The Knowwn Difference: Appreciation Works Better Than Gamification When It Comes To Burnout
This Cincinnati-based SaaS startup is turning appreciation into healthcare’s secret retention weapon.
It’s 2 a.m., and a nurse is slogging through her second 12-hour shift this week, juggling patient vitals, soothing frantic families, and navigating a relentless stream of ER monitors. She’s not just tired—she’s ground down, hollowed out by a system that demands everything but gives little back. Nurse burnout isn’t a buzzword; it’s a crisis bleeding hospitals dry and shortchanging patients.
Enter Knowwn, a healthtech startup launched in February 2024 by Chelsie Rae Lee and Matt Terry, hitting this crisis head-on. Their weapon? Appreciation DNA—an AI-driven platform delivering personalized recognition like wellness gifts or eCards that feel human, not corporate. With 525,000 care profiles and 96 enterprise clients proving that Knowwn is a lifeline for an industry at its breaking point.
Healthcare’s on the edge, and keeping nurses means rediscovering the human touch. Big players like Clipboard Health and Oak Hill are betting on Knowwn to hold their teams together. This isn’t just a startup—it’s a signal that recognition, done right, could save nurses and the entire system that they carry.
“Nurse recognition programs have the power to meaningfully reduce turnover, with hospitals reporting reductions ranging from 5% to over 30% when implemented with intention. When leaders consistently recognize and connect with their teams, it builds trust, engagement, and retention. These aren’t soft perks—recognition is a strategic lever for improving workforce stability and patient care.”
Chelsie Rae, Co-Founder of Knowwn
Beyond Burnout: Rewriting The Nurse Retention Playbook
Imagine a nurse ready to quit, not from exhaustion but from feeling invisible. Chelsie Rae Lee and Matt Terry saw how impersonal tools crush morale and launched Knowwn in 2024 to fight back. Their Appreciation DNA platform uses AI to analyze surveys and preferences, offering rewards like wellness kits or eCards with options nurses actually want. It’s keeping nurses on the floor, patients safer, and slashing nurse turnover by an average of 20% for participating units.
Unlike gamified platforms like Achievers or 15Five, which lean on points and badges that fade fast, Knowwn’s built for healthcare’s brutal reality, where trust is everything. Clipboard Health, staffing Ohio’s hospitals, sees Knowwn as a game-changer for retaining their team while filling critical gaps. Oak Hill, serving people with disabilities, used Knowwn to roll out a 1,000-person gift program seamlessly, keeping their staff valued. In a $3.52 billion engagement market set to hit that mark by 2032, Knowwn’s 17,200 monthly users and 4.87/5 recipient score show it’s forging real connection in a system that’s lost it.
We asked Clipboard Health about their experience using the product:
As a medical staffing company serving countless healthcare systems across Ohio, partnering with Knowwn has been a game-changer for keeping our internal team engaged and motivated. While we focus on filling critical staffing gaps for others, Knowwn helps us retain and recognize the people who make it all possible. Their personalized approach to care and recognition has made a measurable impact on our culture and retention.
When In Cincinnati: Leveraging Regional Healthcare Assets
Cincinnati’s a battleground for healthcare innovation, where hospitals like UC Health, Mercy Health, TriHealth, and Cincinnati Children’s—top-ranked for pediatric care—employ thousands and drive research at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Medicine. The HealthBridge Summit brings HR leaders together to tackle burnout, with Knowwn building partnerships that power its platform, serving 525,000+ care profiles at a 4.87/5 score. Wellness programs like Pelotonia’s cancer research and MindPeace’s mental health initiatives tap Knowwn to keep caregivers valued, proving recognition is a necessity, not a luxury.
Ohio’s healthtech scene, growing at 16.3% CAGR for engagement software and 10.83% for benefits tech, puts Cincinnati on par with hubs like Columbus or Pittsburgh. Knowwn’s cloud-based platform, riding 70% cloud adoption, slashes recognition costs by 30% compared to generic gift cards, capturing 95% of wellness spend in its zero-fee marketplace. Unlike gamified apps that lose steam, Knowwn’s Workday-esque approach delivers deep personalization for healthcare’s workforce crisis. Cintrifuse’s accelerator, REDI Cincinnati’s economic push, and UC’s 1819 Innovation Hub spark collaboration, hosting hackathons where nurses and coders tackle real pain. Xavier University mentors founders like Lee and Terry, while StartupCincy Week draws heavyweights like Cleveland Clinic. Corporate players like Procter & Gamble and Cintas back Cincinnati’s healthtech rise, adding 1,000+ tech-healthcare jobs.
Local startups are all-in on easing caregiver strain: AssureCare streamlines hospital workflows, freeing nurses from admin chaos; Carefeed boosts senior care staff morale; HerMD, with an $8M Series A2 (July 2024), redefines women’s virtual care for gynecology and menopause; CinRx Pharma’s CinDome fights gastroparesis with deudomperidone; Sus Clinicals speeds cancer drug development via its Oncopig model; and Eyas Medical Imaging brings MRI to NICUs, cutting logistical burdens. Backed by millions in local funding, these innovators make Cincinnati the perfect stage for Knowwn to show personalized appreciation can save nurses—and healthcare itself.
“The team at Knowwn has been completely helpful. Our wellness committee was introduced by our Insurance broker and once we had things rolling, it just got better and better. They are quick to answer questions and helped us launch a 1000+ person company invitation for recipient choice gifts on a short timeline. Uploading our staff information was so easy. And being able to see who has or has not yet ordered is fantastic!”
Leigh-Ann Hammond, Support Specialist at Oak HIll
Knowwn’s Traction
In a market expected to reach $3.52 billion by 2032, as demand for well-being infrastructure intensifies, Knowwn’s nurse-first design shows a different path forward—less gamification, more grounded connection. It's delivering ROI not through gimmicks, but through real retention and culture-building.
Knowwn is driving measurable impact:
Partnerships: UC Health, Mercy Health.
Client Savings: 20% turnover reduction. Knowwn's marketplace approach provides recognition capabilities with zero membership fees and avoids tariff impacts through US based sourcing. Recognition spend is more effective. In a space where up to 80% of wellness dollars go unspent Knowwn customers capture upwards of 95% of spend.
Scale: 525,000+ care profiles, 17,200 monthly users, 27,000 recipients.
Impact: $1.5 million year-to-date 2024 revenue (50% recurring) and 8 employees
Sustainability: Knowwn has an eco-friendly collection and drives social benefits through the marketplace by streamlining diverse and upcoming CPG founders’ products.
Fast Adoption: Founded 2024, profitability target September 2025.
Where Knowwn Is Taking Healthcare
Knowwn has tapped into the urgent need to curb healthcare’s burnout crisis. The team is laser-focused on delivering personalized, AI-driven recognition at scale—turning appreciation from a nicety into a necessity.
Knowwn’s not just fighting burnout—it’s rewriting healthcare’s survival guide. Clipboard Health, Oak Hill, Labcorp, and Cleveland Clinic are already on board, betting on Knowwn’s platform to keep teams intact and morale high. In a $3.83 billion benefits tech market, one-size-fits-all engagement is obsolete. Knowwn is what’s next: data-driven, personal, and built around what nurses actually need.
For founders, Knowwn proves Cincinnati is a rising healthtech hub. For investors, it’s a lean Ohio-based SaaS play in a $3.52B+ engagement space in a state with massive tailwinds. For healthcare leaders and HR pros, the message is clear: old-school recognition is failing, and sustainable care delivery demands something better.
Knowwn has built that better way—and validated it.
“We built Knowwn because too many nurses are burning out in silence. Appreciation shouldn't be an afterthought or a generic thank-you—it should be personal, meaningful, and built around the people doing the hardest work. Knowwn exists to make sure caregivers feel seen, valued, and supported in ways that truly matter to them.”
Matthew Terry, Co-Founder of Knowwn