Kathleen Repoli, CEO and co-founder of SimplaFYI, was walking on the beach when the idea for the health and wellbeing company came to her.
It was amidst a fraught consideration of her career and its next steps as she transitioned from a career with conventional health care organizations and then a startup. She knew she wanted to do something that married her passions and gave her entrepreneurial autonomy; but what?
"I went into health care to see people be well, and the numbers didn’t show it," Repoli explained. "Health care costs and outcomes ... they're just not aligned, and there has to be another outcome available for folks to consider."
Repoli reflected on her own experience managing a chronic illness through a variety of different avenues, like yoga and chiropractic care.
"I started thinking there was something here."
Repoli began studying the market, getting an idea of what was happening in the health care space from a local perspective "to prove that there was some value in what we were doing."
There was, and in 2015, SimplaFYI was born.
As aforementioned, SimplaFYI is a health company that partners with integrated care providers — think massage and bodyworks, nutrition, etc. — to create a vetted network of services and providers that individual members, employers and their businesses and practitioners alike can engage with.
The company also publishes content on its site and hosts events like five-minute education sessions.
"We're not doing what the traditional wellness companies are doing," Repoli said, like measuring body mass index or taking measurements. "If you're seeing your primary care physician, you're getting that support. We're focused on the integrative care part ... a blended approach is a little bit different than what’s out there today."
"Health care costs and outcomes ... they're just not aligned, and there has to be another outcome available for folks to consider."
To fund its efforts, SimplaFYI has been bootstrapped from the beginning, with just Repoli and her current business partner, Wendy Kaiser, leading the charge.
"It's a lot, but I keep waking up knowing I'm on the right path," she said.
The company's success thus far has been proving her right. Since graduating from the Social Enterprise Greenhouse's early health and wellness accelerator, SimplaFYIwas able to acquire a small, Boston-based startup called EthosWell for an undisclosed amount. The move allowed the company to sign on Babson College as a client.
As for the future, Repoli said she wants to "have a solid foot print in the New England area" in a meaningful way.
"We really see ourselves as [helping] the health care crisis," she continued. "Keeping people well at the root and really having them embrace the self-care ownership [is the goal]."
Editor's Note: Kathleen Repoli will present on her startup and her entreprenurial journey at Rhode Island Inno's Health and Wellness Inno event tonight in Providence. RSVP here.
