From Passion to Purpose: Why this Franchisee Hasn’t Looked Back Since Partnering with Ellie Mental Health

Andrew Stevenson is an Ellie Mental Health franchisee from St. Louis, Missouri. His corporate Human Resources background made him a strong candidate immediately. Still, his personality, passion, and attention to detail made him an instant favorite with everyone he met along the way.

Q: What is your professional background?

Stevenson: My professional background is in corporate Human Resources, so I spent about 15 years in a variety of HR capacities. My education is in Business Management and HR Management, and I went back to school to get my Master’s in HR Development.

After doing all of that, I decided I wanted to channel my entrepreneurial spirit into something very personal to me. I drew on some of my own life experiences that touched mental health from a family and friends perspective, and when I found Ellie, it was a perfect fit. Ellie had values and a mission that were aligned with mine.

Working as an HR Practitioner and HR Leader through the pandemic, I saw firsthand how much mental health impacted not only individuals personally but how it impacted the workforce as a whole. Even though all of the companies I worked at provided great benefits, it didn’t solve some of the systemic problems like barriers to access– some were waiting months to see someone. In the spirit of mental health, access is everything. When you need it, it may be a “just in time” or “crisis” situation and in that case, you need it now, not three or more months from now.

After seeing all of that firsthand, I thought Ellie was a unique opportunity for me to channel my entrepreneurial spirit into something that I believe in fundamentally, a mission that I can get behind, values I feel are already a part of me, and also solve what is one of the world’s largest challenges: quality of life. It all starts with mental health.

Q: How did you find Ellie?

Stevenson: I did some open exploration and quickly realized there were a lot of things that just didn’t resonate with me or I wasn’t passionate about. They would have been great business models, but they weren’t something that I was going to wake up every day feeling like I was doing something for the greater good of the communities where I live and work. I had a friend, who is also an Ellie franchisee, introduce me to the brand, and it was love at first sight. I saw it, I believed it, I love the people, I love the mission and values, and that was about a year ago, and I haven’t looked back.

Q: What has been the most exciting aspect of opening your first clinic?

Stevenson: One of the things that has been exciting and eye-opening for me is the overwhelming support that the community has had for what we are doing. The support is not just from non-profits, schools, or medical practices; it’s everywhere. It’s the municipality governments, the parents who feel like they don’t have access to the right resources through the school system, and the individuals that have gotten our services in the first few months and are walking out the door better than when they walked in. 

Another exciting part of opening the first clinic is bringing structure into this fragmented industry that ultimately doesn’t have a national solution. Ellie, in a way, is that national solution as we move forward. 

Andrew has opened one clinic in downtown St. Charles, MO, and will open two more in Lake St. Louis and Wentzville, MO.