Meet Niko Skievaski | Healthcare Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Niko Skievaski and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Niko, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
My industry carries a lot of stigma. Psychedelics have been in popular culture since the 60s and have been largely demonized since. This make sense as there weren’t well understood and were largely adopted by a counter-culture movement (or created it?) that pushed back against much of the mainstream. However, in the last couple of decades, new researcher at top universities have discovered that psychedelics have immense healing potential for some of humanities most challenging serious mental illness. A single dose, under the supervision and guidance of a trained professional, has been shown to be effective in treating depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance abuse, to name a few. They have also been shown to have low potential for addition and abuse. Because of this, the FDA has designated some psychedelics as “Breakthrough Therapies” in order to fast track them through approval. Additionally, Oregon and Colorado have created regulated programs so any individual can access psilocybin, the active ingredient in psychedelic magic mushrooms, under the supervision of licensed facilitators. My company, Althea, focuses on helping people find the right licensed facilitator to meet their needs and preferences.

What should our readers know about your business?
Psychedelics assisted therapy has been shown to have immense healing potential for those suffering from many serious mental illnesses including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance abuse. Because of this, Coloradans voted to create a legal pathway to take psilocybin, the active ingredient in psychedelic magic mushrooms, under the supervision of a state-licensed facilitator. This program just launched in Colorado and we should see the first Healing Centers open in the spring of 2025. Oregon was the first state to create a program like this. They’ve been up and running for more than a year with amazing results.

I started Althea as I learned more about these state programs. I had been using psychedelics intentionally for about a decade to help me reset, reprioritize life and ensure that I’m focusing on the most important things. They helped me through leaving the company I started and ran for 9 years, through a divorce, and through my dad’s death. I realized I wanted to apply my skillset to this emerging industry. Namely, I wanted to help psychedelics reach the people who need them the most.

Althea has rolled out our software in Oregon. About 40% of all legal psychedelic sessions go through our software now. It’s used to manage the work in a way that meets regulatory compliance, promoting safety and measuring outcomes.

As we gear up to launch in Colorado, we realized that the biggest value we added in the Oregon market was helping these licensed facilitators find more clients. The market is fairly fragmented in that people seeking psychedelic therapy are really on their own to find these facilitators. Meanwhile, many of these facilitators are struggling to fill up their schedules because they can’t find enough clients. That’s where Althea is really hoping to make a difference.

We are attempting to find people from around the world who are looking to use psychedelics legally, often to improve mental health or move through some of life’s transitions. They can find educational materials on our website around how they work and what the process is. Then they can get matched with facilitators who meet their preferences or specialize in working with certain types of people or conditions. Finding the right facilitator can have a huge impact on these experiences; we’re hoping we can make that process simple.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Boulder is an amazing launch pad to the Rocky Mountains. I love hosting friends and family at my home near downtown. The mornings are reserved for adventures in nature. I love taking people on bike rides up the canyon or for some singletrack at Betasso. In the winter, skiing at Eldora followed by pizza at Crosscut is a must. We’ll often take a day to visit Rocky Mountain National Park and explore Estes Park or Lyons on the trip. Back in Boulder, we’d walk down to Pearl Street and see street performers or eat at some of the great restaurants like Oak, Zoe Mama, Japango, or Skratch Labs. Sunset at Rosetta Hall or Avanti is a must.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I moved to Boulder in 2018. At the time, my prior company was doing well and we had just raised a large round of venture financing. I wanted to meet people in the community who also worked in the startup world and in healthcare. I had heard about Boulder’s vibrant startup community, but it wasn’t obvious how to break into it. I went to a few meetups and events, but didn’t really find my people. I’m also a cyclist, so I started going on group rides and meeting people in that community who had ties into startups. It was through sport, that I found and bonded with so many of my closest friends and mentors in business. One mentor, now investor in my current company, told me “I’m not the best venture capitalist, and I’m not the best mountain guide, but I’m probably the best venture capitalist mountain guide.” I chuckled at this statement as it seemed “so Boulder.” But over the years, I came to realize that it embodied a core value of this community. Wealth isn’t about the house and cars, it’s about how much time you can create to pursue your passions, whether that’s your sport, family, or the businesses we create. This sentiment is something I bring into how I work and how I play each day. I think it makes me a more well rounded human, father, cyclist, and entrepreneur in this chapter of my life. So I want to shoutout the Boulder startup community, and specifically Kyle Lefkoff of Boulder Ventures and Natty Zola of Matchstick Ventures, who have taught me so much about how to thrive in this way.

Website: withalthea.com

Instagram: @with_althea

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/althea-pbc/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@altheapbc