Diet startup Fay connects registered dietitians to insurance plans, helping Americans adopt healthier habits
The demand for nutritional counseling is surging across America as chronic illnesses linked to poor diets continue to rise. However, many insurance providers have limited networks of registered dietitians (RDs), making it difficult for patients to access these important services. A new startup called Fay is looking to change this by empowering RDs to start their own independent practices while still being covered by major insurance plans.
Fay was founded by Sammy Faycurry, who initially self-funded the project while earning his MBA at Harvard. Inspired by his RD mom and sister’s struggles to deliver nutritional advice at scale, Faycurry set out to build a platform that would give these professionals more flexibility and opportunities to help patients. After partnering with CTO Mark Stefanski, Fay quietly gained traction and has now emerged from ‘stealth mode’ following a $25 million funding round led by General Catalyst and Forerunner Ventures.
The company’s unique ‘business-in-a-box’ model provides RDs with everything needed to run their own insurance-billed practices through Fay’s online platform. This allows dietitians to help up to five times more patients compared to traditional hospital roles. Insurance providers also benefit through lower healthcare costs as clients adopt nutritious dietary changes recommended by RDs to treat chronic conditions.
Impressively, Fay has onboarded over 1,000 RDs onto its platform in under two years and makes their services accessible to those insured by top carriers like Anthem, UnitedHealthcare and Aetna. Many clients are taking medications like Ozempic for weight loss, which require regular nutritional counseling from RDs. Through weekly or bi-weekly virtual sessions, Fay is empowering these individuals to develop long-term healthy eating habits.
With healthcare spending skyrocketing, innovative solutions are needed. Diet startup Fay is bringing together all parties – insurance providers, healthcare practitioners and patients – to facilitate preventative care through accessible and scalable nutritional guidance. Following rapid early growth achieved without significant funding, investors are bullish on Fay’s potential to transform diets nationwide. Their $25 million infusion will fuel further expansion and opportunities for registered dietitians to truly optimize the health of communities.