Emily Hochman | Wellory

April 29, 2021 What I Found

What Is Wellory? Tell Us About What You Do And What Your Mission Is.

Wellory is a health tech company reinventing personal nutrition to create a long-lasting, healthier relationship with food. We’re on a mission to create an accessible and affordable solution that bridges the disconnect between losing weight and eating healthy. Through our user-friendly app, clients match with a Wellory Nutrition Coach to receive ongoing, concierge-level support based on their specific health goals. Our mobile service offers science-based, personalized meal planning, photo-based meal logging, and daily communication through its community of nutritionists, certified health coaches and registered dietitians.

What Was The Inspiration Behind The Company Name?

I’ve always had massive goals for Wellory and looked at companies I was inspired by: Google, Facebook, Instagram, AirBnB, the list goes on and on. The common theme for the name of these companies is that they are all made up words. So the inspiration behind Wellory was that it had to be something that was not in the English language. We came up with Wellory. --ORY means “At the place of” so the real meaning of Wellory is “at the place of wellness.”

What Is Your Background? Tell Us About Your Journey To Starting A Company And How You Ended Up In This Space.

Building Wellory came from personal experience. When I was in college, I was terrified of gaining the freshman fifteen. So I did what the mass media told me to do, and went on a diet (in fact, many diets!). Unfortunately, none of the diets I tried worked. Instead, I found nutrition to be my cure. When I shared my experience with family, friends, and colleagues, I learned that everyone had their own relationship with food too and yet, no one knew where to turn. I soon became obsessed with bringing healthy eating to the forefront of conversation and the forefront of our everyday lives.

Who Are Your Co-Founders Or People Who You Work Very Closely With? How Do Their Skills Supplement Yours?

Jeni Fahy is our Chief Product Office and mostly feels like my right arm. I like to say she’s the organization to my chaos, the peanut butter to my jelly if you will. I’ve incredibly fortunate to get to work alongside her and build Wellory together.

What Have Been Both Your Favorite And Least-liked Parts Of Your Entrepreneurial Journey? What Have Been Your Most Challenging And Most Exciting Moments For You And The Company?

My favorite and most exciting part of this journey has been helping those who are struggling with their health like I did and being able to help them find ways to have the best possible relationship with food that is right for their body. We get feedback from our customers that Wellory is a “life-changing” experience and that gives me chills just thinking about! I would say one of the biggest challenges we face while the education needed to differentiate us from other nutrition related apps out there. At Wellory, the team and I have made it our priority to focus on qualitative nutrition over qualitative tracking, while creating a unique client experience. The Wellory app allows for 1-1 human relationship between the coach and client, offering unlimited Q&A, personalized recipe ideas and shopping lists, and progressing habits at your own speed. We’re focused on providing support, education and personalization instead prescribing a one-size-fits-all solution. To us, we believe that diets really don’t work. Experts do.

What Was The Fundraising Process Like For You? Tell Us About Your Investors And What You Use The Money You’ve Raised For.

We have $4.2 Million led by Story Ventures with participation from Harlem Capital, the Co-Founders of Tinder Sean Rad and Justin Mateen, Ground Up Ventures, NBA Player Wayne Ellington, Hannah Bronfman, as well as executives from Google, Amazon, Glossier, among others. The raised money will go towards the development of Wellory’s technology, marketing efforts and team growth. I’m grateful to be building alongside such mission driven investors who see the future like we do!

This Past Year Has Undoubtedly Been A Stressful One For Many People, And Maintaining A Healthy Nutrition Regimen In These Times Is More Important Than Ever. What Has Demand Been Like For Wellory Over The Past Few Months Both On The B2C And B2B Side?

We’re so grateful to be a solution to many who are prioritizing staying healthy at home. 80% of our immune system cells live in our gut. A healthy gut means less vulnerability to a virus. We’ve seen the need for Wellory from new customers growth as well as many new partnerships we’re launching with employers. We’re excited about a partnership we just launched with SAP and the Female Founder Collective, as well as with JOON.

Anything Exciting That Will Be Launching Soon?

While I can’t share any specific news just yet, I will say that we are hiring for a ton of roles in early 2021 to help with the expansion of product offerings and partnership opportunities with some incredible companies. We will also be adding new tech developments and updates to the app’s functionality.

How Do You Think Your Industry Will Change Post-COVID?

According to the NY Times, 88% of American adults are considered high risk of COVID-19 due to diet-related disease. 82% of people who go on a diet end up gaining more weight within 2 years than they lost. With a stat like this one, it's clear that the nutrition industry is in need of some shaking up. With Covid-19, I believe a lot more people will be mindful of their health and what they consume on the daily. This is an opportunity for all to take a step back and evaluate how they can improve their health with the power of food in order to stay healthy.

What Does Your Typical Day Look Like?

My morning routine is a must for me. It helps me kickstart my day and really focus. When I wake up, I always start the day with hot water and lemon and then take my dog on a walk. This is one of my favorite ways to kick start the day and get my body moving. Once I’m back home, I have breakfast, which is always the exact same thing (I believe a lot in the power of consistency when building habits) -- an avocado toast on ezekiel bread. I gave up coffee about 6 years ago so I enjoy a matcha every morning then I'm at my desk usually by 8:30am.

What Are The Top Three Qualities or Skills You Believe Entrepreneurs Need In Order To Be Successful? Also, What Advice Do You Have For Entrepreneurs Who Are Just Starting Out?

I call it the “Three P’s”: passion, patience and perseverance. In order to start a business, you need to be passionate about what it is that you are looking to introduce to the world. Patience at times might sound tough, but it is one thing we all need in order to succeed, followed by perseverance. No matter how many times you cross a bump in the road on your journey or how many “no’s” you may get, never stop believing in yourself. My advice for those who are looking to start a company from scratch is to never give up! The worst thing you can do is quit, so keep pushing yourself and never stop trying. The more life you breathe into it, the more good that will happen. Oh, and if you’re thinking about starting a company, you’re already 60 seconds too late. Start now!

If You Can Have A One-Hour Meeting With Someone Famous Who Is Alive, Who Would It Be And Why?

Katrina Lake - hands down! I look at Stitch Fix quite often as a business I admire and Katrina as a founder I admire. We have major ambitions and we’ve learned a lot is possible through watching Katrina build Stitch Fix. And as a woman, she’s proof you can have it all - family and business.

Who Is Your Role Model?

It’s hard to just have one when there are so many inspiring people who have helped me along the way. My mom is an entrepreneur herself and has taught me that the number #1 best thing I can do is to never give up. Liz Wessel, CEO and Co-Founder of WayUp has been a huge mentor to me as well, as a female founder, CEO and innovator. She’s always been so honest with me, understanding the founder perspective and fundraising landscape.

What Is Your Favorite Quote?

“Don’t quit.” This is something I subscribe to every single day and truly believe in the power of continuing to grow, learn and evolve. As long as you don’t quit, you will figure out what steps you need to take to get to where you need to be… and everything happens for a reason, so keep going!

What Do You Do In Your Free Time?

My COVID hobbies include haircuts (I’ve recently learned how to do that) and playing with my new puppy, Rupert.

What Does Success Mean To You?

Success to me means being able to help those who struggled with their health like I did, and finding a solution for each individual's problem. If we do our job right at Wellory, we'll be able to significantly lower the amount of people who get sick every single year from diet-related disease and significantly reduce healthcare costs in the U.S. The facts are real and horrifying: the #1 cause of morality in the United States is poor diet. According to a recent case study, 88% of Americans are considered at high-risk of COVID-19 due to diet-related disease. We need to get to the cause of illness by helping our nation prioritize eating healthy first and foremost. Our hope is to help as many people as possible learn how to prioritize their nutrition, while giving them the support and guidance they need to make real behavior change.