Tia co-founders Felicity Yost (left) and Carolyn Witte (right). Photo credit: Tia
Tia, a startup opening concierge clinics for women, recently raised $100 million in funding led by Lone Pine Capital. It’s one of several big, recent investments in women’s health, including a $110 million raise by Maven Clinic — and a departure from past assumptions that a service tailored to women would be too “niche.”
“We are 51% of the population and control more than 80% of the (healthcare) dollars,” Tia CEO and co-founder Carolyn Witte said in a Zoom interview. “It feels like this time raising this round, the tide had turned… I’ve been saying this for a long time, but people heard me this time.”
Witte co-founded Tia five years ago with COO Felicity Yost. They started with a chat-based app to help answer people’s questions about birth control and their health. In 2019, the company opened its first in-person clinic in New York, with some fits and starts. Tia charges a $150 annual membership fee, and patients use their insurance or pay in cash for the cost of each visit.
When they started the company, Witte said she would get questions from employers and other healthcare buyers about why they should pay for a product that only half of their population can use.
“I will never forget a very famous hospital CEO saying that to me, ‘isn’t the other one that works for everyone good enough?’” she said. “I think there’s a recognition now that one-size fits all care doesn’t work, that women are powerful customers, and that women are radically underserved.”
Currently, Tia offers primary care, gynecology, mental health and acupuncture. The majority of its visits are conducted through telehealth, but it’s also building out a network of clinics. It currently has three practicing physicians, 10 nurse practitioners and several therapists, according to its website. By far, mental health has been its fastest growing service line, Witte said.
As of last year, when it raised a series A round, Tia had about 3,000 patients at its New York clinic. Witte didn’t confirm how many members the company currently has, but said the startup has a goal of reaching 100,000 by 2023.
Earlier this year, the company opened a second clinic in Los Angeles, and it plans to open another in Phoenix soon. Next year, she said Tia plans to open 15 more clinics.
Witte said Tia plans to put the new funding toward three objectives: Expanding to more locations, expanding its services to cover everything from puberty to menopause, and striking more partnerships with health systems to cover inpatient services, such as labor and delivery.
