Cision PR Newswire

GREENWICH, Conn., Nov. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Spencer Trask & Co., an advanced technology development firm, announced today that its Food is Medicine venture, Good Measures Inc. (Good Measures), has been acquired by NationsBenefits, a leading provider of supplemental benefits and fintech solutions for the healthcare industry. This strategic integration combines Good Measures' personalized behavior modification technology with the reach of NationsBenefits, which delivers 25 million meals annually and serves 100 health plans. The merger creates the first comprehensive platform for personalized nutrition and food as a medicine.

The acquisition leverages Good Measures' patented nutrition technology and coaching platform, utilized by leading organizations such as Google's moonshot Verily, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Centene, Tufts University, and other top healthcare providers. Spencer Trask & Co. affiliates were the first non-founder investors in Good Measures. The firm's Chairman, Kevin Kimberlin, served as a board member and advisor to the Good Measures chief executive officer.

"Good Measures boils the complex chemistry experiment we call eating down to a single measure supporting users with clinical evidence, registered dietitians and certified diabetes educators. This combination creates the first national, closed-loop, behavior modification platform for nutrition," said Kimberlin.

The inspiration for Good Measures came when its co-founder, Stefanny Shaheen, was attending Harvard Business School while also juggling the care of her four young children, Shaheen faced a life-altering challenge when her eight-year-old daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

"What used to be the simple step of pouring a bowl of cereal before school became an eight-step mathematical problem," Shaheen said. For Shaheen, navigating this challenge crystallized a fundamental problem facing millions of Americans: the gap between the need to change food habits and practical implementation.

This acquisition aligns with the Spencer Trask & Co. mission to champion visionary founders and discover transformative solutions that have the power to scale and change lives. By supporting pioneering companies like Good Measures, the firm continues to drive forward technologies that redefine industries and improve quality of life on a national scale.

Building Good Measures

The Good Measures approach builds directly on the groundbreaking work of Health Dialog, a Spencer Trask & Co. venture that partnered with insurers to reduce the cost of care by delivering evidence-based medicine (EBM) through personalized patient coaching at scale. Health Dialog was created to minimize misuse of healthcare services by empowering patients with access to credible information and supportive health coaches. This healthcare model began with a key insight from Dr. Jack Wennberg, the founder of The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, revealed rampant overuse of medical services that were unsupported by scientific evidence, often unnecessary, and occasionally outright harmful. Spencer Trask & Co. responded by launching Health Dialog, aiming to reduce healthcare costs by giving patients more control through informed decision-making.

"Health Dialog first commercialized what today is known as evidence-based medicine, creating a win-win-win for patients, providers, and insurers," said Kimberlin.

Under the leadership of George Bennett, a Good Measures co-founder, Health Dialog achieved rapid growth and a remarkable return on investment: a $30 million investment yielded a $170 million payout, followed by a $770 million acquisition. 

The scientific underpinning for EBM emerged from a landmark 2003  "Annals of Internal Medicine" paper by Elliott S. Fisher and Health Dialog's David E. Wennberg, MD (Jack Wennberg's son), which revealed regional variations in Medicare spending. This research on unjustified healthcare became so influential that Peter Orszag, as "Health Care Czar" and head of the office of management and budget, cited its insights as the economic rationale for the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Evidence-Based Solutions for the Nutrition Crisis

Recognizing that the misuse of food mirrored the unwarranted use of healthcare services, Bennett reunited key members of the original Health Dialog team — including Chris McKown, Pat Flynn, Eric Bam, and Kimberlin — to confront the pivotal role of food as a leading cause of poor health and escalating healthcare costs. An estimated 74% of American adults are overweight, contributing to rising rates of heart disease, diabetes and stroke — leading causes of death. 

"We attacked the biggest healthcare problem in the U.S. — the nutritional imbalances that lead to chronic conditions that are a direct result of misunderstandings about and misuse of food," said Bennett. 

Traditional interventions have fallen short: pharmaceutical solutions require a lifetime commitment and carry side effects, while bariatric surgery, though effective, remains inaccessible at $15,000 to $25,000 per procedure. Good Measures provides an effective and cost-efficient alternative with none of the risks of weight loss drugs or surgery. 

A Pivotal Event in Food-is-Medicine

At the heart of Good Measures is the patented Good Measures Index (GMI), a single number for monitoring health and calculating nutrient options. Personal nutrition coaches, mirroring the successful coaching model from Health Dialog, help people correct nutritional imbalances and adopt healthier eating habits. Good Measures offers personalized food recommendations that adapt to individual preferences and dietary needs.

NationsBenefits is the perfect partner to scale the Good Measures platform as it expands the reach of GMI through the only grocer-agnostic benefits card to facilitate the delivery of medically tailored groceries directly to users' homes.

"This is only the beginning," Kimberlin said. "I envision a future where AI coaches act as personal guardian angels, guiding individuals through their daily choices while respecting their food preferences. By integrating advanced AI into our proven coaching model, we can scale our real-time, personalized support to help millions make healthier decisions and stay motivated on their wellness journeys. This will allow us to scale our impact for people everywhere."

What began with one mother's frustration over managing her daughter's diabetes has evolved into a solution that can transform millions of similar struggles across America. "Partnering with Nations to supply food on a tremendous scale and then enhance that with our personalized recommendations, personalized food prescriptions, and connecting nutrition to the clinical coaching that people really can benefit from, is very exciting," said Shaheen, reflecting on how her personal mission has grown into a solution for our nation.

For more information, please visit www.SpencerTraskCo.com/Food-Is-Medicine.

About Spencer Trask & Co.
Spencer Trask & Co. is an advanced technology development firm that discovers big ideas to help entrepreneurs drive meaningful change. The firm and its principals have co-founded or first-funded world leaders in genomics, the Internet, mobile communications, healthcare and artificial intelligence. By networking with smart entrepreneurs, engineers, scientists and obsessive missionaries, Spencer Trask & Co. helps create one-of-a-kind opportunities to make the world a better place. www.spencertraskco.com. 

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