Search
Search
With so much attention directed at mental health, and the widespread availability of self-help tools and therapy apps, it is easy to get lost trying to ascertain what actually helps. What if you could just become your own therapist? The founders of Selftalk, two longtime friends from Moldova, think this might be the simpler answer.
With backing from the EBRD’s Star Venture programme, financed by the European Union and Italy, Elena Oprea and Viorica Vanica are scaling a science-backed self-therapy app that aims to make mental health accessible and affordable for all.
Building the tech spirit in London
Born and raised in Moldova, Elena had an entrepreneurial spark from her teenage years. She launched her first ventures early on, tailored her studies toward entrepreneurship, and eventually moved to London to work at a startup studio focused on helping other founders build minimum viable products.
“You come up with an idea; they build it for you,” recounts Elena. “Working there for three years, I saw twelve startups launch, one of which ended up becoming a unicorn. That experience definitely gave me the right exposure to the startup ecosystem and taught me the ropes of fundraising, concept proving, marketing, and so on.”
At the time, Elena was receiving traditional therapy, but soon realised it was not financially sustainable in the long run. She experimented with all manner of sessions and apps, but found they were mostly treating her symptoms rather than changing how she thought about issues or addressing the root cause of difficult emotions.
Taking a step back, Elena describes herself as analytically minded: a structured thinker with an active inner voice - moreso than most people.
“I wanted to understand how to manage stress, anxiety and feelings of anger: why they appear and how to prevent them in the future,” she explained. “During the Covid lockdowns, I completed a one-year therapy license. The course helped me grasp the basics of cognitive and behavioural therapy, such as how to process and manage emotions. That’s when it clicked: therapy followed a structure, almost like a protocol. Maybe that system could be recreated.”
Curating the ‘therapy journey’
After winning a startup competition, Elena and Viorica were introduced to angel investors and invited by a pre-accelerator to move to Silicon Valley. Their idea started to gain real traction and the pair started building the first version of their science-backed audio therapy app – ‘Spotify for therapy’, as she dubs it. You open the app, choose the problem you need to tackle, then listen to a psychologist explaining how to work through it.
But as they tested how well the product fit the market, a clear pattern emerged: users wanted more than just passive listening. They wanted to engage. So the team pivoted to what Selftalk is today - a guided self-therapy journey. They brought in renowned psychologists to share their therapeutic protocols, helping users not just to cope, but to truly understand and transform their mental health.
After spending three years in the US and developing a proof of concept, both entrepreneurs felt it was time to give their native Moldova a chance.
“I was 28 at the time. Although we had the opportunity to stay in Silicon Valley and build Selftalk in the world’s biggest technology hub, returning to Moldova turned out to be a surprisingly strategic move for the business. Back home, I was able to dive into the deep work and focus needed to launch the company. Although, I still miss the London buzz – from time to time.”
Selftalk is designed to emulate real-life therapy sessions, guiding users to reframe their negative inner voice the way a therapist might. As Elena explains, the app is not meant to replace professional therapy, but rather to complement it, helping users connect more deeply with themselves. You might walk out of a therapist’s office with a list of actionable steps, but a few days later, those insights can fade. That’s where Selftalk steps in, reinforcing self-therapy skills and turning reflection into a regular habit. Nowadays, the team at Selftalk is focused on building its customer base, targeting especially working professionals experiencing high levels of stress.
As a beneficiary of the Star Venture programme, Selftalk underwent a comprehensive business diagnostic, connected with international mentors and industry experts, and successfully completed three advisory projects. This specialised support helped the business upscale, sharpen its vision and mission, refine its positioning and communication strategy, strengthen its community, and boost its brand image.
As Elena progressed on her entrepreneurial journey, her raison d’être evolved. What began as a drive to build something innovative turned into a mission to create genuine impact. “The self-therapy skills we deliver; the change they create… that became my ‘why’,” she says.
Clients began sharing powerful stories of family ties rekindled and emotional patterns finally broken. It was this feedback that fuelled Elena and her team through the highs and lows of building a startup.Now, their mission is clear: to democratise access to cognitive and behavioural therapy, and in doing so, make well-being something everyone can build, not just afford.