Impact Ventures: Meet One Stop Wellness, a Comprehensive Health Solution That Empowers Employees

The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a majority of companies to rethink how to approach employee health and wellness. In North Texas, stats show that company culture in today’s virtual world and finding ways to safely return to the workplace are top-of-mind issues.

Dallas-based One Stop Wellness wants to help with that.

The comprehensive wellness startup was founded in 2018 to empower employees to improve their wellness behaviors, while at the same time rewarding them for helping to reduce their company’s health insurance costs. By tracking population health risks and providing actionable insights, One Stop Wellness is able to help employees stay healthy and improve a company’s overall health outcomes.

“One of our clients had a large percentage of unhealthy employees. As a result of our program and health assessments, an employee was able to detect an A-Fib problem early on,” CEO Romy Antoine told Dallas Innovates. “If left untreated, this may have led to a stroke. This company also was able to get a significant reduction in their insurance costs due to the high level of engagement in the program.”

When the global pandemic hit, the One Stop Wellness team knew they had to reevaluate their product roadmap. They decided to focus on features that would have an impact on virus mitigation—coming up with a new tool for businesses that aims to reduce potential COVID-19 infections, mitigate risk, and remain compliant to OSHA COVID-19 regulations.

Romy Antoine

“These times show the increased need for businesses to invest in employee well-being and provide the support to keep their staff healthy,” Antoine says. “What’s great is that we had a viable business prior to the pandemic. This new functionality can be applied health issues post COVID-19.”

The COVID-19 symptom self-assessment has employees completing a check-in to determine whether they may enter the workplace (or speak to a physician) that day. Employers are given documentation to show they are following proper protocol and employees get peace of mind knowing their employer is helping reduce the spread of the virus.

“As companies reopen and ‘essential businesses’ continue to operate, we know this will anticipate two major opportunities: the increased need to prevent corporate liability due to virus exposure and the need to keep employees safe and healthy,” Antoine says. “We have positioned ourselves to be ready for the increase in business.”

It’s an opportunity to go after a $2 billion market, as the solutions target employers with more than 500 employees. In the next 12 months, success to Antoine would be reaching One Stop Wellness’ fundraising goals, which will allow him to increase the team, market share, and further innovate the company’s technology.

“I am most proud of being able to sell my vision to some of the most intelligent, successful, and talented individuals and inspire them to join my team,” he says. “Our team is made of people who are passionate about health and making the world a better place. Our mission is to empower people with their health data and the guidance to help them become their own health advocates.”

Learn more about Antoine and One Stop Wellness in our Q&A. This installment is part of a new Dallas Innovates series in which we highlight some of Impact Ventures’ Spring 2020 Fellows. You can also read about Exgratias, Education PowerED, HVACIntel, Latinx Spaces, and nVenue.

Meet One Stop Wellness

What do you wish people knew about One Stop Wellness?

I wish people knew how much work has gone into understanding our customer and industry.

Prior to building the technology, I actually spent four years designing corporate wellness programs, speaking at conferences, and even publishing a book on millennial engagement, which gave me a great deal of insight into how programs work, how to appeal to the needs of the decision makers, and how to motivate employees.

This industry knowledge allowed for a smooth transition into designing an engaging app.

How did being accepted to the Impact Ventures cohort make a difference to your team?

Impact Ventures allowed me to have access to mentors from multiple industries who had the expertise and relationships to help improve our strategy.

How are you funding your startup?

We are funding through a mix of founders cash, pitch competitions, institutional investment, and grants. The majority of our funding goes towards product development.

What mentors, partnerships, or deals have been pivotal to your initial traction?

We were able to partner with a leading employee benefits firm, which is a distribution channel that helped us to get our initial customers. Also we brought on strategic advisors who are well respected industry thought leaders to increase our credibility.

Why did you start your company?

This company was an evolution from my first business, a virtual fitness coaching company.

While taking care of my mom, who was battling a rare cancer, I started to see the flaws in the healthcare system as well as the lack of health literacy in the adult population. I wanted to help people to boost their health literacy while providing them the resources and personalized guidance to improve their lifestyles, which would ultimately lead to them making healthier decisions.

How did you name it?

I was with a friend who is the wellness program director at a healthcare company and explained to her that I needed a name that would be straight to the point, while still demonstrating that I want to offer a comprehensive wellness program targeting multiple dimensions of well-being: physical, social, occupational, and emotional.

She said this sounds like an all-in-one program, a one-stop-shop for wellness—One Stop Wellness.

What sector trends are you most excited about?

The rise of the virtual workplace is exciting because it makes a greater case for companies to cater to the needs of younger generations. I also mentioned the need for a flexible work environment in my book, “The Ultimate Guide to Engaging Millennials,” in 2018.

I’ve always looked into the future workplace and discussed how to best motivate employees and keep them healthy remotely.

Has the pandemic and social environment shifted your plans this year?

The social environment has slightly shifted my plans because many major conferences that I was booked to speak at were cancelled. These conferences help to raise brand awareness and allow us to meet with potential customers.

How is your team operating right now in these virtual times?

We are operating efficiently because from the beginning my team has been spread out and collaborated virtually. We’ve been using many tools to communicate and track productivity.

The pandemic didn’t disrupt our operations, however it allowed us to start targeting investors who once gave push back because the entire team wasn’t all together in one office.