Jon Erlichman

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MindBeacon, a fast-growing provider of mental health therapy, has filed to go public. The Toronto-based company, whose investors include Manulife and Telus, is seeking to raise $50 million, according to a new regulatory filing Monday.

“BEACON’s goal is very simple – make evidence-based, effective mental healthcare available, affordable and accessible so anyone who wants it can access it,” MindBeacon Chairman and CEO Sam Duboc said in the filing.

The IPO plan comes amid rising concerns surrounding the mental health of Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re seeing the types of mental health people are seeking change over time,” Duboc told BNN Bloomberg in an October television interview, prior to the IPO announcement.

“It’s gone from, before COVID, looking at depression. Now, it’s really square on anxiety, PTSD and managing the stress of their surroundings.”

Isolation has been a key worry during the pandemic as there have been fewer social distractions for Canadians who are fighting mental health battles.

“At the end of the day, we’re social beings. And we’ve taken a lot of that away from ourselves,” Duboc said in the October interview.

“The comfort that a loved one can get when you’ve lost someone in your family — that you could go and grieve with your family or friends — you can’t do that today.  It’s very difficult.”

Frequent disruptions to work and school schedules this year have also played a role.

“Routine is so important in mental health.  And so the uncertainty make this very different than dealing with a one-time event.”

Duboc is a well-known name on Bay Street, having helped to launch the parent company of Air Miles, as well as the private equity firm Edgestone Capital Partners. But that success also brought with it pressure to perform. And in 2011, Duboc found himself struggling to deal with his own health issues, following the sudden death of his brother, Chris.

Duboc’s personal battle with depression led to the launch of his new business.

“What I experienced after Chris died started me on this journey in mental health,” Duboc said the company’s IPO filing. “It wasn’t long before I found myself deeply depressed. And notwithstanding I’d been on the board of a mental health hospital foundation and was open to seeking support, it was hard to get therapy to help me recover.”

Duboc has often cited the past realities of seeking therapy in Canada — long wait times to see mental health professionals, as well high costs, which employee insurance plans did not always cover.

MindBeacon’s journey began with Duboc investing in a leading psychotherapy clinic, growing its operation, and then launching a technology platform that began by working with insurers like Manulife and Sun Life and businesses such as Porter Airlines.

According to MindBeacon’s regulatory filing, the company generated nearly $3.2 million in the third quarter of this year. That’s a 173-per-cent increase from the same period last year.

In its IPO filing, MindBeacon also shed more light on its increased focused on a subscription-based revenue model.

“We help Canada’s largest corporations. We help Canadian governments and many others. And what they all tell us is they want to make sure their employees have the ability to access these resources in a timely manner because everyone understands what people are going through,” Duboc said in his October television interview.

“The mental health stigma about talking to your employer from years ago…COVID has accelerated the decline of that barrier.”