Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Ari Tulla, co-founder and CEO of Elo Health, located in San Francisco, CA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

74% of US adults are overweight or obese. 1 in 4 will die of chronic conditions. And life expectancy is declining for the first time since World World II. Despite rising costs, our healthcare system is doing nothing to treat the root cause: the diet.

According to a 25-year study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, diseases linked to inadequate nutrition and unhealthful lifestyle choices, such as diabetes and cancer, are the leading causes of death in the United States. The problem is compounded by the fact that one-size-fits-all nutrition advice often misses the mark when it comes to helping each person find and know what specifically works for them.

Elo, the Smart Nutrition company, is on a mission to transform food from the cause of disease to medicine by analyzing individuals’ personal biomarker data and creating hyper-personalized—and measurable—nutrition plans to improve and maintain optimal health.

Elo’s first product, a daily Smart Supplement packet, leverages at-home blood testing, questionnaire data, and cutting-edge A.I. trained on over 3,000 clinical studies to assess each person’s unique health needs and goals and create a custom supplement mix containing exactly the vitamins, minerals, and probiotics they need to feel and perform their best—and nothing they don’t.

For $99 a month, members receive an at-home biomarker test with lab analysis, a comprehensive nutrition assessment, personalized supplements delivered each month, and ongoing support from their dedicated Elo nutritionist, meeting one-on-one to review lab results and set goals and calibrate supplement plans. In addition, members have unlimited access to their nutritionist via the Elo app, where they can also track their biomarker values for cholesterol, vitamin D, HbA1c, ferritin, and more, and read curated articles about their custom supplement plans and the science behind them.

Every 90 days, members are retested to calibrate their custom formulas. As each person’s lifestyle, health, and needs change, so should their supplements. During Elo’s year-long Smart Supplement beta program, 95% of members saw positive biomarker improvement within six months.

Tell us about yourself

I am a San Francisco-based entrepreneur and the co-founder and CEO of Elo smart nutrition service, transforming food from the cause of disease to medicine. I have a long history of turning ideas into products and businesses.

• CEO of Quest Analytics, the market leader in doctor data and network management. I led the company through a pivotal growth stage from $15M to $40M in revenue.

• Co-founder and CEO of BetterDoctor, a doctor search engine. BetterDoctor raised $30M from first-tier investors, including NEA and Uncork Capital. In June 2018, BetterDoctor was acquired by private equity firm Vestar Capital.

• Head of Nokia's game and application studios.

• Angel investor with a portfolio of 45 startups, including Virta Health, Good Eggs, and Oura.

• Father, husband, and outdoorsman.

The idea for Elo was born out of personal tragedy and triumph. After watching my wife suffer through undiagnosed challenges for many years, followed by a decade of experience as the CEO of Better Doctor and Quest Analytics, I have a unique vantage point on our current healthcare system. I’ve spoken with hundreds of doctors, healthcare leaders, and policymakers and concluded that this is the only way to correct our current national health trajectory.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Over the last 20 years, I’ve been part of building six new businesses from the ground up. My teams have ranged from 5 people to hundreds of people. The biggest accomplishment has been to see my team members grow, become great leaders, and start their own businesses.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

As a founder, the buck stop on you, always. It’s a great responsibility but can sometimes derail your everyday life.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Pick an area you are truly passionate about. Building a new business takes about a decade – and most fail because people lose interest.
  2. Take the first step. Most people procrastinate and never take the initiative. The only way to see things through is to take the first step.
  3. Find the right partners early. You can be a solo entrepreneur, but most businesses require a team. Pick people you want to work with for the next decade. And make sure they have enough diversity from the get-go.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

My passion is to help people live better lives. I do this by building digital health companies and investing in companies focusing on improving human health/performance. The US healthcare system is a complete mess and needs your help! We need to fix the following three areas!

  1. Misaligned incentives: Payor (insurance companies, Medicare, Medicaid) — Pharma/medical devices — caregivers (doctors, hospitals)  all have different incentives that make the system balloon up in cost and complexity. We have 4% of people yet we spend more than 40% of the world’s health budget.
  2. Access to care: Still after the affordable care act 28 million Americans don’t have health insurance.
  3. Data portability: our data is not owned by us the patients.
  4. Lack of focus on preventative care: we spend 2.9% of the health spending on prevention. And 50% of chronic condition management. Managing people with lifestyle (read food) related chronic conditions. Not healing them!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.elo.health/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/umbar
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aritulla/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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