Tom Telford, CEO of LÉVO - Bringing the “Bio” to the Biopsychosocial Model

Entrepreneur-turned–mental health leader Tom Telford (CEO, LÉVO) joins Tim to unpack how his wife’s journey to becoming an LMFT led them to build LÉVO -primary mental healthcare focused on the “bio” in the biopsychosocial model.

We cover:

• Tom’s pivot from institutional finance to mental health care
• The 3 C’s of team-building: Connect, Communicate, Culture (plus alignment)
• Why care navigation is so confusing for the public—and how to fix it
• Leadership during community crises
• What’s working in growth: referral networks, thought leadership, and (surprisingly) radio

If you or someone you serve is navigating mental health care, this conversation clarifies where to start and how leaders can build teams that actually help people.

Transcript

[00:00] Introductions
Timothy A. Zercher (00:00): All right, thank you so much for joining us, Tom…
Tom Telford (00:04): Course, this is great, Tim.

[00:06] Origin Story
Tim (00:06): Your job isn’t easy. People in behavioral health often have a personal reason—what’s your story? How did you get into the field?
Tom (00:19): I’m going to blame my wife—in the best way… I spent 20+ years in institutional finance. As my second startup wound down, my wife pursued her dream to become a marriage and family therapist…
(Describes shifting from traveling founder to “house spouse,” investing mindset, and the decision point about her practice.)
We were invited to invest in real estate and then a third of a mental health practice (~120 therapists). Due diligence revealed many therapy clients also need bio assessment—the “bio” in biopsychosocial, the gold standard. That gap led us to launch LÉVO Mindcare, focused on assessment, diagnosis, and treatment for mental health’s biological needs (medication management and non-med strategies).
Today my wife’s practice covers psycho (therapy), and LÉVO covers bio—two sides of holistic care.

[04:27] Building Teams that Work
Tim (05:03): You’ve grown multiple teams. What’s the hardest part of scaling a team or organization?
Tom (05:18): Team is the most challenging—and most rewarding—part. At LÉVO we hire for three C’s:

1. Connect genuinely with patients and teammates (curiosity).
2. Communicate—elevated verbal, written, and nonverbal skills; psychological safety; productive conflict.
3. Culture—growth-minded, can-do, additive (not distracting).
   We also insist on behavior alignment with mission and vision. In the last 90 days I interviewed 50+ providers and made 5 offers—values fit matters.

[08:26] Alignment vs. Culture
Tim (08:26): Alignment’s hard to create; culture can grow organically, but alignment takes work.
Tom (08:46): We do an exhaustive discovery with the leadership team—what do we believe and where are we rowing? Every hire must bring their voice and row the same direction. Diversity of strengths, shared direction.

[09:30] Education vs. Real-World Care
Tim (09:30): Where are the biggest disconnects between mental health education and real-world care?
Tom (09:40): The public doesn’t know where to begin. Who does what—PCP, psychiatrist, PMHNP, NP, psychologist, therapist? People often start with primary care, get 5–7 minutes and a prescription, and leave confused. We need clear, broad education on entry points—crisis vs. outpatient, therapy vs. med management, etc. Even language matters (e.g., using non-stigmatizing terms around suicide and ideation).

[12:10] Language, Stigma & Messaging
Tim (12:10): Exactly—terms like SUD vs. “addiction” are another example; we need accurate language and plain-language communication.
Tom (12:37): Agreed. Changing language reduces stigma, but meeting people where they are matters. Your niche focus on mental health marketing and branding is critical.

[14:07] Leadership Blind Spots
Tim (14:07): What’s a big blind spot in how mental health companies approach leadership?
Tom (14:21): Leadership must be proactive—especially in moments like the Utah Valley University shooting. Our industry’s response often lacks timely, supportive messaging.
Tim (15:36): Another blind spot: the competency fallacy—promoting great clinicians into roles requiring business/ops skills they weren’t trained for.
Tom (16:51): Exactly. In a CEO roundtable, most leaders were clinicians also owning marketing/outreach—without training. At LÉVO, our exec team is cross-functional (clinical, billing/coding, clinical director, finance/investment). That cross-pollination is a competitive advantage.

[19:00] What’s Working in Growth
Tim (19:00): How does your team gain new clients today? What’s working best?
Tom (19:00): Word of mouth from better outcomes is #1. Then intentional referral partners—therapists, counselors, PCPs, etc. We build those through conferences, networking, and thought leadership that attracts referrers (push) and patients (pull). Digital supports both, but referral networks are core and ethical—continuity of care.

[22:03] New/Next Tactics
Tim (22:03): What new tactic are you watching or considering?
Tom (22:16): Radio—short-form storytelling akin to podcasting. Voice + emotion can connect. Also exploring connected/streaming audio and even rural billboards (right price point, high attention on road trips).
Tim (23:21): With smart targeting (Alexa, Apple, etc.), radio can be precise. Creativity + targeting beats channel flash.

[25:41] Closing
Tim (25:41): Thank you, Tom—appreciate the insights and the work you’re doing.
Tom (25:45): Thanks for having me, Tim.