Natalist, the Charleston startup that sells pregnancy and fertility products online and in stores across the country, has been sold to a Texas health company.
Everly Health bought Natalist in an all-cash deal, Natalist announced Thursday. The price was not disclosed, The Post and Courier reported.
Everly is a woman-owned company based in Austin, Texas, that sells at-home medical test kits and other diagnostic products to consumers. It owns three subsidiaries: Everlywell, Everly Health Solutions and EverlyDx. The companies said Natalist’s products expand Everlywell’s existing women’s health offerings, Fierce Healthcare reported.
Natalist’s workers and executives are joining Everly, according to the Post and Courier.
Halle Tecco, the health care and technology entrepreneur who launched Natalist in August 2019, said in an email that its operations will remain in Charleston and that employees will have the option to work remotely. Tecco’s title is chief women’s health officer, the newspaper reported.
“The missions of our two companies have been aligned since day one,” Tecco said in a statement.
From 300 stores to 6,000
In October 2019, a little more than a month after its launch, Natalist sold its products on a subscription basis. Customers could buy ovulation and pregnancy tests, prenatal pills and a book on conception one at a time, or pay $75 for a monthly bundle, the Post and Courier reported then.
Its products are now carried in nearly 6,000 stores, up from 300 a year ago, according to the newspaper. Retailers include Target, Rite Aid and several supermarket chains.
Natalist CEO Vernita Brown said Everly’s “full capabilities across testing, telehealth and virtual care delivery will supercharge our ability to help people in ways we’re only beginning to explore.”
An early investor becomes the buyer
The deal has roots in Natalist’s first funding round. The startup raised $5 million in seed funding in 2019, a little more than a month after it announced its launch, and its investors included Everly founder and CEO Julia Cheek, the Post and Courier reported.
TechCrunch reported at the time that the seed money came from Collaborative Fund, Cowboy Ventures, Fuel Capital, Rock Health and xFund, along with angel investors including Cheek, Katrina Lake and John Doerr. Rock Health is the venture firm Tecco founded and previously led as CEO, according to TechCrunch.
Cheek said in a statement that creating innovative solutions for women’s health was her initial motivation for founding the company “and remains a top area of focus.” She said a survey of the company’s customers found that nearly 70% “don’t trust many of the women’s health products available on the market today,” and she called Natalist’s “thoughtfully designed fertility and pregnancy essentials” what many women are seeking.
How it started
Tecco had been public about her own struggle to conceive, including two rounds of in vitro fertilization, TechCrunch reported in October 2019. Shoppers could pick individual products or a basic “Get Pregnant” bundle with seven ovulation tests, three pregnancy tests, a month of prenatal vitamins and omega DHA supplements, and the company’s “Conception 101” book. It cost $90 as a one-time purchase.
TechCrunch reported then that Tecco planned to use the seed money to develop products for more serious fertility concerns, such as polycystic ovary syndrome and endometriosis.
“We plan to use the funding to bring new products to market but we wanted to start with products that are sort of tried and true,” she said.
Natalist was based on Daniel Island when it raised that money. In September 2019, it announced a deal with another Daniel Island technology company, the much larger Benefitfocus Inc. The publicly traded software firm promised to subsidize half the cost of Natalist’s products for its roughly 1,450 employees, the Post and Courier reported at the time.
