crucial need, he says. Kale allows students to complete experiential wellness lessons based around the eight dimensions of health taught in the 21st Century Wellness class and offers university-specific information on how to find assistance with staying healthy.
Kale was created in part as a response to the data and analytics that Bearface generated. “There is a lot more depression on college campuses than we thought, particularly around financial challenges,” Rowe says. But the data is protected by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) regulations, which prevents Perceivant from contacting the universities it works with and telling them that a particular student needs support services.
“With Kale, it’s HIPAA-compliant and can deliver messaging about counseling and other services,” Rowe says.
Perceivant currently has 10 full-time employees, and Rowe says he expects that number to double by the end of the year. The company has raised $2.5 million in capital to date, mostly from angel investors and California-based Bootstrap Incubation.
Rowe founded Perceivant, he says, because of his passion for health and well-being—but also because he saw a big market opportunity. Large educational publishers, he adds, have largely stopped developing innovative new materials for the “softer skills” taught at universities, such as wellness. At the same time, consumers are becoming more proactive about their healthcare, he notes.
“There are lots of changes ahead,” Rowe says. “In the old days, you did whatever the doctor said. We’re trying to educate a new generation of consumers that are aware that wellness isn’t just physical. We get feedback from students that they’ve changed their perspective as a result of our courses. It’s that whole idea of ‘How do I become well and what does that mean to me?’ It’s not just doing what the world tells you to do.”
