Origin, a women’s health platform providing physical therapy and expert guidance for issues specific to the female body, today announces aggressive growth plans following a seed funding round led by Brand Foundry Ventures and The Blue Venture Fund. The new investment will be used to accelerate Origin’s mission of ensuring women and mothers nationwide in the U.S. have access to specialized, expert care for pelvic floor dysfunction and holistic women’s health through every stage of life. The funds will specifically be used to scale Origin’s offerings – including the opening of two additional physical locations in California, a rollout of virtual care in the US, and building its expert network of top quality providers nationwide.
More than 40M adult women in the US per year suffer from incredibly common but often overlooked health issues related to pregnancy, postpartum, menopause, and sexual health. Origin’s physical therapy and outcomes-based guidance is rooted in scientific evidence to prevent and treat a wide range of issues, from incontinence and painful sex to diastasis recti and sciatica. Unaddressed, such issues cost the healthcare system billions of dollars and have an outsized impact on physical and mental health.
The company offers virtual and in-person PT sessions, covered by insurance, in addition to proprietary at-home educational content, and community experiences. Its team brings deep expertise in the pelvic floor, musculoskeletal conditions, and physiological and hormonal changes. Origin’s unique approach to preventing and treating complications associated with maternity and menopause alone would save the American healthcare system $65B annually. Beyond that, prevention and treatment techniques for pelvic pain would avert an additional $124B in costs.
“If there were a health issue affecting 1 in 3 men in America, there would be a practice like ours on every corner,” said Co-Founder & CEO Carine Carmy. “Instead, one third of adult women are suffering silently with extremely common health issues, and it’s costing our health system billions of dollars each year. If they do see a doctor – or a dozen in my case – they are either told to ‘deal with it’ or are recommended invasive procedures. Our healthcare system has failed women. Origin’s growth is critical to reach more women and providers, to normalize pelvic floor physical therapy and increase access to non-invasive, cost effective care. By elevating the standard of care, we aim to break the cycle of minimizing women’s pain, today and for generations to come.”
The seed funding round led by Brand Foundry Ventures – whose portfolio includes Allbirds, Harry’s, Lola, Peloton, The Wonder and Warby Parker – and The Blue Venture Fund, also introduces investment from Founders Factory New York (Johnson & Johnson Innovation), SteelSky Ventures, Springbank Collective, and Pipeline Capital Partners. In addition, Origin welcomes angel investors Toyin Ajayi, Chief Health Officer and Co-founder at Cityblock Health; Sharon Knight, former President at One Medical; Ashley Mayer, VP of Communications at Glossier; Jaclyn Rice Nelson, Co-founder at TribeAI; and several others.
“As the healthcare industry shifts towards more holistic, preventative care, we believe Origin’s progressive point of view has the potential to change the way women engage with their healthcare through every stage of life,” said Anna Haghgooie, Managing Director at The Blue Venture Fund. “From reducing unnecessary surgeries to helping women avoid years of misdiagnoses, Origin’s unique model of physical therapy and education will be a critical component of the American healthcare system for years to come.”
“With the current women’s health sector undergoing a radical transformation, we are excited about our major investment in Origin,” said Andrew Mitchell, Founder at Brand Foundry Ventures. “Their brand mission and market need is clear, and they are well-positioned to be at the forefront of a new category of care. Origin will allow more comprehensive care to be delivered directly — and in ways that are more convenient and personalized for patients.”
The funding announcement comes just one year after Origin launched virtual care across CA, NY and TX in the onset of the pandemic, safely and effectively offering one-on-one physical therapy sessions for thousands of women in their homes. In August 2020, Origin opened its first physical location in Los Angeles’ Brentwood neighborhood and has since been fully-booked in compliance with COVID-19 safety protocols. Overall, Origin has grown over 500% in the past year with over 50% of their patients opting for virtual care. Current in-network insurance providers include Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California, Cigna and United Healthcare among others and will broaden as the company expands nationwide.
Today, Origin opened two new physical locations in California: a second Los Angeles location in West Hollywood and a first in San Francisco’s Cow Hollow neighborhood. Over the coming year, Origin will also expand its virtual care throughout the country. Additionally, the investment will accelerate opportunities for women’s health and pelvic floor physical therapists to join Origin’s nationwide provider network.
As part of its expansion, Liz Miracle, MSPT, WCS will be joining Origin’s leadership team as Head of Clinical Quality and Talent, and Bay Area Clinical Director. In addition to over 15 years of experience in pelvic floor physical therapy, Liz is an assistant clinical professor for the University of California San Francisco’s Graduate Program in Physical Therapy and helped write the women’s health curriculum for the American Physical Therapy Association.
