Ellie Mental Health to Accelerate Clinic, Franchise Expansion with Princeton Equity Group Investment

Dallas-based franchisor and multi-unit investor Princeton Equity Group invested an undisclosed amount into Ellie Mental Health.

Mendota Heights, Minnesota-based Ellie Mental Health will use the investment to accelerate its growth of owned and franchised outpatient mental health clinics, a news release states.

A representative of Ellie Mental Health has not yet responded to additional questions about the deal.

The company presently operates 20 clinics: 16 are in Minnesota. The release states that 215 clinicians staff these locations and see about 20,000 patients a year.

Ellie Mental Health has over 250 franchise locations in development across 26 states. It employs 215 clinicians and sees about 20,000 in its owned locations.

“The partnership with Princeton will help facilitate the next chapter of our growth as we rapidly expand our corporate and franchise businesses,” Ellie Mental Health CEO Erin Pash said in the release. “This investment could not have come at a more opportune time given the country’s mental health crisis and the inaccessibility of quality mental health treatment.”

Pash founded Ellie Mental Health with Co-founder and Chief Clinical Officer Kyle Keller in 2015. Both executives will maintain their roles, the release states.

In March, Ellie Mental Health announced it sold 125 units since signing its first franchise in the Fall of 2021. The company sold 100 units in the first 100 days of 2022. In that announcement, Ellie said it planned to open 40 new franchise locations in 10 states and sell 300 additional units.

“We are thrilled to partner with Erin and Kyle to foster continued growth at Ellie,” Doug Kennealey, co-founder and managing partner of Princeton Equity Group, said in the release, commending Pash’s and Keller’s track record and noting the massive demand for mental health services in the U.S.

Other Princeton Equity Group investments include Massage Envy, D1 Training and medspa810, according to the company’s website.

Ellie Mental Health claims that it’s one of the fastest-growing franchise brands in the U.S. Another mental health provider includes franchising in its model: Thriveworks, which is under a new CEO, lists 321 locations in 42 states and Washington D.C. according to its website.