FAV FOOD: Avocado. FAV COUNTRY: Australia. FAV QUOTE: “Thinking is difficult. That’s why most people judge.” – Carl Jung. PEOPLE DON’T KNOW: I’ve never had McDonald’s or Taco Bell in my life.
Matthew Travis Tanner
Pioneering psychedelic therapy for the digital age
EMBRACING THE UNEXPECTED. Travis Tanner’s entrepreneurial journey has reached a pivotal moment with the founding of his latest venture, Higher Powers. This innovative company represents a fusion of his extensive experience in finance and tech startups with a deeply personal and unexpectedly profound experience with psychedelics.
Higher Powers aims to revolutionize the field of psychedelic therapy by offering a virtual, guided experience that is both accessible and affordable. Matthew, or Travis as he is known by his friends, recognized a significant gap in the market—while psychedelic therapy has the potential to help millions, existing options are often prohibitively expensive or lack proper guidance. “I believe there should be a new option: virtual, guided psychedelic therapy,” Travis explains.
Growing up in Atlanta, Travis’s entrepreneurial spirit fully emerged during his college years. His curiosity about how the world works led him to study International Administration at the University of Denver. A key moment during his college years was a language immersion program in Spain, where he attended the Universidad de Salamanca, fulfilling a childhood dream. “I brought a book home as a kid about a school in Spain and told my mom I wanted to go there one day. Decades later, I made that dream a reality,” Travis recalls.
After earning his Master’s degree at the University of Denver, Travis began his career in finance at Morgan Stanley in Denver. Starting during the 2009 recession turned out to be an unexpected advantage, as his fresh perspectives were eagerly embraced. This success led to his recruitment by Merrill Lynch in Atlanta. However, the culture at Merrill Lynch made him feel that he couldn’t be out as a gay man at work, a stark contrast to the openness he experienced in Denver.
Seeking a change, Travis’s next move was to the Woodruff Arts Center, where he managed their endowment fund and led a large successful fundraising campaign. This achievement gave him the confidence to start his first company, Keydabra: a platform that used AI to help businesses improve their digital presence by predicting how to enhance websites, apps, and social media profiles. Despite the company’s early success, Travis and his co-founder eventually parted ways as their visions diverged, with the company continuing under a new name and leadership.
It was during his time at Keydabra that Travis first experimented with psychedelics, inspired by stories of how these substances had influenced iconic entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs. Travis approached psychedelics cautiously, seeking to unlock new creative ideas for his business. However, the result was far more profound. “It ended up being deeply, personally healing,” he shares. This experience led him to fully accept himself, confronting lingering insecurities that had persisted throughout his life.
The inspiration for Higher Powers emerged from Travis’s realization that psychedelic therapy could be a transformative experience for many people. However, the existing options were either too expensive, inaccessible, or lacked proper guidance. Higher Powers seeks to change that by offering a virtual, guided experience that is both safe and affordable. “We’re providing an experience, not a substance. We use clinical psychologists and experts in psychedelic therapy to create a guided experience that’s safe, accessible, and healing,” Travis explains.
INNOVATING MENTAL WELLNESS. Navigating the legal complexities of psychedelic therapy has been one of the biggest challenges for Higher Powers, but Travis remains committed to creating a platform that balances innovation with safety. His goal is ambitious: “We want to help a million people per year have a psychedelic experience.”
Throughout his founder journey, Travis has been grateful for the support of the LGBTQIA+ startup network. He encourages new founders to expand their networks and lean into the connections they make. “One of the most rewarding aspects of being an entrepreneur is the opportunity to expand your network. The best thing you can do is be open to new connections.”
