Surviving the early days of the pandemic meant staying home, and for a lot of people that meant moving less. Gyms shuttered. Traveling ground to a halt. And for a while it seemed like the whole world was watching “Tiger King” on Netflix. So it’s no surprise that many people put on a few pounds.
A startup called Found wants to help.
Founded in 2019 and launched last year, San Francisco-based Found is offering members an integrated approach to weight loss — what it likes to call “weight care” — that tries to address the complexity of weight gain and obesity with a personalized approach that’s centered on body positivity and doesn’t require going to an expensive clinic.
The startup has raised $32 million, including a $24 million Series A round announced Sept. 30 and led by GV, Atomic and Define Ventures.
Sarah Jones Simmer, former chief operating officer at Austin-based dating app maker Bumble Inc., has signed on to lead the startup as its new chief executive alongside its co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Swarthy Prithivi, who previously worked at Uber.
“Obesity is a disease, it’s not a decision,” Prithivi told me. And “it’s not just about what you lose, it’s about what you find. So many of our members have found happier, more confident, more fulfilled versions of themselves.”
The service costs between $99 and $149 per month depending on the upfront commitment users make, and the program sets goals over a period of at least six months. The app assesses members' medical history and needs and pairs them up with a clinician and a coach. Members are also encouraged to support each other via the app.
The membership fee is all-inclusive, and it currently has tens of thousands of members who have lost more than 200,000 pounds collectively.
But it’s about more than just a number on a scale. Things like comfortably wearing a wedding band again, finishing a marathon or playing with grandchildren are quality of life issues that Found wants to help people achieve.
“We’re taking cues from the body positivity movement,” Simmer said. Found is providing the tools to achieve your goals “and those goals are centered not on a scale but what you’re able to do with your body.”
Simmer, who is based in Austin, helped take Bumble public earlier this year as its COO while battling stage 3 breast cancer. The experience pushed her to do more.
“Getting to the the end of the IPO journey made me realize that what I really love is building things,” Simmer said. “When I started to think about what was next, time and time again, health felt like the only thing that could rise to the same level as relationships. And I had seen the health care system up close and personal.”
The new funding will help the company go on a hiring spree and boost its marketing capabilities so that it can expand. It's already brought on Alexandre Linares, who was vice president of product at Headspace, and plans on nearly doubling its headcount from 130 to 230 by March 2022.
