Looking back, and being thankful
A little more than 3 years ago, my mom casually mentioned to me that she stopped taking one of her medications because the cost increased by a couple hundred dollars a month and she felt that it was too much for us to be able to afford. A simple comment she said to me in passing. A comment that changed the course of my life.
My mom is no different than millions of people across the country, people who have no choice but to sacrifice their personal health due to their finances. For almost as long as I can remember, I’ve known that to be true because of our own personal situation but it wasn’t until my mom made that comment and I started digging into it that I realized how real of a problem that is in America. We started Lively with the belief that we can help do our part to fix that problem.
Naturally when you see a problem, you look to others to help you figure out a solution. For me, I looked to Shobin Uralil, my cofounder. We’ve been friends forever (our families go back generations) and he’s someone I’ve always respected and admired. I’m also happy to say that 3 years into Lively, my respect and admiration for him have only grown. Lively is Shobin’s second startup and I was lucky enough to witness him working on his first. Shobin was living in Boston but came to San Francisco every month or so and when he did, he stayed with me. I’ve never seen someone work harder. Shobin to me is the definition of grit. I couldn’t have asked for a better cofounder and I know that where we are today wouldn’t be possible without him.
We started talking and over the course of a few months, we saw statistic after statistic of how real of a problem rising healthcare costs were and how unprepared we are for it. And that wasn’t just a generalization of America. This was going to be a problem for me and Shobin and our own families, our parents, our siblings, our friends. It felt very personal.
During this time, we knew of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and the benefits they provided. When the dots started connecting and we started exploring the HSA more closely, we quickly started kicking ourselves for not opening one up years ago. As we learned more about the HSA market itself, we realized that there weren’t any good options if you wanted to open one up. Our “aha moment” was when we started talking to people who had HSAs and discovered how much of a pain it was for them.
Convinced that we could make this better for people, I went to my wife Jenita to ask her if she would be ok if I went down this path. Starting a company isn’t easy and it comes with so many sacrifices. No one has sacrificed more than Jenita. We were a few months into marriage and what she was signing up for was not going to be what she imagined marriage to be. She was signing up to significantly cut back financially, picking up double shifts at the hospital (she’s a pediatric ICU nurse which is far from easy), getting only a couple hours with me for days at a time (she works evenings so we have a tough time seeing each other as is), eating dinner alone on her days off, coming home from work to someone so tired that I couldn’t stay awake to listen to her tell me about her day, going on trips knowing that I would be glued to my laptop, and being with someone whose mind is usually elsewhere even when we are together. It was something incredibly unfair of me to ask of her. But she didn’t hesitate, she told me to do it and to put everything I have into it. She hasn’t complained along the way — even during the really tough stretches. I am eternally grateful and thankful to Jenita for letting me do something I love while sacrificing so much herself to let me do it.
With Jenita’s support, I quit my job and we started Lively.
The first two calls I made were to two of my former bosses — Shane and Isaac. I can attribute a lot of what I’ve learned over the years to these two individuals and what was supposed to be a chat for advice turned into the two of them asking if they could invest in Lively. I was humbled. PJC was our third investor — they knew Shobin from the company he was leaving. Shane, Isaac, and PJC believed in us so early on when we were nothing more than an idea. Sure, we were on to something but I don’t believe that’s what they were betting on. I think they just wanted to support us and for that, I am incredibly thankful.
From there, we applied to Y Combinator. Shobin shared his experience going through Y Combinator so I won’t go into the details here. There are so many wonderful things about YC, a lot of which is hard to see unless you’re lucky enough to go through it. Thousands of companies applied to YC in the same batch that we did. We had no team and no product, yet they saw something in us and gave us a chance. There’s no way Lively would be here today without YC and I hope to give back to YC even just a small fraction of what it has given to me.
Hiring is one of the hardest, if not hardest, parts of starting a company. Not only do you have to find the right people, but you have to hope that they want to join you especially when there are so many other great opportunities for them. We have an amazing team at Lively. They are some of the most talented people I’ve ever come across. I believe that early team members define company culture over the long run and I’m so proud and excited of the culture we have at Lively. It’s an environment full of support, a sense of purpose in what we’re doing together, and fun. It’s what I hoped Lively would be and it wouldn’t be this way without Shobin, Mike, Bri, Chris, Pat, Michael, Krupa, Brian, Liz, Jesse, Niharika, Kirk, Michael, Ben, and David. Thank you for taking a chance on us.
It started with Shane, Isaac, and PJC but today, we have so many more amazing investors supporting us. Shobin and I find ourselves constantly saying how we have such great people that we can lean on. They have provided us countless hours of guidance, taken calls from us while on vacations, helped us navigate roadblocks, celebrated our successes, and encouraged us during our struggles. And now, I’m thrilled to welcome Costanoa Ventures into the Lively family (you can read more about that here). When I first met Mark, I walked away convinced that he’s exactly the type of Board Member I wanted. He is personable, thoughtful, insightful, and just genuinely cares. I still remember when I told him that Jenita and I are expecting our first baby. He threw both of his hands into the air with excitement — the same reaction so many of our friends and family who have known us forever had. The Costanoa team will help Lively in so many ways and I’m honored that they believed in us.
But none of this matters without our users. We were a brand new company and you trusted us with your healthcare dollars. That is a big responsibility and one which we don’t take lightly. I’ve been fortunate enough to talk to so many of our users and I’ve learned so much by being able to do so. It has also helped me crystalize what the foundational elements of Lively need to be — things that we will never waiver from. Everyday, employers and individuals make a decision to join Lively. We will do everything we can to make sure you can be proud of that decision. Thank you for trusting us with something so personal.
Someone asked me recently when I think Lively will have made an impact. I believe we do that everyday. Everyday we help people save money and avoid unnecessary fees. Instead, that’s money that can be used to see the doctor, money to get glasses for your kids, money to put away for an unforeseen healthcare expense down the road, money to help with pain, and money to help people like my mom take the medication that they need.
Alex
