TheraGuard
Executive Summary
Vision Statement
Empowering therapists to maintain financial stability while focusing on patient care through ethical, automated practice management solutions.
Problem Summary
Therapists in group practices face financial penalties for client no-shows, with fees going to the company rather than practitioners. This creates stress and forces therapists to work extra hours or use PTO to compensate for lost sessions, despite maintaining full-time employment status. The current system lacks transparency in fee distribution and fair credit for missed sessions[1][3][5].
Proposed Solution
A SaaS platform enabling therapists to customize no-show policies, directly receive a portion of fees, and automatically adjust schedules/Payroll credits. Features include policy templates, fee distribution tracking, and integration with practice management systems to handle PTO calculations fairly[1][2][4].
Market Analysis
Target Audience
W2-employed therapists in group practices (especially those accepting insurance/Medi-Cal). They face strict client quotas and PTO penalties for missed sessions. Key pain points: unfair fee distribution, administrative burden of tracking no-shows, and lack of control over practice management policies[1][3][5].
Niche Validation
Strong validation from Reddit engagement metrics (22 upvotes, 24 comments) and clear alignment with therapist community concerns about compensation fairness and administrative burdens. Multiple comments emphasize the systemic issue of no-show financial impacts[1][3][5].
Google Trends Keywords
Market Size Estimation
Serviceable Available Market: $500M (US group practices with insurance clients)
Serviceable Obtainable Market: $50M (First 3 years targeting 10% of SAM)
Total Addressable Market: $2B+ (Est. 150,000 licensed therapists in US * $13,000 avg annual session costs * 10% no-show rate)
Competitive Landscape
Existing solutions like SimplePractice and Allia Health focus on appointment reminders and client engagement but lack direct fee distribution and PTO adjustment features. Competitors prioritize practice management for owners rather than individual therapists[3][4].
Product Requirements
User Stories
As a therapist, I want to customize no-show policies with fee amounts and grace periods so I control my practice's financial boundaries
As a practice manager, I need to track fee distributions between therapists and company to ensure fair compensation
As a therapist, I want automatic PTO credit adjustments when clients no-show to avoid unfair penalties
MVP Feature Set
Policy template builder with fee sliders and grace period settings
Fee distribution dashboard showing therapist/company splits
Basic PTO credit calculator based on no-show rates
Stripe integration for fee collection and distribution
Non-Functional Requirements
HIPAA compliance for client data handling
Real-time sync with major EHR systems
Audit logs for fee distribution transactions
Key Performance Indicators
Monthly active therapists using policy templates
Average fee recovery rate per therapist
PTO credit adjustment accuracy rate
Data Visualizations
Visual Analysis Summary
Market size estimates and projected revenue growth demonstrate significant opportunity in addressing therapist financial pain points.
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Go-to-Market Strategy
Core Marketing Message
Stop losing income to no-shows. Get paid fairly for your time with automated policy enforcement and PTO credit adjustments.
Initial Launch Channels
- Targeted posts in r/therapists and r/mentalhealth communities
- Partnerships with therapist associations (e.g., CAMFT, NASW)
- Webinars with practice management influencers
Strategic Metrics
Problem Urgency
High
Solution Complexity
Medium
Defensibility Moat
Network effects through therapist community features and EHR integrations. Proprietary policy templates and fee distribution algorithms create switching costs.
Source Post Metrics
Business Strategy
Monetization Strategy
Tiered subscription model: Basic ($29/mo) for policy templates and fee tracking, Pro ($99/mo) adds PTO credit automation and EHR integrations, Enterprise ($299/mo) for multi-therapist group management.
Financial Projections
Year 1: $50k MRR (1,000 therapists * $50 avg subscription), Year 3: $1.2M MRR (24,000 therapists * $50 avg)
Tech Stack
Node.js with Express.js for REST API endpoints
PostgreSQL for relational data (policies, therapists, sessions)
Next.js for SEO-friendly, responsive UI components
Stripe for fee processing, OpenAI for policy template generation, EHR system APIs (SimplePractice, Kareo)
Risk Assessment
Identified Risks
- Resistance from group practices wanting to maintain control over fee distribution
- Complex EHR integration requirements
Mitigation Strategy
- Offer practice-level dashboards and reporting for compliance
- Partner with EHR providers for pre-built integrations