Since its founding in Turkey in 2019, Hiwell has been working with a mission to make therapy accessible to everyone, adhering to ethical principles. With the $1.6 million investment received in previous rounds, Hiwell has become the leading online therapy platform in Turkey, Greece, and Portugal. Serving over 700,000 people worldwide in their native languages, Hiwell operates in eight countries, including Italy, Spain, and Brazil, with more than 1,200 local expert psychologists whose master’s degrees and diplomas are verified. Hiwell provides professional support tailored to individuals’ needs, enhancing their psychological well-being and quality of life. Through Hiwell, clients from all over the world experience the privilege of receiving therapy in their native languages.
Starting its journey in Turkey, the online therapy platform Hiwell has shown strong growth in the European countries it serves. Hiwell Founder and CEO Ali Ozan Özçiçek stated that their revenues from countries outside of Turkey are approaching their Turkish revenues, saying, “After developing our product and model in Turkey, we achieved product-market fit in European countries as well.”
Following its global success, Hiwell has completed a new investment of $3.5 million in a pre-Series A funding round at a $28.5 million valuation. This investment round included companies that led the previous round and made follow-up investments, such as Boğaziçi Ventures and Eksim Ventures, as well as new investors like Ünlü Portföy Ar-Ge GSYF and Kinesis Teknoloji Yatırımları A.Ş.
“WE ASSESS PSYCHOLOGISTS’ KNOWLEDGE OF ETHICAL PRINCIPLES”
Founder and CEO Ali Ozan Özçiçek explained the golden standards underlying Hiwell’s success: “We have an acceptance rate of around 5% for selecting competent local psychologists who adhere to the ethical principles required by the service we provide. Since our inception, we not only verify the master’s degrees of the psychologists who will serve on our platform with the relevant official institutions in their countries but also conduct comprehensive interviews to assess their competencies and knowledge of the professional ethical principles of therapy.”
Online therapy moves traditional therapy methods into the digital realm using technological capabilities, allowing clients to access psychological support without location constraints while maintaining privacy and ethical principles. The value created by the online model became even more evident after the earthquake disaster in Turkey in February last year. Hiwell contributed to the emotional and psychological recovery processes of over 400 earthquake victims by providing free psychological support and therapy services.
“WE HELP OUR CLIENTS FEEL BETTER”
Ali Ozan Özçiçek emphasized that thanks to Hiwell’s more than 1,200 clinical psychologists, people receiving psychological support can easily access the most suitable competent clinical psychologists for their needs, problems, and schedules, saving time. “Thanks to the commitment of our team of competent psychologists and our team focusing on creating value through original works, we are touching the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in eight countries. This is truly a special journey, and through the services we provide, we help our clients feel better,” he said.
Highlighting Hiwell as an example of how high efficiency can create value with a small amount of investment and how it can expand globally, Özçiçek stated, “We always prioritize creating value with high efficiency in everything we do. When you believe in what you do and identify real needs, it is possible to achieve great things with limited resources.”
About Hiwell
Hiwell, founded by entrepreneur Ali Ozan Özçiçek in 2019, is a technology company with a mission to make therapy accessible to everyone. Through the application that allows expert psychologists to conduct sessions online with clients, individuals can easily receive services from anywhere in the world, while expert psychologists who save on office expenses can offer affordable services. Hiwell Online Therapy Platform, which includes 1,200 expert psychologists, carefully selects its psychologists from tens of thousands of applications.
Thanks to Hiwell’s personalized registration process, individuals who want to start therapy can find a suitable expert by taking a short test after registering on the system. They can start therapy with the expert they feel most comfortable with after free preliminary meetings. Various contents prepared by experts can also be accessed through the application. Hiwell provides direct services to individuals who need therapy and offers solutions for companies and institutions that want to provide psychological support to their employees.
