The people
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On the TechTO stage
Chakameh Shafii demos her new website Tranqool
Watch on YouTube ↗Getting Customers (Un)comfortable
Watch on YouTube ↗Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about TranQool ↗
About
TranQool launched out of an OCAD University incubator in Ontario in early 2016, matching users with licensed clinical social workers and psychologists for after-hours video sessions at a $60 flat rate — against a $120 minimum for the same therapists' in-person practice. CEO Chakameh Shafii started it after her own experience with anxiety, and demoed the live product on the TechTO stage a week after soft launch in February 2016. The company found that privacy, not cost, turned out to be users' main concern. It ceased operations on October 31, 2017; HumanaCare bought the technology and brand in a deal that closed May 8, 2018.
Backers
Built inside OCAD University's incubator, which Shafii referenced from the TechTO stage in February 2016. She described the HumanaCare sale as a win for 'the founding team and investors' (BetaKit, 2018-05-14), but no round size or investor names are confirmed.
Quick answers
What did TranQool do?
It connected people in Ontario to licensed therapists over encrypted video, at a $60 flat rate per session, on a platform built around cognitive behavioural therapy. Therapists set after-hours availability, which was the barrier the founders set out to fix.
Who founded TranQool?
Chakameh Shafii, Saeed Zeinali and Babak Shahabi, in 2015. Shafii was CEO.
What happened to TranQool?
It shut down operations on October 31, 2017. HumanaCare, a Markham-based employee health services provider, acquired its technology and brand in a deal that closed May 8, 2018; terms were not disclosed.
What did TranQool learn about its users?
That privacy, not cost, was the main barrier. Shafii said on the TechTO stage in October 2016 that the team assumed financial access was the top blocker, then surveyed users after beta and found privacy was their main concern — so it rebuilt the site around that.