With the launch of health app Workup, this serial founder learned from past misfirings

A local serial entrepreneur that previously worked on a distracted driving prevention app is back with his next venture, this time targeting the health and wellness space.

Ryan Frankel launched the platform Workup on Wednesday, an aggregator of health and wellness information and brands.

Workup lists different health related categories such as mental health, longevity, mens and womens health, nutrition and sleep that users can browse or search for. The site shows options for providers, tests, products and educational articles related to that specific health topic. It’s similar to travel sites that show you options for flights, hotels and any other reservations you may need, according to Frankel.

“It’s essentially an Expedia.com for consumer health and wellness solutions,” Frankel told Technical.ly.

After shutting down his last company, This App Saves Lives, at the end of 2023, Frankel took a few months to speak with fellow entrepreneurs, do some consulting and generally open himself up to new opportunities. This App Saves Lives rewarded drivers for safe driving practices, but while the company has a lot of social impact, it ultimately wasn’t financially successful, Frankel said.

He turned to his longtime interest in fitness and wellness, specifically health longevity and preventative medicine. Navigating the health and wellness world was overwhelming for Frankel, though, and he realized how much misinformation is out there.

“When it came time to think through what was next for me, I like to look at big market opportunities,” Frankel said. “But I also like to look at things where I bring a personal passion and a certain set of skills professionally to the table.”

Past experience founding startups can help future endeavors be more successful. Serial entrepreneurs are generally more likely to found a successful startup than first-time entrepreneurs. They also tend to raise more money with larger deals, according to Pitchbook.

Companies pay to claim their Workup profiles, but its also independently vetted

Workup has a quality checking process that considers the science behind products and the viability of a company before listing a company on its website, Frankel said. It also considers a company’s age and any available customer feedback.

Each company on Workup has a page with links to websites, social media and information about its services. Company pages also list contact information and the cost of products.

Once a brand is on Workup, the company can pay a monthly fee to claim its profile and have control over the content being shared on Workup, he said.

Workup’s team is small, with just Frankel and his cofounder and CTO Zach Silverman. The company plans to launch a fundraising round in the near future that will hopefully allow it to hire growth marketing and sales roles.

The company is also putting together an advisory board or healthcare experts to help vet brands.

Missing product-market fit can doom a startup to fail

Workup is Frankel’s third experience launching a startup.

He built his first company, language translation tool VerbalizeIt, while completing his graduate degree at the Wharton School. Translation management platform Smartling acquired VerbalizeIt in 2016.

Then, in 2020, he built This App Saves Lives to reward drivers for practicing safe driving practices. Frankel launched the app after being involved in an accident while biking. After seeing a lot of early success, Frankel announced in January that the company would be shutting down.

This App Saves Lives wasn’t a huge financial success and focused on growth too quickly, rather than nailing down product-market fit, Frankel said.

Going into his third venture, product-market fit is top of mind for Frankel. At his last two companies, Frankel took an hour each day to speak with customers to hear about how they can improve the service, which he hopes to continue at Workup.

Frankel’s advice for entrepreneurs moving from one venture to the next is to take a breath to prepare for the next thing.

“Running a startup is like running a marathon,” Frankel said. “You want to recharge your batteries and ensure that your engine is refreshed and ready to go for the long haul.”

Sarah Huffman is a 2022-2024 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism.