WISP CEO interview
Marketing the company?
Wisp’s Journey to 1 Million Patients: Insights from CEO Monica Cepak
Wisp, a leading telehealth provider specializing in women’s sexual and reproductive health, has recently achieved a significant milestone: serving over one million patients.
Founded with the aim of becoming a comprehensive provider for women’s health needs, Wisp has expanded its services to cover various aspects of women’s health over the past few years from birth control to fertility services and menopause care. The company’s growth trajectory is notable, with a 69% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the past four years, achieved with less than $2 million in primary capital.
In this interview, Monica Cepak, CEO of Wisp, discusses the factors contributing to the company’s efficient growth model and its strategy for maintaining profitability in the competitive telehealth market. Cepak also provides insights into Wisp’s approach to patient acquisition, product development, and market expansion.
Wisp CEO Monica Cepak. Image: Wisp Femtech Insider: Wisp recently surpassed one million patients served, a remarkable achievement in the telehealth space. Can you share what key factors contributed to reaching this milestone?
Monica Cepak: Growth is a reflection of the brand that we’ve built and the need for more accessible healthcare options in the marketplace. Our long term vision has always been to become the go-to brand for all things sexual and reproductive health — and this milestone of hitting over one million patients served is proof that we’re well on our way to getting there. We’re excited to be addressing all major life stages of a women’s healthcare journey, starting from her first birth control prescription, to fertility — which we recently launched — as well as menopause, STI diagnostics and more.
In terms of key factors that have contributed to this, we’ve focused on listening to our patients and developing products and services that meet her needs. We’ve been efficient about patient acquisition through search and social, both from a paid and organic perspective. We’ve stayed focused on nurturing our community with lifecycle marketing as well as blog content . Word of mouth and partnerships have also been powerful drivers of community and brand awareness.
FI: How has the company managed to maintain such a rapid growth rate, particularly with a limited amount of primary capital? Can you discuss the strategies behind Wisp’s scalable and capital-light growth model?
Cepak: In today’s environment, particularly in the world of digital health, it’s incredibly challenging to scale, let alone maintain profitability. At Wisp, we’re very proud to have been able to do both. We were very strategic from the beginning about how much money we took. The playbook for companies like ours has typically been to spend a lot of money early on, invest in OOH and digital channels, and scale the business right away. However, while that can build a brand quickly, it’s a lot easier to crash and burn that way.
Unlike other companies in the space who raised a high amount of primary capital at the beginning, we’ve taken a much more disciplined approach. We’re thoughtful about negotiating with pharmaceutical partners and vendors, and always look to make our creative work smarter and harder for us. We focus on driving efficient CACs and rolling out products and services that will improve our patient LTV.
FI: Wisp has been pioneering in launching first-to-market products, such as DoxyPEP. How do you identify gaps in the market?
Cepak: When we look to launch new products, we’re really looking at how we can better care for our patients. We want to meet them exactly where they are in their healthcare journey. To do this, we’re listening to their feedback, constantly surveying them to identify gaps in the market and then thinking, how can we leverage the power of telemedicine to find unique opportunities to serve them? From there, we either build it ourselves as a truly cross functional team collaboration, striving for clinical excellence and creating unique compounded formulas, or partner with others in the space.
FI: Looking forward, you shared that Wisp is planning some of its most ambitious product launches to date. Can you give us a preview of what to expect?
Cepak: In the next few years, we’re looking to deepen our footprint into our newly launched fertility vertical, menopause and UTI offerings as well as expand to offer more at-home diagnostics and testing options.
FI: The femtech space is rapidly evolving, with increasing competition and technological advancements. How do you see Wisp’s role evolving in the next five years within this landscape?
Cepak: We have always taken the patient-centric approach to digital healthcare, and even as technology rapidly advances, our commitment to that mission will not waiver. We continue to relentlessly focus on meeting our patients where they are, continuously surveying and speaking with our end users for feedback, keeping up to date on the latest industry trends and bringing first-to-market products to our patients. As the industry evolves, we continue to look for ways to strategically partner with other innovative, like-minded companies in the sexual and reproductive healthcare space.
FI: With telehealth becoming a more integral part of healthcare delivery, particularly post-pandemic, how do you foresee the future of telehealth, especially in the context of sexual and reproductive health? What role do you think Wisp will play in shaping this future?
Cepak: With healthcare deserts rapidly growing across the country, telehealth companies like Wisp who are harnessing the power of technology to increase access and affordability are poised to continue to grow. We’re excited about the strong platform we’ve created, and are continuing to build, to provide value based care to our patients.
Beyond that, we’re excited to play a large role in the more public conversations around the importance of funding women’s health. and as a women’s digital health company, we truly are at the forefront of this pivotal time in healthcare.