COVID has transformed how consumers view credit card rewards. Travel-based card owners have had to adjust the way they earn and spend rewards. To address this change in consumer behavior, an increasing number of card providers have enhanced their offerings to provide more lifestyle benefits. The pandemic also introduced a shift in spending behavior that placed an emphasis on personal health. Ness is a new digital credit card and rewards platform that’s focused on integrating wellcare into the credit card industry by incentivizing cardholders to be healthy. The company’s first product is the Ness Rewards platform that allows users to earn rewards for everyday healthy behaviors like going to the doctor, maintaining sound sleep habits, or going to the gym. Accrued rewards can be used with a number of popular health and wellness-focused brands like Sweetgreen, Noom, and One Medical as well as with a network of over 4000 health coaches, nutritionists, and other specialists. Ness is also launching its own suite of credit cards to provide more enhanced benefits by increasing a cardholder’s ability to accumulate rewards for everyday behaviors. All of this serves as a foundation for the company’s plan to expand to offer integrated health insurance benefits. By fostering healthy habits through incentivization, Ness seeks to make wellcare more accessible and affordable, creating a new paradigm for an emphasized and integrated approach to preventative healthcare.
AlleyWatch caught up with Ness CEO, Cofounder, and serial entrepreneur Derek Flanzraich (Greatist acquired by Healthline) to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, latest round of funding, and much, much more…
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
Ness raised a $15.5M Seed round led by Will Ventures with participation from Core Innovation Capital, Accomplice, Digitalis, GFC, Portage Ventures, Refactor Capital, RiverPark, and Atypical. Founders and senior executives from some of the most well-known and beloved health and wellness companies also participated, including Sweetgreen, Mirror, Headspace, Thrive Market, Whole30, Oura, Quartet Health, Four Sigmatic, RXBar, Everly Health, Pillpack, Ginger, One Medical, Galileo Health, Oscar Health, Noom, and Hungryroot.
Tell us about the product or service that Ness offers.
Ness is a fintech company building credit cards to reduce the cost of wellcare. In May 2022, we launched Ness Rewards, an app that allows consumers to earn points for the spending they’re already doing on their health. Eventually, all “healthy actions”—from fitness activity to physician visits—will be rewarded. Today, consumers can redeem these points for offers at wellness brands like Sweetgreen, Thrive Market, Barry’s Bootcamp, and more. Ness Rewards is currently invite-only.
In addition to this funding, Ness is also announcing the acquisition of WellSet’s 4,000-person nationwide network of practitioners. Through this, consumers will soon be able to use the points they earn to see experts like health coaches, dieticians, therapists, and doulas—a first-of-its-kind offering that makes expert health services more accessible.
What inspired the start of Ness?
With my last company, Greatist, I worked hard to build a healthier way of talking about health & wellness. No matter how accessible the idea of health and wellness may be, though, there’s no denying most things in health and wellness simply aren’t affordable. For me, this hit hardest at the beginning of COVID when health insurance wouldn’t pay for me to see my therapist. We know (and experts agree) eating well, exercising, taking vitamin D, and working on mental health are all important to build a healthier society, yet we’ve never been less healthy… and this whole world of “wellcare” has never been more expensive. That’s why we’re building Ness.
How is Ness different?
Ness’ goal is to make wellcare more accessible and affordable. While many health and wellness companies are building great products and services, it means nothing if the intended user cannot afford them. The Ness Rewards app and to-be-launched credit cards provide people with a way to more easily access all of their favorite health and wellness brands, while reinforcing and encouraging good habits.
Ultimately, Ness plans to build credit cards that provide comprehensive health insurance as a core benefit to the card offering. Ness sees credit cards as the best platform for consumers to get health insurance that’ll stick with them for 30 to 40 years, not just 3 to 4. And if people stick with Ness’ health insurance for a long period of time, they can justify helping people afford to take care of their health right now. The healthier consumers are in the future, the more Ness saves.
What market does Ness target and how big is it?
Ness is the perfect solution for anyone looking to get rewarded for the healthy lifestyle they already prioritize. Users are rewarded for making healthy decisions related to their physical activities, diet, and sleep, among other things. It’s a reward system as well as a motivator to encourage people to take healthy actions by making those actions more affordable and accessible. Anyone interested in living healthy can benefit from our offerings.
What’s your business model?
Ness is building a suite of consumer credit cards, and eventually plans to offer health insurance as core benefits of those credit cards.
What are your post-COVID office plans?
Ness is a fully remote company, with employees all over the country. We run quarterly in-person summits with strict COVID protocols to keep the team safe.
What was the funding process like?
Initial buy-in came from friends and prior investors in my last company who were bought into the big vision. Then, what really made the biggest difference was bringing on board an incredible team.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
Honestly, the biggest challenge was deciding who was going to be the most valuable partners! We were fortunate that one of the Managing Partners at Will Ventures (that led this round) invested in our pre-seed and showed us how supportive and value-add they could be from very early on.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
First, it’s all about the team. We’ve built an extraordinary team of folks with experience at Stripe, Capital One, Uber, SoFi, Oscar Health, Stitch Fix, AmEx, and more– at a caliber far better than I expected this early on.
Second, it’s about the ambitious vision. Ness has the potential to align incentives in the healthcare space for just about the first time– and in the process to build a world where everyone can afford to be healthy.
First, it’s all about the team. We’ve built an extraordinary team of folks with experience at Stripe, Capital One, Uber, SoFi, Oscar Health, Stitch Fix, AmEx, and more– at a caliber far better than I expected this early on.
Second, it’s about the ambitious vision. Ness has the potential to align incentives in the healthcare space for just about the first time– and in the process to build a world where everyone can afford to be healthy.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We expect to launch our first consumer credit card that will accelerate the rewards consumers are already earning in the Ness Rewards app, giving more value to redeem in their marketplace of healthy products, services, experiences, and health providers, plus exclusive premium benefits from the best brands. Stay tuned!
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh
injection of capital in the bank?
Build a business with an impact you personally care about—and the stubbornness and determination to make things happen no matter what will come. Also, in my experience, fundraising isn’t about convincing the skeptics but finding the true believers.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
We’re looking to grow the product, team, users, and commitment to credit and compliance. In the meantime, check out our Ness Rewards app.
What’s your favorite outdoor dining restaurant in NYC?
I’m still a sucker for The Smith. I’m sorry!
