If there was ever a doubt in any one’s mind of the demand and passion for protecting all paths to family building, this week’s electric conversation in Chicago proved a huge point: IVF and fertility care are a central part of our healthcare ecosystem and are here to stay. The demand for fertility care is decidedly non-partisan: no matter their political persuasion, 1 in 6 people worldwide will face a fertility issue on their path to building their family, and as we have seen all week, the conversation that was once deeply personal and even stigmatized has now become public and championed in front of the country.
This is a watershed moment for all of us working in fertility, and I feel it deeply as an early innovator in the industry, and a grateful IVF patient myself. This year marks my 15th year of building fertility companies (I was lucky to start two prior to Kindbody: Fertility Authority and Progyny). When I founded Kindbody six years ago, our mission was simple: to make reproductive healthcare available to everyone, not just a privileged few. Since then, we’ve built over 30 clinics, served thousands of patients who otherwise would not have had fertility access, and most importantly, created thousands of families across the U.S. – many of whom credit us with creating an opportunity they never would have had.
When we started Kindbody, infertility and IVF were rarely talked about openly. Today these topics make headlines daily and the entire country, if not the world, is paying very close attention. Kindbody has played a pivotal role in removing the stigma of infertility and bringing these important conversations out in the open, and I’m incredibly proud of our impact – and excited to take it further. It’s clear there’s a new chapter at our fingertips. With this national conversation and record rates of demand, the time is now to double down on our mission for equitable access to reproductive healthcare. As we enter this next chapter, I wanted to take some time to reflect on Kindbody’s growth and our plans for the future.
As we meet this new chapter, you can expect Kindbody to stick to what we know best: boldly and unapologetically challenging the status quo to transform the industry. The truth is, from our founding moments to today, we’ve always operated as an outsider in a decidedly insider industry. Like any innovator, at times this approach has afforded us massive wins (such as: no one else has built and operated this many clinics in a short few years), and at other times, we’ve learned lessons through mistakes. I’m proud of both sides of our story, and we’ll remain a transparent voice in the market (see recent chat with Fertility Bridge is a great example) as we want change to catch on everywhere to better serve future fertility patients.
Being a first mover in any industry invites critics, and Kindbody is no exception as an innovator and disruptor. We know our bold moves have left people with some questions, and as I’ve come back into the CEO seat, I’m eager to share more with our clients, partners and peers about what’s happening at Kindbody on a regular basis.
Since I rejoined as CEO, we’ve had huge wins here at Kindbody. A couple of years into our integration of our acquisition of Vios, we’ve made huge strides to combine and optimize our shared clinic footprint as well as right-size all aspects of our operations to drive the best patient experience at an efficiency that allows us to keep growing to meet the needs of more patients in new regions. We’ve consolidated or closed clinics based on the needs of our patients and clients, and we’re continuing to open new ones to reach patients in new markets. Next week, we will announce the opening of a new San Diego clinic and we will open Miami and Charlotte before the end of the year.
All of these moves and innovations have put us in a position that makes me more excited than ever. As we near the end of 2024, Kindbody is in the best position possible to meet today’s massive demand and lead the national conversation around the future of fertility care. It’s wild to say, but I truly believe this is another new beginning – and you can expect us to get bolder and faster in how we grow and build innovations that democratize care for all – our new goal is simple: ensuring every American with a fertility story can access care from our team that makes their family dreams possible. To get there, we have a lot of work to do and many more partnerships to build.
