Most BCBAs never set out to become entrepreneurs. Yet the pressures of the field—inadequate supervision ratios, payer demands that conflict with clinical judgment, the need to build a practice that can sustain itself financially—push clinicians into business ownership roles for which their graduate training provided minimal preparation.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via Motivity
Take This Course →Including ethics, supervision, and topics like this one. New live CEU every Wednesday.
Join Free →The Founder's Playbook: Building ABA Companies Without Burning Out Presented by Dr. Sara Feldman, BCBA, PhD Most BCBAs never set out to be entrepreneurs — yet the pressures of the field often push clinicians into roles where they must balance ethical obligations with unsustainable demands. In this 1-hour CEU session, Dr. Sara Feldman shares lessons learned from founding, scaling, and exiting a multi-million-dollar ABA organization, and how those lessons now inform her work supporting providers across the country through Headstart Health. This session explores the systemic drivers of burnout, the ethical crossroads every clinician-turned-founder faces, and the strategies BCBAs can use to scale responsibly without losing sight of their values. Attendees will leave with practical tools, reflection prompts, and a clear understanding of how entrepreneurship can serve as an ethical, sustainable pathway in ABA.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1 | Ethics |
| COA | 0 | — |
Dr. Sara Feldman is the founder and former CEO of The Helm ABA, an organization dedicated to empowering families and schools with cutting-edge behavioral therapy for individuals with developmental disabilities. With over 15 years of experience in the autism field, Dr. Feldman began her career at an ABA center before transitioning into roles as a teacher and autism specialist in the public school system. These experiences highlighted the need for deeper collaboration with families, inspiring her to create The Helm ABA in 2015. Under her leadership, The Helm ABA has become a trusted beacon of hope, delivering exceptional care and fostering a sense of belonging for the families it serves. Dr. Feldman’s mission is to increase safety, independence, and quality of life for her clients by combining innovation with compassion. A staunch advocate for teamwork and growth, she leads her team with the belief that every challenge is an opportunity to shine.
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
280 research articles with practitioner takeaways
279 research articles with practitioner takeaways
258 research articles with practitioner takeaways
All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.