One observation.
One big idea.
In 2012, long before artificial intelligence became a household word, John Mina noticed something that troubled him.
Working with children in his MA program, John could create real progress in a controlled therapeutic setting — but the moment those same children stepped onto a playground, the skills didn’t follow. The environment changed, and so did everything he’d worked to build.
He began wondering whether virtual reality, paired with intelligent prompting, could recreate the nuance of a skilled therapist’s interactions inside an environment that felt closer to real life. Not a simulation of therapy — but an extension of it.
The idea stayed with him. So did the problem. There simply aren’t enough skilled clinicians to meet the need — and the ones who exist spend too many hours on documentation that pulls them away from the patients they trained to serve. For therapists and educators, charting is the constant companion nobody asked for.
VIZQ is John’s answer to both problems — a platform that extends the reach of great clinicians without replacing what makes them great, and that captures data automatically so the people who chose this work can spend their time on exactly that.
See it for yourself — request a demo today.
Benjamin Albaum, Co-Founder & CEO
Benjamin Albaum brings over two decades of experience across healthcare operations and financial services. After sharpening his business acumen at JPMorgan Chase, Benjamin founded and scaled multiple outpatient therapy clinics in Southern California — delivering care to more than 15,000 patients, including as a pioneering provider of therapy services to hospice populations. That firsthand experience at the intersection of clinical need and operational reality is what drove him to co-found VIZQ: a platform he believes can do for neurodiverse learners what the healthcare system alone never could. Benjamin is a purpose-driven builder with the conviction that the best healthcare innovations are the ones that reach the people who need them most.
John Mina, Co-Founder & Inventor
John Mina is the clinical mind at the heart of everything the platform does. A licensed Speech-Language Pathologist with a master’s degree from California State University, Los Angeles, John has spent over 15 years working directly with neurodiverse children across some of the largest school districts in the country, including LAUSD and Glendale Unified. It was that frontline experience — watching children make real progress in controlled settings only to lose it the moment they stepped back into the real world — that sparked the idea behind VIZQ. John brings something rare to a technology company: he isn’t just building a tool for clinicians — he is one, and every design decision VIZQ makes is grounded in that lived expertise.
Mash Syed, M.S., Computer Science, AI/ML & Data Science Architect
Mash Syed brings to VIZQ the kind of AI and machine learning credentials that most early-stage health tech companies can only aspire to. Currently an AI/ML Customer Engineer at Google and formerly a Principal Solutions Engineer at Microsoft, Mash has spent over a decade helping some of the world’s largest organizations design and deploy enterprise-grade AI systems. Before his time in big tech, he served as Lead Data Scientist at Chipotle and earned a master’s degree in computer science from Johns Hopkins University, giving him a rare combination of theoretical depth and real-world execution experience. At VIZQ, he is the architect of the intelligent systems that make adaptive, data-driven skill acquisition possible — and the person who makes that promise credible to anyone who looks under the hood.
George Bailey, Head of Business Development & Strategic Partnerships:
George Bailey brings a rare combination of entrepreneurial instinct and deep familiarity with the autism and special needs community. As co-founder of zPods — the leading provider of safety and sensory sleeping pods engineered specifically for individuals with autism and sensory processing needs — George helped build a nationally recognized brand from the ground up. His broader background spans B2B sales, investor relations, brand storytelling, and strategic health tech partnerships across both startup and enterprise environments. At VIZQ, he is the person responsible for turning early promise into repeatable, scalable growth.
Lucid Reality Labs, Strategic Technology Partner
Lucid Reality Labs is a leading innovator in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and extended reality (XR), specializing in developing cutting-edge solutions that drive digital transformation across industries. With a focus on creating immersive and intelligent systems, Lucid Reality Labs leverages advanced AI technologies and XR expertise to help businesses optimize processes, enhance customer experiences, and unlock new opportunities for growth. Their broad expertise spans a range of applications, from predictive analytics to automation, making them a trusted partner for organizations seeking to harness the power of AI and XR.
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