billions of dollars. The industry also is vast enough and changing so rapidly that startups can find new segments where they can grow into major companies. He pointed to the estimated $20 billion already being spent each year on wellness products or services as an example.
But even with the changes, Kraus thinks a business-to-business-to-consumer approach like Welltok’s will remain the best approach in the future.
“Enterprises, whether they be payers, providers, employers, are still the predominant sales channel you need to market and sell into,” Kraus said.
It’s not only private companies in the U.S. that might be Welltok customers. Margolis said government insurance programs like Medicare or nationalized single-player plans like those in Canada and throughout Europe could become customers.
In addition to that market strategy, Welltok appealed to Bessemer because its future doesn’t depend on consumers or businesses adopting a single product.
“They’re not resting their success on any one app or sensor or tracker. What they’re trying to do is work with the payers and those folks who own the risk,” Kraus said.
Margolis contends that Welltok doesn’t have a direct competitor. Companies like Jiff and Limeade are developing products that help individual companies develop and run wellness plans, but Margolis said Welltok is the only company to focus on selling to insurers.
Welltok doesn’t disclose details about its revenue or current valuation, but Margolis said it has paying customers using the first generation of the CafeWell product line.
The company also doesn’t disclose its number of customers, but Kraus mentioned its software is available to millions of consumers. Welltok already is working with large health insurance companies such as United Healthcare, Aetna, and Cigna, as well as providers such as Centura Health, which owns hospitals in Colorado and Kansas.
The early numbers and relationships have made Welltok revise its projections upwards.
“Welltok has a lot of momentum in the marketplace right now, and what we’re seeing is the size of the market opportunity is at least
