Julia Cheek and Everlywell | My First Million Podcast

TL;DR

Julia Cheek founded Everlywell, a direct-to-consumer blood testing company, after experiencing unexplained health symptoms and failing to get results from multiple doctors. She started with no entrepreneurial or healthcare background, raised over $50M, and grew to $40M in sales by year three. The company offers 35 tests on platforms including Amazon, Target, CVS, Kroger, and works with Humana.

Key insights

• Cheek’s personal health frustration (unexplained symptoms, $2,500 out-of-pocket, never receiving test results) directly led to the idea for Everlywell.
• She started despite 100% of people who knew her saying it would fail, and with zero entrepreneurial or healthcare background.
• The business model combines one-time purchases and repeat sales (e.g., cholesterol tests) with recurring enterprise contracts (e.g., Medicare).