Meet Jessica Sekhon, M.s., Ccc-slp, Cas | Founder & CEO of Thrive Speech Therapy

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessica Sekhon, M.s., Ccc-slp, Cas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My passion for becoming a speech-language pathologist began in childhood, inspired by my youngest brother’s journey through speech therapy due to muscle weakness from a genetic condition, Barth Syndrome. Witnessing his progress fueled my desire to enter the field. My first role as an SLP was in a school district, where I worked with over 100 children each week. However, after just a few years, I began to experience the early signs of burnout—a feeling that saddened me deeply because becoming an SLP had been a lifelong dream.

I knew something had to change. That’s when I founded Thrive Speech Therapy, shifting my focus to providing personalized, one-on-one care for children in their homes, daycares, and ABA centers. This approach allowed me to involve families directly in the therapeutic process, enhancing carryover and goal mastery. As Thrive grew, I brought on more SLPs and SLPAs to extend our reach across the Houston area with 8 clinic locations providing services in our clinics as well as daycares and ABA centers.

At the heart of Thrive is a commitment to work-life balance. I believe that for us to be effective in our work, we need to live balanced, fulfilling lives outside of it. By keeping our caseloads small and fostering a supportive environment, we strive to prevent burnout and ensure that our team enjoys both their work and their lives.

What should our readers know about your business?
Thrive Speech Therapy stands out because we not only prioritize work-life balance but also specialize in neurodivergent-affirming, play-based speech therapy. This means we embrace and respect each child’s unique communication style, rather than attempting to “normalize” it. Our focus is on creating an inclusive and supportive environment that celebrates each child’s strengths while fostering meaningful progress.

We welcome children of all abilities, aiming to create a safe, empowering space where your child and family can learn, grow, and thrive together. By using play as a natural tool for learning, we keep our sessions fun and engaging, ensuring children are motivated to participate—leading to faster mastery of their goals.

Growing Thrive to eight clinics across the Houston area has been an incredible journey, though not without its challenges. In the early days, I was wearing every hat—evaluations, treatment, billing, insurance claims, marketing—you name it. The most valuable lesson I learned was the power of delegation and the importance of asking for help. Leaning on others for support has been key to our success. I’m deeply grateful for my incredible team, who I can always count on for guidance and collaboration.

When I hired my first team member, I was terrified to entrust someone else with my “baby.” But that leap of faith is what allowed us to grow into what we are today. Our strength lies in unity, and together as a team, we can achieve far more than we ever could alone.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
What I love most about Houston is its vibrant, diverse culture. I moved here in 2017 and knew immediately that I never wanted to leave. Even after traveling the world, every time I return home, I’m reminded that there’s truly no place like Houston.

If a friend were visiting from out of town, I’d take them on a food tour—combining two of my greatest passions: food and this incredible city. Houston truly earns its title as the Culinary & Cultural Capital of the South. We’d start with amazing local sushi at Izakaya-Wa in Memorial, then head to the Heights for crafted cocktails at Plume. From there, we’d stop by Padre’s Wine Bar to enjoy exceptional wines from around the world, paired with their unforgettable baked oysters. To finish off the evening, no food tour would be complete without a visit to Jeni’s Ice Cream for some of their scratch-made delights.

Houston’s food scene, like its culture, is a beautiful reflection of the city’s diversity and creativity, making it one of the best places in the world to call home.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I can’t reflect on the success of Thrive Speech Therapy without first acknowledging my husband, Davinder Sekhon. When I founded Thrive in 2018, Davinder and I were just starting to date, and I shared my vision of building a company with work-life balance at its core. From the very beginning, he encouraged me to pursue that dream wholeheartedly.

In 2022, Davinder officially joined Thrive as our COO, and his role has been nothing short of transformative. He offers unwavering support during the challenging days, delivers the hard truths when necessary, and manages the day-to-day operations that keep Thrive running smoothly. His leadership has been instrumental in helping Thrive grow into one of the largest speech therapy companies in the Houston area. I truly couldn’t have done it without him.

Website: https://www.thrivespeech.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivespeechtherapy

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thrivespeechtherapy/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivespeechtherapy/

Other: Appointment Request: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdyUQHcg8Fb3FzOx86iXeOGvSGHhNQ0ip4AaRy89QFMjIQNZw/viewform