Mental healthcare may be synonymous with self-care in certain circles, but the truth is only a small percentage of the US population actually goes to therapy. Affordability is a huge issue - for over 40% of the population, high cost and poor insurance coverage is the top barrier for accessing mental health services. It’s also difficult to even get into the room, with waits of weeks or more for those seeking treatment for the first time. Ariela Safira, the founder of Real, is working to expand access to mental healthcare and provide an alternative to the traditional and sometimes flawed system.

Death is a part of life. It’s the one thing every single human being has in common: we will all experience the death of a loved one, and eventually our own. Planning for the future is uncomfortable to many, and dealing with a loved one’s legacy after their death is a heavy load to place on the plate of someone who is grieving. Lantern is a new company lighting the way with a set of solutions that guide people through every step of the pre-death planning or end of life process. CEO and Co-Founder Liz Eddy is extremely mission-driven by nature as a result of her own life experiences with grief, and she’s the perfect person to build the tools we all will need when dealing with death.

It's a commonly held belief - no home or office is complete without a little foliage. Indoor plants reduce the stress of those around them, purify the air, and provide a sense of purpose to their caretakers. Those benefits, as well as the opportunity to grow herbs or leafy greens, make healthy plants a highly desired item for apartment dwellers and people looking to bring the outdoors inside. Founder and CEO Ryan Woltz combined his engineering background and love of nature to create Edn, a complete indoor gardening system that enables anyone to grow a variety of plants on their countertop.