The AI Startup Solving Mental Healthcare's Biggest Hidden Problem | Episode 70

Ty Palmer built an app that plays a donkey sound when you're being an ass in an argument.  It detects 48 emotions, analyzes tone of voice in real time, and even catches you being passive  aggressive over text. Therapists loved it. Then they told him what they actually needed help with. Ty Palmer is the co-founder of Clary AI — an AI-powered admin platform for mental health  clinics — and Donkey Chats, the couples communication app that nearly went on Shark Tank.  He's bootstrapped multiple companies (including a translation company that hit $2M in its  first two years), raised $1.2M for Clary at a $10M valuation in just a few days, and sat down  with Stu to go deep on fundraising strategy, hiring salespeople, and why the warehouse manager  outsold the Macmillan President's Club guy 4 to 1. What he covers: → Building Donkey Chats: an app that plays a donkey sound at "criticism detected: .87" — and texts you a better way to say what you just said → Getting to the last interview round on Shark Tank — then pivoting the whole company anyway → Why therapists who loved Donkey Chats kept asking for something else entirely: someone to fight the insurance companies for them → How Donkey Chats got acquired and rolled into Clary AI — and why Ty and co-founder Nathan Gunther said no to being a dev shop → Bootstrapping a translation company to $2M revenue with 10 employees as its first employee — then leaving → A VR company in 2019, sold before owning equipment — how he convinced his entrepreneur-averse wife one small bet at a time → Closing a $500K raise in "a few days" through angels only, at a $10M valuation → Stu's breakdown on valuation math: why raising at 5M vs. 10M changes when investors will let you exit → The warehouse manager from Target who outsold a Macmillan President's Club rep 4 to 1 — and what that means for hiring salespeople → Why Stu says never hire one sales rep — always hire two (if you can't tell if it's you or them, you learn nothing) → The "dating game" hiring test: give a candidate a script, a phone, and a directory — and see if they book appointments before they're even hired → Peak Capital (Silicon Slopes VC) telling Stu his TAM was too small — and why he now thinks that was the best thing that ever happened to him 🔗 CONNECT WITH STU Instagram: @stu Website: https://startupswithstu.com 📌 CHAPTERS 00:00 – Stu's update: National Parks Baseball Resort sold out all 2027 spots in 7 weeks 02:30 – Ty introduces Clary AI: AI admin for mental health clinics 06:00 – Donkey Chats origin: catching tone-of-voice problems in real-time couples arguments 10:00 – How the app works: 48 emotions, text message analysis, "criticism detected: .87" 13:30 – Getting to Shark Tank's last interview round — then pivoting anyway 17:00 – Why therapists loved Donkey Chats but needed insurance billing help more 20:00 – Corbin Church, the roll-up, and how Donkey Chats became Clary 24:00 – Ty's entrepreneur origin story: catering company, VR rentals, translation company 28:30 – Bootstrapping vs. raising: closing $1.2M at $10M valuation in days 32:00 – Stu on valuation math: the goalpost problem every founder ignores 37:00 – Angels vs. VCs — Stu's experience with Silicon Slopes and why seed rounds worked better 41:00 – Hiring sales: warehouse manager outsells President's Club rep 4 to 1 45:00 – The "dating game" hiring test and why you should always hire two reps, never one 48:30 – CRMs, follow-up culture, and why Stu's team had "F.U." on the whiteboard ⚠️ Note: Timestamps are estimated from transcript flow — swap to actual timecodes before publishing. #entrepreneur #startups #founderstory #mentalhealth #aitools #saas #fundraising #startuplife #donkeychats #claryai