Investing in knownwell

Authors: Ian Chiang and Uma Veerappan

We are thrilled to announce our super pro rata investment in knownwell’s Series A, joining our friends at Andreessen Horowitz.

Knownwell offers tech-enabled, patient-centered primary care and metabolic health treatment that is purpose-built for patients with overweight and obesity. Knownwell is tackling the obesity market, which is estimated to have an economic impact of $1.4 trillion in the United States. Like other chronic diseases, obesity requires long-term management. However, 69% of patients with obesity have experienced weight-related stigma from their doctor, which discourages patients with obesity from seeking appropriate care. Patients with obesity who struggle to find a PCP are 80% more likely to go to the ER but no more likely to be hospitalized. Even when they do seek care, they cannot find quality obesity care. There are only 6,729 American Board of Obesity Medicine certified clinicians, most of whom don’t practice full-time, and PCPs routinely fail to screen for comorbidities or offer appropriate medical solutions.

It’s no secret that the white-hot market for weight loss drugs has taken over headlines, bringing a great deal of attention to the obesity and weight management market. Despite the emergence of various players looking to address the medication access problem, comprehensive solutions remain elusive. Some patients may have access to obesity point solutions purchased by employers, which are often limited to 18–24 months of treatment for a disease that requires treatment longitudinally. Self-pay lifestyle interventions require support from medical service partners, and obesity clinics at academic medical centers have shown clinical efficacy but are often underfunded and inaccessible. Patients with overweight and obesity looking for a comprehensive medical home have nowhere to go.

Knownwell sees an opportunity to create a clinical model purpose-built for patients with overweight and obesity that provides stigma-free, clinically-based, and comprehensive care. Knownwell can see patients for weight-inclusive primary care only, metabolic health only, or both. Importantly, the patient is at the center of what they do — deciding if they want to see knownwell in-person or virtually for each visit, co-creating their care plan that may include many of knownwell’s specialities (e.g., health coaching, nutrition, behavioral health), and deciding at what moment they are comfortable discussing various health concerns. Additionally, knownwell will provide a comprehensive care team of metabolic health specialists as well as remote patient monitoring solutions to help meet the specific needs of patients with obesity. The knownwell clinical model focuses on the comprehensive needs of patients affected by obesity and only prescribes medications, including GLP-1’s, when appropriate.

We are thrilled to have the opportunity to deepen our partnership with knownwell to scale its integrated medical obesity and primary care model. It’s no secret that patients are eager to access metabolic health services, and many of these patients ask for a comprehensive medical home that can also provide their primary care. We strongly believe that knownwell’s longitudinal and comprehensive approach to patient care is the model that will make an enduring impact on patients who have long been affected by obesity.

A little over a year ago, we invested in knownwell by leading the Seed round. As early-stage investors, we place a strong emphasis on backing founders with strong “Founder-Market Fit.” Knownwell’s founding team, Co-Founders Brooke Boyarsky Pratt (CEO) and Dr. Angela Fitch (CMO), epitomize the very definition of “Founder-Market Fit.”

Brooke founded the company based on her experiences as a patient who has long sought a knownwell-like, comprehensive, patient-centric metabolic health platform. She was previously an Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company and, most recently, the COO of Production at a Berkshire Hathaway Company, Berkadia. Brooke left her prominent corporate executive role to start knownwell and create a movement that seeks to scale a new kind of obesity care platform.

Dr. Angela Fitch is an Internal Medicine, Pediatric, and Obesity Medicine physician who is an industry luminary. Dr. Fitch was formerly the Co-Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Weight Center and faculty at Harvard Medical School. Prior to MGH, Dr. Fitch helped create a multidisciplinary medical-surgical weight center at the University of Cincinnati and was the medical director of the Executive Health Program and Vice President of Primary Care. She is currently serving as the President of the Obesity Medicine Association.

Brooke and Angela are joined by Ben Wanamaker as Founding Board Member and Strategic Advisor. He is an Operating Partner at General Atlantic and a seasoned healthcare executive with experiences at Humana, Aetna, and Walmart’s primary care practice. In every interaction with the founding team, it’s clear that they are a dynamic combo who are deeply committed to this movement and help scale patient impact.

We look forward to continuing to collaborate with the knownwell team as they continue to build health system partnerships, payor relationships, and an expanded geographic footprint to make weight-inclusive care more accessible to patients. To learn more about knownwell and our other investments, please contact our team — we’d love to share our perspectives!