Hi, I’m Melanie. I’ve built this kind of operation before.

Portrait of Melanie Fountaine, founder of Fieldwell

I’m a three-time founder with three exits, and I’ve spent my career building the products, teams and systems that help organizations grow without losing sight of people and purpose.

In 2011, I co-founded Josh’s Place, a Minnesota 245D Medicaid provider serving adults on the CADI, BI, and DD waivers. Over nine years, we built the programming, staffing models, and compliance systems behind a multi-site operation until a public company acquired it in 2019. The passion and drive to do so came from losing my older brother, Josh, who had disabilities. Living inside Medicaid’s fragmentation and the weight on caregivers is why I care about the systems behind quality care.

Josh’s story also led me to co-found Joshin with my sister Melissa. I helped build the product from the ground up, including a robust back office, automated onboarding, a Learning Management System (LMS), HIPAA and SOC 2 Type II compliance, and AI built into the platform. I also owned every vendor and budget and cut operating costs 20% while revenue grew 30% over a twelve-month period. It grew from founding to Fortune 500 customers and was acquired in 2025. Afterward, I led a 67-person Customer Success organization across three business lines.

Today, Fieldwell brings both sides, an operator and a product builder, to find where spend and effort are leaking and build the systems that fix it, with specialties in growth-stage companies, healthtech, and Medicaid.

The path here

Built, grown and exited. Three times.

2011

Co-founded Josh’s Place, a Minnesota 245D Medicaid provider, and JP Homes.

2017

The State of Minnesota awarded Josh’s Place two additional licensed locations.

2018

Co-founded Joshin, a neurodiversity and disability benefits platform. Built the onboarding and learning experience, and led HIPAA and SOC 2 Type II compliance as it moved to enterprise.

2019

Josh’s Place was acquired by a public company.

2024

JP Homes was acquired.

2025

Joshin was acquired by a competitor. It had built generative AI into its infrastructure and automated onboarding for coaches and members.

2026

Fieldwell: finding the leaks, fixing the systems, supporting you while you scale.

Recognition

  • Inc. Female Founders 250, 2024Named to the annual list
  • EBN Excellence in Benefits Awards, 2024Honored benefits leader
  • Invisible Disabilities AssociationInnovation Award for pioneering support programs
  • Fast Company World Changing IdeasHonored
  • World Fifty Group, I&D World 50 InnovationI&D World 50 Innovation finalist

Speaking and writing

Conference speaker · SIOP 2026Effective and Ineffective Sources of Support for Employees With DisabilitiesDiversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility track at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology annual conference, April 2026 (Session ID 898).
Podcast guest · September 2024Cultivating a Neurodiverse WorkforceOn The Stretch: Workforce health and benefits, practical ways for employers to build workplaces that support every kind of thinker.Listen on Spotify →
WritingDisability and neurodivergence, at work and at home
Executive functioning Accommodations Inclusion Masking

Contact

Build well. Grow well.

Start with a conversation. I’ll find where spend and effort are leaking, and what it will take to fix it.

Get in touch