Adi Khindaria, Founder, KarePartners, CompleatKiDZ

Adi Khindaria, Founder of pediatric therapy provider Compleat KiDZ, sat down with Invest: to discuss the unique needs and opportunities in the region, how it is navigating the current economic landscape, and how it engages with the community to ensure that families feel supported.

What were some of the key milestones and achievements for CompleatKiDZ over the last 12 to 18 months?

Compleat Kidz is now the largest provider of pediatric therapy services in the state of North Carolina. Our services grew because the demand for them increased, especially during the pandemic. Unlike some other businesses, we actually benefited from the schools being closed. We found that parents were struggling because there were no support services available. All the kids with special needs, developmental delays, or those on the spectrum ended up being at home, and their parents were looking for a place to take them for support. Our clinical teams, especially those working with kids on the spectrum, decided very early during the pandemic that they would stay open because parents needed our services. This decision spurred our growth from just an early entry into providing services for kids on the spectrum to being the largest provider now in 2024.

 Since then, we’ve opened 14 sites — actually, 16 sites, though we’ve consolidated a couple of them. We’re opening another two sites this year. Charlotte, particularly the Greater Charlotte area, is where we started, and it continues to be our headquarters in Belmont. Overall, in the past 18 months, we’ve grown from about 300 employees to now around 1,000. We’ve also opened eight new sites across the state during this time, four of them in the Greater Charlotte area, with one additional site in Gaston County. Gaston County, where we have three sites in Gastonia and one in Belmont, continues to be a focus area for us, and we’re exploring potential expansion in places like Dallas as well.

What are some of the unique needs and opportunities you see in the county, and how is CompleatKiDZ addressing or preparing to leverage those?

If we look back 50, 60, 70, or even 100 years, Gastonia was the largest industrial hub in the area, while Charlotte was primarily a banking hub. Back then, most of the wealth was being generated in Gaston County, and bankers would travel across the river to meet with business owners, textile mills, and industrial establishments here. That dynamic changed when many of these jobs left the U.S. shores. However, in the last 20 years, we’ve seen some textiles resurface, along with warehousing, and importantly, the infrastructure that was left behind is now driving the growth of Gaston County.

There was a significant amount of intellectual capital left behind in terms of skilled tradespeople, and this is now to our advantage. The healthcare arena in Gaston County has been needed to service the growing population. For example, Gaston County is probably the only county around Mecklenburg County that still has sewer capacity, a remnant of its large industrial base. With the growth in population comes young workers, young families, and kids with needs. This is what’s driving the growth in Gaston County for our services and for the county overall.

How are inflation and rising costs impacting the industry, and how are you navigating these economic pressures?

I think the two main areas we struggle with are being able to recruit the talent that’s needed and the availability of skilled workers. Wage inflation isn’t much of a concern for us because, naturally speaking, supply and demand govern wages. As long as we’re willing to pay a good wage, we should be able to hire the talent we need. Gaston County and North Carolina is such that we need more qualified people to fill in the jobs that we have, to continue to sustain our economy. 

The rest of the business will take care of itself, and we have no major complaints from our side. We would like to see better university investment, more investment in research and development, and more investment in vocational programs. This would help the healthcare industry and the population in general. Healthcare, in general, tends to be a contrarian industry. When the economy struggles due to inflation, stagnation, or high interest rates, healthcare actually tends to pick up. This happened during the 2008-2012 time frame, and it’s picking up again. Healthcare hasn’t faced the same challenges as other industries, partly because many healthcare companies received government aid during COVID, and they’ve used that money to build infrastructure and expand services. The challenges lie in the availability of talent, not necessarily in inflation.

How does CompleatKiDZ engage with local schools, healthcare providers, and community organizations across North Carolina?

We’ve built relationships with numerous organizations, particularly charitable entities focused on pediatrics and the neurodiverse community. We work with these organizations and museums, especially children’s museums, which do a great job of educating kids. School systems, including those for exceptional children and regular schools, are also key partners. 

We’ve initiated a research program with UNC, committing $5 million over the next 20 years. This funding is dedicated to researching the efficacy of the therapy we provide, as well as the therapy others are providing, to enhance understanding of outcomes. Additionally, we’re providing scholarships to kids interested in entering this field. It’s about putting our money where our mouth is — if there’s a lack of talent, then the industry needs to take the lead in offering scholarships and guiding universities on which areas to focus. So, schools, charitable organizations, and universities are all part of our ongoing efforts to build significant relationships.

What are the priorities for CompleatKiDZ, both in the broader region and beyond Gaston County?

We’re planning to open another four or five facilities in North Carolina, ensuring coverage in all major population centers. Our next growth phase will focus on contiguous states — Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia. We previously had services in South Carolina but had to exit due to inadequate reimbursement rates. We hope to re-enter South Carolina once reimbursement rates become fairer. Additionally, we are considering expanding in Arkansas and Texas, given the demand in those states.

Like many other healthcare organizations, we are essentially a recruiting company. Whether it’s recruiting patients or recruiting providers, both groups are our customers, and we need to invest in both. As part of our growth strategy, we’ve developed a technology company headquartered in Gaston County. This tech company will provide the infrastructure necessary for our growth and scale. We plan to spin off this company nationally, fairly quickly.

Our focus remains on growth — expanding services and locations while maintaining the quality of care. We’re also committed to continuing our partnerships with educational institutions, providing scholarships, and investing in research. Our ultimate goal is to make a lasting impact on the community and improve the lives of children and families across North Carolina and beyond.