Candace Couch didn’t set out to become a tech entrepreneur. As a licensed counselor in Athens, she has spent nearly two decades helping individuals and families understand their inner worlds and interpersonal patterns. Her work is grounded in family systems theory, a framework that recognizes how our relationships shape our behavior. At the center of that work is the genogram.
“A genogram is like a family tree, but instead of just names and dates, it maps out behavior patterns, emotional dynamics, and generational traits,” she said. “It’s the most important tool I use in therapy.”
For years, she relied on hand-drawn diagrams to help her clients. As a clinical supervisor, she found it challenging to teach the method due to the sensitivity of the information and the limitations of drawing tools. That frustration stayed with her until an off-hand conversation during a performance of The Nutcracker.
Couch’s family loves Shark Tank and would often joke about pitching the idea for a digital genogram tool on the show. During the intermission of the play, “I made the wrong joke to the wrong person,” she laughed. That person was Chris Rhodes, executive director of the Innovation District at the University of Georgia. When she mentioned her idea for a better genogram, he responded immediately.
“He told me the Innovation District could help me make it happen. I told him, ‘I’m good at counseling and running a practice, but I have no idea how to be an entrepreneur.’ They taught me everything.”
From that passing comment came a new venture. With the support of the Innovation District, Couch began building GKnow, a digital tool that brings genograms to life. Her early progress was powered by two teams of students from UGA’s New Media Institute.
GKnow became a capstone project for the two NMI student teams. The first team of undergraduate students from across UGA created an initial prototype, along with marketing assets, a basic website, and design elements. “I walked in with an idea, and walked out with a working concept,” Couch said. “They gave me something I could actually hold in my hands.”
The second semester’s graduate student team refined the prototype, updated the interface, and even helped establish a social media presence. For the first time, GKnow ran on an iPad. “It was surreal. We took this idea, and they built this tech product. I could see the complexity of it—and there it was.”
Couch loved being in the room with the students. “I was the mom in the group, bringing cookies and snacks, but I was also being taught. It gave me a safe place to learn while I taught them about genograms.” The experience also showed her what it meant to lead a team and delegate tasks. “Before I ever hired anyone, I was already learning how to manage people.”
She was struck by how motivated the students were to deliver something meaningful. “This wasn’t a hypothetical class project. They knew I was really going to use this, and that meant something. They saw how their work could actually make a difference in the world.”
Rhodes emphasizes the value of the students, “This is such a great story of UGA student engagement. Candace was able to start a new venture that she would not have had otherwise, and our students got real world experience applying what they are learning.”
Between semesters with NMI, Couch joined the Innovation District’s Entrepreneurship Bootcamp, which brought UGA and local entrepreneurs together to learn about starting ventures. Over six weeks, she learned from experienced entrepreneurs, refined her pitch, and explored the real challenges of launching a product.
“One speaker had worked in healthcare, saw a need, built a solution, and now runs a company. I thought, ‘That’s not me.’ But when I was talking with her, she looked right at me and said, ‘Yes, it is.’ That has stuck with me ever since.”
The bootcamp also gave her access to legal and branding experts and helped her figure out the gaps she needed to fill. “I always tried to find a mentor who could teach me the things I didn’t know. That was one of the most valuable parts of the experience.”
At the end of the program, she participated in a pitch competition and came out as one of the winners. “It was stressful and exciting. The judges asked really tough questions, but the whole process gave me a huge boost in confidence.” The win also came with funding, which allowed her to take the next big step.
Today, GKnow is being developed into a working beta by a local professional developer—someone Couch had met before the pitch competition. “He was interested, but I didn’t have the funding. Then, after the competition, he reached out again and I was ready to go. It just worked out.”
The developer was impressed by the quality of the students’ work and used it as a foundation. “He saw what they had created and said, ‘Oh, we’re good to go.’ That saved me so much time, money, and energy.”
With the beta version nearly complete, Couch plans to pilot it with local therapists and organizations. She also hopes to make the tool available to the public. “People love things like the Enneagram, but genograms can help us understand ourselves in an even deeper way.”
She’s now exploring trademarking through UGA’s Law Clinic and continuing to refine her go-to-market strategy. Every step forward, she says, is built on the foundation that began at UGA.
“I would not be doing what I’m doing if not for the Innovation District, the NMI, or the bootcamp,” Couch said. “I wouldn’t have known what to do or where to go, or even realized I had a tech company. This would still be a joke I tell my friends.”
Instead, it’s a real product, built with student talent, and guided by one counselor’s determination to make therapy more accessible and impactful. For Couch, it’s proof that entrepreneurship doesn’t always begin in a boardroom—it can start in a therapy session, or even during intermission at a ballet.
“With all the resources from UGA, why not try?”
