00:00
Tim Zercher: All right. Well, thank you so much for joining us, Camila. We really appreciate you taking time and sharing some of your insights today.

00:06
Kamila Iacob: Yeah, I'm so excited to be here. Thank you for having me.

00:09
Tim Zercher: I always like to start off this podcast with a quick question about how you got into the space. I find almost everyone in behavioral health either has a weird story of how they got here, or a personal story of how they got here.

00:19
Kamila Iacob: I think, like most people, I was pulled into the ABA field because I really cared about the science of behavior and the measurable impact it can have. At the time, I started with a lot of younger learners, and seeing their growth and progress, and the meaningful difference I made in their lives, was really wonderful to see.

00:41
Kamila Iacob: And as I grew into the field, I became really aware of how much the future of our clinicians really depends on the quality of supervision. I also enjoyed the part of supervision and fieldwork, and we all know that it can directly impact client outcomes and ethical practice. So when I took over the role to oversee fieldwork for trainees and support newer BCBAs providing supervision, I really saw that there was a huge gap in systems.

01:17
Tim Zercher: Like you said, you have been in the supervision role on both the clinical and leadership sides. What do you think is one of the biggest gaps right now, especially in the systems organizations are using to monitor and give feedback on fieldwork?

01:34
Kamila Iacob: I would say right now the biggest gap is that most systems just focus on tracking hours. But what we have really seen is that there is no full oversight or visibility into what feedback was provided, what was documented, what trainee goals were created to support skill development, what resources were shared for the trainee, and whether that supervision was tied into competencies.

02:03
Kamila Iacob: A lot of the organizations we worked with relied heavily on spreadsheets, PDFs, and emails, and they really do not realize something is wrong until it is too late, or until an audit is happening, or a supervisor leaves the company. In addition, a lot of supervisors are expected to keep track of trainee hours on their own.

02:31
Kamila Iacob: That is already a lot of responsibility for a BCBA on top of a clinical caseload, parent coaching, staff training, and admin work. So it was really important for us to create a strong platform that could solve these barriers and provide all-in-one visibility, not only into the trainees, but also for their supervisors.

02:59
Kamila Iacob: For example, being able to see if a supervisor is overseeing a certain number of trainees, understanding that supervisor-to-trainee ratio, and being able to intervene early if supervision quality is decreasing or if burnout is happening. For organizations to have that system in place and be able to problem solve early to support everyone involved is really important.

03:29
Tim Zercher: MentraTrack focuses on visibility and audit readiness, like you mentioned. What is one moment or story you can share where the lack of tracking everything except hours became a real issue for the organizations you work with?

03:49
Kamila Iacob: That is a really good question. Early on, when we started talking to a lot of organizations, I personally realized that they did not actually know how supervision was happening. They knew the hours were logged, like you mentioned, and they could see that the monthly forms were being submitted, so they had total hours for the month.

04:10
Kamila Iacob: But what we saw was the real problem was the lack of visibility and real-time oversight for the full fieldwork experience. For example, being able to know which BCBA is supervising which trainee, how many trainees they have, what competencies they are working on, whether feedback is actually being documented, and whether the hours are actually compliant with standards.

04:41
Kamila Iacob: We noticed some trackers can say they are in compliance with those requirements, but then when we come into those organizations, they are actually having a lot of errors, even on just the hours aspect. That is when I realized MentraTrack could not just be another tracker. It had to provide visibility, structure, and audit readiness for everyone involved in the fieldwork supervision process.

05:06
Tim Zercher: I can see how that would be a significant issue, especially because not every BCBA is the same. Some have ten years of experience, some have one year. You cannot have the same person managing the same workload when their knowledge and ability differ. Someone who just started last month might be managing the same number, or even more, and that is probably not realistic or happening well at all.

05:45
Tim Zercher: We are a marketing team, and we specialize in marketing and advertising for the behavioral health space, so we always have to ask some of these questions. What is the best way your team goes about getting new clients right now? How are you finding good partners?

05:52
Kamila Iacob: That is such a good question, especially in the ABA market. We are a software team, so it is very different. We are honestly really grateful that most of our growth has come organically. Most of our new organizations come through word of mouth. Supervisors and clinical leaders talk to each other, and when they notice that one of their supervision systems has improved, they talk about it and ask about it.

06:21
Kamila Iacob: We have also invested a little bit in educational content for social media, so when BCBAs are actively searching for support around fieldwork or compliance, they are able to find us a little more on Google. I will also be fully transparent that we have not focused much on paid ads yet. Right now, our priority has been building something genuinely useful and earning trust.

06:49
Kamila Iacob: I really believe that in ABA, credibility and relationships matter. So we focus on getting the product right first. To summarize, what has worked best for us is listening closely to our users, implementing their feedback, and letting a strong product experience drive referrals.

07:17
Tim Zercher: That should almost always be the number one source of new business for most organizations. If your referrals and word of mouth are not good, then you have a much bigger problem than your marketing or your slogan. What is one marketing tactic or strategy you are watching in the marketplace right now, or that you are considering implementing for yourselves?

07:36
Kamila Iacob: That is an exciting one. We are closely watching how AI is being integrated into supervision platforms. There is a lot of excitement about AI, but in a field like ABA, it has to be applied carefully and responsibly. We are very intentional about being AI-forward in a way that enhances training and skill development.

08:03
Kamila Iacob: We already have some AI features for users that have gotten really strong feedback, and we are launching ethical roleplay using AI that will allow organizations to create scenarios for trainees and supervisors to practice either clinical skill or feedback skills as well. So we are really excited about that.

08:27
Tim Zercher: That is very cool, and that should be something you market right now because that is very unique. That is awesome. Everyone, thank you so much for joining us. Kamila, we really appreciate you taking time and sharing some of your insights. I think a lot of the BCBAs out there really appreciate the software you are providing to help with tracking and keeping things straight.

08:43
Kamila Iacob: Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate that.

08:45
Tim Zercher: Absolutely.