Derek Flanzraich

Derek Flanzraich: Mission-Driven Entrepreneur Democratizing Health & Wellness

Derek Flanzraich is a mission-driven entrepreneur passionate about making health and wellness more accessible and affordable for everyone. He is the founder and CEO of Ness, a wellness-based fintech company that aims to reduce the cost of wellcare through innovative solutions like a credit card that rewards healthy purchases.12

Background

• Founded Greatist, a leading health and wellness media company for millennials, which he grew to 10-20M unique visitors per month before selling to Healthline/Red Ventures in 20194
• Worked as an advisor, consultant and investor in the health and healthcare space for about a year and a half before starting Ness3
• Serves as a Venture Partner at Lakehouse Ventures and LP at Everywhere Ventures4
• Advisory Board member of NOCD, a leading provider of evidence-based treatment for OCD4

Ness: Aligning Incentives in Healthcare

At Ness, Derek is building a credit card and rewards platform that incentivizes healthy behaviors by offering kickbacks for fitness memberships, wellness experiences, healthy food, and more.12 The goal is to create a "wedge into healthcare" and align incentives between care providers and consumers to make wellcare more accessible.12

Derek believes that the high cost of living a healthy lifestyle is a major barrier for most people, and Ness aims to address this by making it more affordable.3 The company hopes its credit card will redefine people's relationships with their health and wellbeing.2

Mission to Democratize Health

Derek's mission to democratize health and wellness stems from his own personal struggles with weight growing up and a desire to build brands and products that meet people where they are at and empower them to improve their health.3 He is passionate about making health more approachable and accessible for all, not just those who already have the means.3

With Ness, Derek is taking another big swing at his mission, building a company from scratch with the potential to meaningfully impact the healthcare industry by changing the incentive structure.5 His track record of success with Greatist and mission-driven approach make him a leader to watch in the rapidly evolving consumer health and wellness space.