and educators. Alongside launched with pilot programs already lined up across public and private middle and high schools, demonstrating early traction and institutional buy-in[1].

Core Differentiators

• Clinical foundation: Unlike generic wellness apps, Alongside integrates input from mental health experts and psychologists, positioning it as a clinically-informed tool rather than a consumer wellness product[1].

• School-integrated crisis response: The app connects to outside support and automatically refers students in crisis to their school's support team, creating a safety net within existing institutional structures[1].

• Peer-based learning model: The platform guides students to resources including videos of other students experiencing similar issues, leveraging peer connection as a therapeutic mechanism[1].

• Multi-modal support tools: The app combines chatbot interaction, therapy exercises, journaling, breathing techniques, and soothing music—offering variety to match different student preferences and needs[1].

• Privacy-conscious design: The company is transparent with adolescents about when information may be shared with school support teams, building trust through clear communication about data use[1].

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Alongside operates at the intersection of three major trends: the digital mental health boom, the edtech expansion, and growing institutional focus on student wellness. Schools face unprecedented mental health crises among adolescents, yet most lack sufficient counseling staff—creating structural demand for scalable digital solutions.

The company's timing is strategic. Post-pandemic, schools have increased mental health budgets and are actively seeking technology partners to supplement in-person counseling[1]. Alongside's positioning as a school-integrated platform rather than a consumer app gives it institutional advantages: schools control purchasing decisions, can mandate usage, and can integrate the tool into existing support workflows. This contrasts with consumer mental health apps that struggle with retention and engagement.

The venture backing—particularly from Trilogy Equity Partners and Madrona Venture Labs—signals investor confidence in the edtech mental health category. Alongside's model also contributes to the broader ecosystem by generating data on "what works best for subclinical care," potentially informing future mental health interventions[1].

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Alongside is well-positioned to capture significant market share in school-based digital mental health, given its clinical credibility, experienced founding team, and institutional distribution model. The company's stated goal of expanding "reach to schools across the country" suggests ambitions to become a standard tool in American secondary education[1].

Key challenges ahead include scaling customer acquisition beyond pilot programs, demonstrating measurable mental health outcomes to justify school spending, and navigating the complex landscape of student data privacy and liability. As the company matures, its ability to publish research validating its approach will likely become a competitive moat.

The broader trend working in Alongside's favor is the normalization of digital mental health tools in institutional settings. As schools increasingly view mental health as a core mission—not a peripheral service—platforms that integrate seamlessly into existing workflows while maintaining clinical rigor will become indispensable infrastructure.