AI helps foster parent launch mental health startup, highlighting tech's role in small business growth
Michelle Turner, a foster parent and first-time entrepreneur, used artificial intelligence to quickly build Here Now Health, a mental health platform for children entering the foster system. The company, launched in January 2025, now has 16 employees and is certified in three states to provide Medicaid-funded counseling.
Turner, working from her home in Virginia Beach, employed AI tools to learn about startup culture, create a business plan, and refine her pitch to investors. “I don’t have an MBA. I don’t have these things to back me up,” she said. “Developing my funding pitch with AI guidance was like going to a master’s level class every day from the robot. It was my startup advisor.”
Her story reflects broader economic trends as AI reshapes industries. The Federal Reserve, under new Chairman Kevin Warsh, has launched a review panel to study AI’s impact on productivity, growth, inflation, and labor demand. While some officials warn of structurally higher unemployment, others see potential for faster growth without inflation.
John Bailey, a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and an adviser to one of Here Now Health’s investors, noted that AI lowers barriers for small entrepreneurs. “Things that used to take too much time or cost too much—the price to access has fallen close to zero,” he said. “It is empowering entrepreneurs to scale faster and hire people. These are not AI companies. They are traditional companies trying to deliver services but do it faster, cheaper.”
Public debate continues over AI’s role in job displacement, with tech layoffs and reduced back-office employment often cited. However, Turner’s experience suggests AI can also enable new businesses and job creation. Here Now Health addresses a critical gap in care for foster children, a need Turner identified through her own experience as a foster parent.
