Nate Thomas

Nate Thomas is the Co-Founder & CEO of Shmoody, a mental health and wellness platform redefining how young adults - and the institutions that serve them - support emotional well-being. Nate's path to founding Shmoody is deeply personal. Despite attending prestigious institutions including Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, Nate struggled for years with addiction, anxiety, and mental health challenges. In 2013, he entered recovery through 12-step programs and began a long process of rebuilding his life - grounded in spirituality, practical tools, community, and service to others. Along the way, he also engaged therapists, counselors, and wellness experts, expanding his recovery to whole-person mental health. Professionally, Nate went on to build a successful career in finance, becoming a Vice President at Goldman Sachs in New York. Yet something was missing. He felt a growing pull to build something to be of service in the world, and to help others through the struggles he knew so well. In late 2020, Nate met Mike, who would become his co-founder, at a 12 step meeting in Brooklyn, NY. Mike had transformed his own struggles with depression into what would become Shmoody - a mental health app that was human and even fun. The emphasis on small, actionable steps, humor, and non-judgmental design resonated immediately with Nate: you can take your problems seriously without taking yourself too seriously. In early 2021, Nate joined as co-founder and soon after relocated to Austin, Texas, where Shmoody began to scale. He left Goldman Sachs in mid-2021 to lead the company full-time. Shortly thereafter, Shmoody was selected for the highly competitive Sputnik ATX Accelerator, receiving early funding and mentorship that helped drive rapid growth - from a few hundred users to over 100,000 in under a year. Under Nate's leadership, Shmoody has grown into a platform with over $1M in consumer revenue and expanding B2B traction with universities, including multi-year partnerships, 100% renewals, and demonstrated ROI tied to student engagement and retention. Today, Nate is focused on building the next generation of wellness infrastructure - combining student-first design with actionable data insights for institutions - so that support reaches people when it matters most.