We were lucky to catch up with Kwame Terra recently and have shared our conversation below.
Kwame, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
The story of bEHR Health really took off after a series of pivotal moments in 2023, following my firing from United Airlines in December 2022. With no job and a dream to build a health platform for the Black community, I went all-in on bEHR Health.
The first sign that things were moving in the right direction came in March 2023, when Brent Faiyaz, the talented artist and entrepreneur, gave us our first check for $10,000. It was an incredible moment—getting that early belief and investment from someone outside of the traditional health-tech space was the boost I needed to dive deeper into building bEHR Health.
Next, IDEAfuel, a startup accelerator, came through with $15,000, providing not just funding but critical guidance on how to shape our startup and connect with early adopters. Then, in a crucial moment for bEHR, we received a $25,000 grant from the Humana Foundation. This partnership was a game-changer because it validated the importance of our mission to improve health outcomes for underserved communities. Humana’s support enabled us to continue refining our platform, ensuring that it would be effective in addressing the specific health needs of our users.
One of the most transformative moments for bEHR Health came from Dacadoo, a global leader in digital health. They invested their technology into us without any upfront cost, allowing us to build and launch the first version of the bEHR Health app in January 2024. This partnership was huge—it meant we could finally bring our vision to life and offer users real-time health insights through the bEHR Health Score.
By mid-2024, bEHR Health had gained serious traction. That summer, NexCubed Accelerator invested $120,000 into our startup, marking one of our biggest financial milestones to date. This investment came at a crucial time, helping us scale, expand our team, and prepare for the next level of growth.
Later in 2024, Dacadoo returned with a major contribution: a $200,000 donation that is set to power the launch of our independent app in January 2025. This new app will give bEHR Health greater control over the user experience and allow us to implement more innovative features to engage our growing community.
From March 2023 to summer 2024, bEHR Health went from an idea I was forced to pursue full-time due to job loss, to a startup that raised over $400,000 and received significant technology investments. This journey has been filled with challenges, but every risk I took—starting with losing that job—paved the way for bEHR Health to become a thriving digital health platform.
The support from Brent Faiyaz, IDEAfuel, Humana, NexCubed, and Dacadoo is proof that a clear mission, relentless effort, and the right partnerships can turn even the most daunting risks into meaningful success.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I’m Kwame Terra, the founder and CEO of bEHR Health, a digital health platform that’s focused on improving health outcomes in the Black community through real-time health data and education. My journey into the health industry has been an unconventional one, but it’s rooted in a passion for health equity and a desire to create lasting, meaningful change.
Originally, I was on track to become a doctor, and I spent my early academic career studying neuroscience, conducting research at UCLA and Brown University. But after a series of life experiences—working in public health, living on urban farms, and traveling—I shifted my focus to a more holistic view of health. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it became clear that there was an urgent need for better health solutions, especially in underserved communities. That’s when I decided to combine my love for health, technology, and community building to create bEHR Health.
bEHR Health provides a digital platform that helps people assess and improve their health through a personalized health score. Our app tracks various aspects of health—physical activity, nutrition, mental well-being, and lifestyle habits—and generates a real-time health score that users can use to make informed decisions about their well-being. We empower individuals to take control of their health by giving them the tools to track, measure, and improve over time. It’s a step toward health liberation, allowing users to understand their current health status and make impactful changes.
What sets bEHR Health apart is our commitment to health equity and our focus on the unique needs of the Black community. We’re not just building a generic health app; we’re creating a platform designed with cultural awareness and inclusivity in mind. Our approach is grounded in community-based participatory research (CBPR), which ensures that we’re building solutions that are not only effective but also reflective of the communities we serve. We work closely with community members, health professionals, and stakeholders to design solutions that meet real needs.
One of the key problems we solve is accessibility—many people in marginalized communities lack access to personalized health information. By providing a free app that offers health insights in real time, we’re helping bridge that gap. We also focus on prevention and lifestyle modification, empowering people to make small but significant changes that can prevent chronic diseases.
I’m incredibly proud of the impact we’ve already started making. In our first year, we engaged over 1,400 people through health score assessments, and we’ve seen real behavior change as people use our platform to take better care of their health. We’ve raised over $400,000 in funding, built key partnerships, and launched the first version of our app in January 2024. Looking ahead, we’re preparing to launch our independent app in January 2025 with even more personalized features and a greater focus on community-driven health solutions.
What I want people to know about bEHR Health is that we are not just a health-tech company; we are a movement. Our goal is to seamlessly integrate health into Black culture, making it a core part of how we live, work, play, and celebrate. We are creating a future where health is accessible to everyone, and where understanding your health is the first step toward empowering yourself and your community.
Whether you’re an individual looking to improve your health, a healthcare provider seeking better engagement tools, or a community leader interested in health equity solutions, bEHR Health is here to help you. We’re not just building an app; we’re building a healthier, more informed future for the Black community.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
One of the most defining moments in my journey, which really tested my resilience, was when I lost my job at United Airlines in December 2022. It wasn’t just the loss of a job; it felt like the loss of stability and security at a time when I was trying to find my footing in the world of entrepreneurship. But what could have been a devastating setback turned out to be the push I needed to fully commit to my vision for bEHR Health.
Before that, I had been working on bEHR Health part-time, struggling to balance my job and my passion project. Getting fired felt like a wake-up call—either I was going to sink into frustration and uncertainty, or I was going to take a risk and go all in. I chose the latter. With no stable income and no guarantee of success, I dove headfirst into building bEHR Health from the ground up, knowing that failure wasn’t an option.
The challenges I faced were immense. First, I needed capital to even get bEHR Health off the ground, but raising money as a first-time founder, especially in the health-tech space, wasn’t easy. In those early days, I spent countless hours pitching the idea to anyone who would listen, often hearing “no” more than “yes.” But with every rejection, I grew more determined to find someone who believed in what I was building.
That moment came in March 2023, when Brent Faiyaz, someone outside the traditional investor circles, believed in the mission enough to write our first check for $10,000. It was validation that I wasn’t crazy, that bEHR Health had the potential to make a real impact. But it didn’t stop there—I knew that one check wouldn’t be enough to build the company, and so I kept going, pushing through rejection and setbacks.
Soon after, IDEAfuel awarded us $15,000, followed by a $25,000 grant from Humana. While these were significant wins, they didn’t come easily. I had to constantly prove why bEHR Health mattered and how it would solve real problems in the Black community. Every step forward required grit, persistence, and resilience.
One of the toughest periods came later in 2023, when we were working on building our first app with Dacadoo’s technology. The process of launching an app with limited resources, while continuing to fundraise and manage day-to-day operations, was exhausting. There were many sleepless nights, and moments where it felt like everything might fall apart. But I kept reminding myself of why I was doing this—why bEHR Health needed to exist.
That resilience paid off. In January 2024, we successfully launched our first app, a huge milestone that proved we could turn an idea into a real, functioning platform. And by summer 2024, we had secured a $120,000 investment from NexCubed, which allowed us to scale even further.
Looking back, getting fired was the catalyst for everything. It forced me to confront my fears and put all of my energy into making bEHR Health a reality. Every challenge along the way—the funding struggles, the long hours, the rejections—tested my resilience. But it also built my strength. Each hurdle reinforced my belief in the mission, and I learned that the path to success is rarely smooth. You just have to keep going, no matter how tough it gets.
That’s the story of my resilience. When everything could have fallen apart, I chose to move forward, and that decision is why bEHR Health exists today.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your firm or practice?
The story of how I pulled together the initial capital to fund bEHR Health is one of resilience, resourcefulness, and community support. Like many entrepreneurs, I started with nothing more than an idea and a vision to create something that could change lives. But turning that vision into reality required money, which was a major hurdle, especially as a first-time founder in the competitive world of health-tech.
It all began in December 2022 when I was unexpectedly fired from my job at United Airlines. Losing my job pushed me to focus full-time on bEHR Health, which had been a side project up until that point. With no steady income and bills to pay, I knew I had to act quickly to find funding for the startup.
The first breakthrough came in March 2023 when Brent Faiyaz, a successful artist and entrepreneur, gave us our first check for $10,000. Brent wasn’t someone from the typical startup or tech investment scene, but he believed in the mission of bEHR Health and wanted to support our work. That $10,000 was the seed that helped us get things moving, but it was just the beginning of our capital journey.
Soon after, we entered IDEAfuel, a startup accelerator program, which provided mentorship and awarded us $15,000. That money came at a critical time, allowing us to refine our business model and gain valuable guidance on how to build a scalable health-tech company. Participating in an accelerator was a game-changer because it connected me with other founders, mentors, and early investors, expanding my network and helping me refine my pitch.
Then, we got a $25,000 grant from Humana. This was one of the most validating moments because it showed that a major player in healthcare believed in our approach to health equity. Humana’s grant not only provided essential funds but also lent credibility to bEHR Health as we continued to seek investment and partners. With this capital in hand, we were able to keep the momentum going.
The most significant early investment came from Dacadoo, a global leader in digital health technology. Instead of providing cash upfront, Dacadoo offered to invest their technology into bEHR Health with no upfront costs. This partnership allowed us to build and launch the first version of our app in January 2024 without the usual financial strain of software development. This tech investment was worth tens of thousands of dollars and provided us with the foundation to get our platform off the ground.
By mid-2024, our progress caught the attention of NexCubed, an accelerator program that invested $120,000 in us during the summer. NexCubed’s investment allowed us to grow the team, scale operations, and plan for our future app developments. Their support wasn’t just financial—it opened doors to valuable networks and new partnerships, which were critical for our growth.
But the most transformative moment came when Dacadoo doubled down on their commitment to bEHR Health with a $200,000 donation, specifically to fund the launch of our independent app in January 2025. This funding will enable us to break free from dependencies and develop a fully customized app that better serves the needs of our community.
From March 2023 to the summer of 2024, we managed to raise over $400,000 through a combination of grants, investments, and strategic partnerships. What’s unique about our journey is that the capital didn’t just come from traditional sources like venture capitalists or institutional investors—it came from a mix of supporters who believed in our mission, from Brent Faiyaz to Dacadoo.
Looking back, the key to raising this initial capital was persistence, community support, and finding partners who aligned with our vision. We didn’t have millions to start with, but by leveraging relationships, pitching relentlessly, and staying focused on our mission, we were able to raise the funds needed to launch and scale bEHR Health.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://behrhealth.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behrhealth/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/behr-health
