Edwin Brown: Therapitas and One Therapy Network
Edwin Brown grew up on Signal Mountain outside Chattanooga, Tennessee, with a strong sense of personal mission that he has poured into his Oklahoma City-based ventures, Therapitas and One Therapy Network.
Therapitas fills a critical need for the state’s Latino community. It operates one of Oklahoma’s largest pediatric therapy practices with a mission to give hope to Latino children with developmental delays. It employs about 50 people across three OKC locations, providing therapy to more than 1,500 children a year. “Latino kids are generally about two years behind other kids in being identified, diagnosed and treated for developmental delays,” Brown said. “Our mission is to stand in that gap and make sure they are getting services early as possible, so they have the best chance to be successful.”
One Therapy Network is a network of independent therapy practices that act as single entity for the purposes of sharing resources. Members benefit from combined purchasing power and back office functions, allowing them to focus on their patients instead of management problems.
But the journey that led the 39-year-old businessman to OKC started back on Signal Mountain the day his father gave him a life-changing personal finance book called Rich Dad, Poor Dad. “My dad was an engineer and had always worked for somebody else all his life,” Brown said. “He did well for his family but was always super stressed. He said, ‘I want you to read this book because I want you to think differently than I think about money and work’.”
The book motivated Brown to start down an entrepreneurial career path. “My dad has definitely had a large role in my professional career, encouraging me to start my own businesses,” Edwin said. Brown went to Mississippi State University with intentions of becoming a physician who would own a private practice and serve as a medical missionary. Anticipating his future mission, he immersed himself in learning Spanish, even spending a summer in Guatemala living with a Guatemalan family.
But when he and Julie fell in love during college and were subsequently married, Edwin’s career path changed. The couple moved to Jackson and began buying, renovating and selling houses. They did that successfully for about a decade, flipping 400 houses before the housing market crash left them upside down on their investments. After Brown’s parents moved to Jackson to help him dispose of the real estate investments, Edwin sought a fresh start and his next venture.
Brown, his wife, Julie, and their four children relocated to Oklahoma City about six years ago from Jackson, Mississippi, to take over what was essentially a failing bilingual therapy practice. Oklahoma City sold itself to Brown before he even relocated here, thanks to the enthusiasm of thousands of Thunder basketball fans. “I went to a Thunder game, and there was a whole arena of people cheering ‘OKC! OKC!’” he said. “This idea of coming to a city that was proud of what it was doing and proud of its identity and proud of its people was incredibly appealing to me.”
Today, the Edwin Brown family has planted deep roots in the Oklahoma City community. They are heavily involved in their church, have established strong relationships with many friends and have discovered a number of favorite local restaurants like Cheever’s, Ted’s and Mama Rojas, as well as some hole-in-the-wall gems in the Asian District. “My time in Oklahoma City has been a time of flourishing, and it has really endeared me to this city,” he said. “Here’s the great thing about OKC. Somehow, it’s a really big small town. It’s got everything you want, great restaurants, different industries. There’s a lot of talent here, but it’s small enough that I can get a meeting with anyone.”
The growth of Therapitas and One Therapy Network coincided with Brown’s own personal development through his involvement in the Vistage peer network with other local entrepreneurs and CEOs. His mission is to develop leaders among his employees by developing his own leadership skills. “What’s been great about Vistage is this collection of people who actually know what it’s like to be in the arena,” he said. “Most of them have ‘been there, done that’ a couple of times, so I have a whole lot to learn from their business experience, their knowledge, their wisdom.”
For Therapitas, enhanced use of teletherapy for rural areas is on the horizon. Using more teletherapy was an outgrowth of the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic as therapists turned to technology to bring critical therapy to Latino children when social distancing meant they couldn’t meet in person.
The Therapitas business model has been so successful here in Oklahoma that Brown is looking beyond the state’s borders for expansion. “There are dozens of Latino communities across the country that are massively underserved in this area,” he said.
So, Edwin Brown will continue his journey down the entrepreneur’s path as he builds out pediatric therapy practices in places like Dallas, Chicago and Denver. But he makes it clear that Oklahoma City is now his ‘forever home’. “I like to say that I escaped Jackson, Mississippi with the shirt on my back and a U-Haul full of stuff, he said with a laugh. “Oklahoma City has been very, very good to me and my family.”
ABOUT ROD WHITSON – Rod Whitson is based in Oklahoma City and serves as a strategic advisor to high-performing CEOs leading growth companies. rod.whitson@vistagechair.com
photos by Kennon Bryce