Exclusive: Peer support platform Fello collects $7.3M

Peer support startup Fello, which focuses on loneliness, raised a $7.3 million seed, CEO Alyssa Pollack tells Axios exclusively.

Why it matters: The company could come back to market for its next round as soon as next year.

How it works: Fello's app matches fellos (people offering wisdom of lived experiences) with finders (people who are seeking support).

• The four current coverage areas are relationships, parenting, drug use and alcohol use.
• Fellos can earn up to $56/hour and finders pay $40 for a 30-minute video check-in with a fello.
• All fellos undergo background and reference checks and complete training modules and an assessment before they can begin offering check-ins.

What's next: Pollack said that the company will expand coverage areas to a much broader list of topics, including career shifts, grief, caregivers and other areas of pent-up demand.

• "In 2025, we will focus on driving outcomes and high NPS scores, as well as continuing to build a sound business," she says. "I would anticipate, based on milestones that we have mapped out, probably going out to market this time next year with the next round of funding."

Reality check: About half of American adults reported experiencing loneliness before the COVID-19 pandemic, and while therapy has become more mainstream in the last few decades, it is a luxury that many cannot afford.

Zoom in: The round included participation from Glen Tullman's 62 Ventures, the Capital Factory Fellowship Fund, Katalyst Capital and Offline Ventures.

Catch up quick: The company has raised $10.4 million to date.

• Pollack co-founded and co-led Uber Eats.

By the numbers: According to the U.S. surgeon general, young adults are nearly twice as likely to report feeling lonely as people over 65.

• When people lack sufficient connection in their lives, they have a 29% increase risk of heart disease, 32% increased risk of stroke, 50% increased risk of developing dementia for older adults and 60% risk of premature death.
• About half of adults say they feel lonely, a health problem that the surgeon general estimates has the same impact as smoking 15 cigarettes per day.

What they're saying: "With a lack of health care workers, social workers, and psychiatrists, people need other options to address their mental health and life goals," says Joshua Baer, CEO of the Capital Factory Fellowship Fund.

• "Going to a doctor has a stigma and cost associated with it that serves as a barrier to many. In the same way that Uber was actually much bigger than the taxi market, this is actually much bigger than the psychiatry market."