“Can a vertical financial-OS for therapists win by owning bookkeeping, taxes, payroll and the bank account for an underserved profession?”
Founded in 2019 as a bookkeeping/tax service specifically for independent therapists, Heard has evolved from a done-for-you accounting shop into a vertical financial OS for mental-health private practices. In 2026 it added embedded banking (Heard Banking via Unit + i3 Bank) and an AI assistant (Haven), moving from a services-with-software model toward owning the full money workflow — bank account, bookkeeping, taxes, S-corp election, and payroll — under one login.
Heard discloses Unit as its banking provider, with i3 Bank as its sponsor bank, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
Heard does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through i3 Bank.
Heard processes payments through Stripe.
Heard connects to bank accounts through Plaid.
Heard's payroll is powered by Gusto and Gusto Embedded.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 7 layers in Heard's stack: Payments / PSP (Stripe); Banking / BaaS (Unit); Card issuing (Unit); Card network (Visa); Payroll (Gusto and Gusto Embedded); Open banking (Plaid); Sponsor bank (i3 Bank).
Heard was founded by Andrew Riesen and Victoria Li and is founded in 2019, headquartered in Seattle, WA, US.
Heard has raised ~$25M+ in total (latest round: Series A, 2023).
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Heard and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.