In a world where healthcare often feels like navigating a labyrinth, Tia, a healthcare company based in San Francisco, has emerged as a beacon of simplicity and comprehensive care. Founded by Carolyn Witte, Tia is breaking barriers by offering women a one-stop shop for their medical needs.
From primary care to mental health, gynaecology, and wellness, Tia provides access to a diverse range of medical practitioners, all under one virtual roof. This innovative approach transforms how women experience healthcare, providing them with doctors and a complete care team.
The Birth of an Idea
Tia’s journey began in 2017 when Carolyn Witte started the company from her dining room table. Her vision was clear: to reimagine healthcare with women at its core. Her struggles as a patient navigating the fragmented healthcare system sparked this vision.
Witte was frustrated by a system that segregated women’s health by body part and reproductive life events, leaving patients bouncing between specialists without cohesive care.
This frustration birthed a question: What if healthcare was designed for women, treating them as whole individuals rather than just a collection of body parts? This question laid the foundation for Tia’s comprehensive care model.
A Simple Yet Challenging Goal
Tia’s ultimate goal is both straightforward and immensely challenging: to empower women to make informed choices about their bodies and lives, leading to improved overall health. This core principle guides every aspect of the company’s mission. Tia believes in offering integrated care, access, and inclusivity, all in service of helping women achieve true wellness.
From App to Healthcare Provider
Tia didn’t start as a healthcare provider but as an app designed to provide women with easy access to health information. It aimed to fill the gap left by impersonal search engines like Google or WebMD. The app quickly gained traction, with over 200,000 one-on-one conversations about women’s health.
These conversations revealed a powerful insight: women didn’t just want information; they wanted Tia to be their healthcare provider. This realization led to the transformation of Tia from an information platform to a comprehensive healthcare service that treats women as complete individuals.
The Leap of Faith
Carolyn Witte’s journey was far from conventional. She quit her job at Google and embarked on a mission fueled by her belief in improving healthcare for women. She didn’t see it as a market opportunity initially but as a chance to improve women’s healthcare genuinely. Tia’s foundation is built on what real women need, a stark departure from traditional healthcare models.
Overcoming Obstacles
One of the most challenging moments for Tia was convincing the world, especially investors, to care about women’s healthcare. Many questioned the idea of building a healthcare company exclusively for women, citing concerns about limiting the potential market.
The education process was arduous, with numerous rejections along the way. However, Witte’s unwavering conviction fueled her determination to continue building Tia.
Defining Moments
Two pivotal moments stand out in Tia’s journey. First, the overwhelming response to the Tia app, with thousands of women seeking health information and advice, showcased the demand for a more personalized healthcare approach.
Second, when Tia opened its first clinic in New York City in 2019, skeptics abounded. Many believed that brick-and-mortar clinics were a costly endeavor. However, the clinic’s success defied expectations, leading to an overflow of patients and a waiting list to join Tia’s revolutionary healthcare service.
The Remarkable Impact
Today, Tia serves tens of thousands of women across the United States, ages 18 to 80. In 2022 alone, the company delivered an impressive 100,000 healthcare services to women. Tia’s rapid growth shows no signs of slowing down, with plans to have nine physical clinics across Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Phoenix by the end of this year.
Tia’s journey from a dining room table to a pioneering healthcare provider exemplifies the power of a simple yet transformative idea. By putting women at the center of healthcare and treating them as whole individuals, Tia is changing the healthcare landscape and empowering women to take control of their health and well-being.
In an industry often marked by complexity and fragmentation, Tia stands as a beacon of comprehensive, accessible, and woman-centric care.