As burnout continues, Forte raises $3.3M for worker wellbeing

The company works with organizations to match employees with personalized guides

Employee burnout spiked during the pandemic, but continues to be a major problem with one report saying two-thirds of full-time workers have experienced burnout during their careers, while another says 75% of respondents answered yes to the burnout question and 40% said they experienced burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This has consequences for businesses, including over 20% turnover due to burnout, as well as an annual cost of $15,000 due to presenteeism per average employee.

Forte is a mental wellness platform that looks to help alleviate stress among employees by connecting them with certified Guides who are trained in its SoulCare methodology, helping employees integrate what they are, do, and experience.

Now the company will be expanding thanks to a $3.3 million seed funding round reported by Axios on Tuesday. The round was led by Tom Blaisdell from entrepreneurial advisory firm AlignPact, and included participation from Cubit Capital, Fairbridge Park and Sovereign's Capital. This follows a $1.5 million pre-seed round the company raised last year.

Founded in 2021, the Marylane-based Forte (formerly known as Paraclete) works with organizations to make their, and their employees’, lives easier.

After receiving their client's employee user roster, Forte sends each one a personal invitation to create an account which presents them with Guide options matched to their preferences.

After sharing preferences, employees choose from a selection of trained professionals as well as  a duration or 15, 30, 45, or 60 minutes. They can schedule as many as they'd like and they can switch guide. Forte will send them emails each week for reminders to book, as well as helpful wellness tips and polls to encourage moments to pause and reflect.

Guides, meanwhile, are background-checked and screened before completing a four-week training and evaluation focusing on empathetic listening.

The company says that employees on the Forte platform are 98% more present at work, whle 97% show improvement in wellbeing.

The new funding will be put toward growing its technology and its team.

VatorNews has reached out to Forte for more information about the new funding, we will update this story if we learn more. 

(Image source: getforte.com)