The short version
Nara Therapy is a Buffalo mental health company that moved from serving individuals to serving organizations, backed by a $50,000 investment from Launch NY.
Co-founders Perez Willie-Nwobu and Joshua Onoh now work with healthcare systems, universities,
first responders and athletic departments. This is the story of how the company got there.
There are weeks when life doesn’t just knock – it kicks the door in.
For Perez, it wasn’t one hardship. It was divorce papers, deportation proceedings, unemployment — and, in the middle of it all, the life-changing news that he was about to become a father.
“The world just collapsed,” he says.
From Kentucky to Virginia Beach to Buffalo
He came to the United States for school with a simple plan: graduate and build a life. Two years in, his family could no longer afford tuition. He left Kentucky to work construction in Virginia Beach, laying tile, demolishing buildings, anything to earn his way back.
Not a vacation spot to be sure in the face of abuse from an employer who knew he was vulnerable. An immigrant. Alone. Disposable.
So, he moved again.
A bus ticket promising an opportunity in New York felt like hope. It dropped him in Buffalo – not the New York of bright lights and lyrics, but a place where he was able to rebuild.
In Buffalo, Perez found more than a city. He found community – his future co-founder Josh Onoh, and eventually a place at the University at Buffalo, where he not only deepened his technical skills but entered an ecosystem that treated his idea like it mattered.
The moment everything came at once
This is when a wrong turn near the Canadian border triggered deportation proceedings and he subsequently learned he was about to become a father.
The pressure was suffocating.
Where he comes from, you pray through pain. Therapy isn’t part of the cultural vocabulary. But toughing it out wasn’t working.
So, he chose counseling.
Inside those sessions, a question shifted everything: What does success look like — not professionally, but personally?
The answer became clear.
First: empower fathers, especially those who feel like one mistake means their world is over.
Second: help people protect their mental health
Why Nara Therapy is named after a daughter
That clarity became Nara Therapy, named after his daughter, Chinara. “Nara” means to receive. To receive help. To receive support.
With initial support from University at Buffalo to develop their idea through Nara Therapy, the team recognized a broader need. Burnout was rampant in workplaces. Universities were stretched thin. Healthcare workers were carrying invisible loads. Supporting individuals was important — but supporting entire systems could multiply impact.
Where Launch NY came in
That’s where Launch NY entered at a pivotal moment.
Initially, Nara Therapy focused on direct-to-consumer support. But deeper research revealed a larger opportunity: organizations were desperate for structured, measurable mental health solutions. Shifting from B2C to B2B meant rethinking pricing models, sales cycles, and market positioning, and moving quickly.
Launch NY provided not just capital, but pressure-tested guidance. They pushed the team to expand their customer discovery efforts. To understand the market deeply. To articulate exactly how Nara Therapy would generate revenue and demonstrate outcomes. Launch NY’s investment of $50,000 gave Nara Therapy the runway to pivot confidently and the credibility to pursue larger institutional clients.
“I don’t know if we would have been able to make that switch without Launch,” Perez says. “It came at a real pivotal time.”
Who Nara Therapy serves today
Today, Nara Therapy is targeting healthcare systems, universities, first responders, and athletic departments, environments where burnout is normalized and support is often insufficient. Buffalo isn’t just where he landed – it’s the proving ground where local partnerships became proof of concept for national growth.
“I ran here from pain,” he says. “Now I want to build here.”
What legacy looks like
Therapy gave him tools he didn’t know he needed. There was a time when anxiety shaped how he moved through the world, how long he could hold a conversation, how safe he felt in his own body. Counseling didn’t erase the past, but it created space for a different future.
That’s the outcome he chases now — not headlines, but transformation. He imagines a nurse navigating stress without panic, a student finishing a semester without unraveling, a parent able to be fully present at home after a demanding day.
When Perez thinks about legacy, he doesn’t measure it in valuation or profitability. He thinks about the impact, the fathers encouraged, the minds steadied, the communities strengthened in Buffalo and beyond.
Sometimes, receiving isn’t about taking. It’s about accepting support — and using it to help others rise.
Nara Therapy at a glance
| Company | Nara Therapy |
| Co-founders | Perez Willie-Nwobu and Joshua Onoh |
| Headquarters | Buffalo, New York |
| What it does | Mental health support for organizations |
| Customers | Healthcare systems, universities, first responders, athletic departments |
| Launch NY investment | $50,000 |
| Early support | University at Buffalo |
| Origin of the name | Named after the founder’s daughter, Chinara. “Nara” means to receive |
Frequently asked questions
What is Nara Therapy?
Nara Therapy is a Buffalo-based mental health company serving organizations rather than individual consumers. It works with healthcare systems, universities, first responder agencies and athletic departments, environments where burnout is normalized and existing support is often insufficient.
Who founded Nara Therapy?
Nara Therapy was co-founded by Perez Willie-Nwobu and Joshua Onoh. The two met in Buffalo, and the company was developed with initial support from the University at Buffalo, where Willie-Nwobu deepened his technical skills and entered the local startup ecosystem.
Why is the company called Nara Therapy?
Nara Therapy is named after founder Perez Willie-Nwobu’s daughter, Chinara. The word Nara means to receive: to receive help, and to receive support. The name reflects the founder’s own experience of choosing counseling during a period of crisis.
How much did Launch NY invest in Nara Therapy?
Launch NY invested $50,000 in Nara Therapy. The funding gave the company runway to move from a consumer model to an enterprise one, and the credibility to pursue larger institutional clients such as healthcare systems and universities.
Why did Nara Therapy pivot from B2C to B2B?
Research showed organizations were seeking structured, measurable mental health solutions. Supporting individuals mattered, but supporting whole systems could multiply the impact. The shift required rethinking pricing models, sales cycles and market positioning, and moving quickly.
How did Launch NY help beyond the funding?
Launch NY pushed the team to expand customer discovery, understand the market more deeply, and articulate exactly how the company would generate revenue and demonstrate outcomes. The founder has said he is not sure the pivot would have happened without that support.
Who does Nara Therapy serve?
Nara Therapy targets healthcare systems, universities, first responders and athletic departments. These are settings where burnout is common and where the founder saw people carrying loads that existing support structures were not built to handle.
Where is Nara Therapy based?
Nara Therapy is based in Buffalo, New York. The founder arrived in the city on a bus ticket and has described Buffalo as the proving ground where local partnerships became the proof of concept for national growth.
What role did the University at Buffalo play?
The University at Buffalo provided initial support to develop the idea behind Nara Therapy. It is also where the founder deepened his technical skills and entered a startup ecosystem that, in his words, treated his idea like it mattered.