Company description
Inherited Health is an online consumer health resource, combining family healthy history and genetic knowledge to improve health. By providing valuable insight into family health history and the genetics of disease, Inherited Health helps people better understand their treatment, screening and prevention options.
Inherited Health’s comprehensive website includes unique features and specialized content related to family health history, hereditary diseases as well as DNA-related prodcuts and services. Our proprietary hereditary risk assessment tool helps individuals assess and understand their genetic risk factors and prevention options.
Inherited Health was founded in 2008 by Lee Essner (Founder and CEO) and Jordanna Joaquina (Co-Founder and Director of Genetics) after Lee sought genetic counseling from Jordanna due to a personal experience with genetic testing for a hereditary disease. While Lee was fortunate to have access to these services, the company was created to ensure others had similar access to the benefits of understanding how family health history can impact health.
We value our users and want to continue creating products that meet their needs. As such, we actively survey our users and health professionals about their experiences and satisfaction with our website. We welcome comments and feedback.
Inherited Health is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
Team
The Inherited Health management team includes experienced internet executives with a successful track record of building and selling consumer focused lead generation websites and one of the best board-certified genetic counselors in the industry with a strong interest in direct-to-consumer marketing of genetic products and services
Lee Essner, our CEO and Founder, was #2 executive at WeddingChannel.com (which was sold in September 2006 for $85 Million). Lee ran the company's Gift Registry business (over $125 Million in annual gross sales), National Sales and Advertising, and Travel Services. He also managed all corporate development and business development activities (including acquisitions, dispositions, venture capital investments, and strategic partnerships) and was directly involved in all administrative functions and operations, including legal, finance, and human resources. Prior to that Lee was a corporate finance and mergers & acquisitions attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, a leading international law firm.
Jordanna Joaquina, MS, CGC, our Director of Genetics and Co-Founder, is a board-certified genetic counselor with a clinical background in multiple disciplines of genetics, including prenatal, adult onset and pediatric. Most recently she provided prenatal genetic services with Genzyme Genetics in Los Angeles, CA and at St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital in New York, NY. She is the primary author of one of the benchmark publications in tele-genetics, which evaluated the efficacy of genetic counseling services as delivered direct to the consumer by real-time video conferencing. She received her B.A. in Biology at Barnard College of Columbia University and an M.S. in human genetics from Sarah Lawrence College and is an active member of the National Society of Genetic Counselors.
Joe Nuccio, our VP of Product Marketing, has been developing award-winning software products and services for over 15 years. Most recently Joe was Vice President, Product and Marketing at LuxuryLink.com, the leading online luxury travel marketplace, where he managed the development and roadmap for all consumer products and an e-commerce auction platform generating $21M in annual revenue. His analytic approach to design and usability led to a new site that was promptly named a Top Travel Website by Travel+Leisure magazine. Prior to that Joe was Director, Product Management at WeddingChannel.com, where he developed and managed the first end-to-end system to find, reserve and purchase wedding guest hotel rooms at group rates, as well as tools that facilitated interaction between wedding couples and their guests while generating >$4M in annual advertising and commission revenue.
Business model
We sell advertising and sponsorship on the website, as well as in email newsletters. We have the opportunity to sell very targeted advertising as a result of the highly specific data anonymous data we collect from our users during the Risk Assessment profile process.
Competitive advantage
Through a series of basic questions, Inherited Health's Family Health History tool gathers users' medical and familial history, then analyzes that information to identify the family’s hereditary disease risks and provide tailored guidelines about reducing these risks in the form of a Personal Health Guide. In total, over 250 diseases are included in the assessment. Users can easily invite family members to collaborate and supplement missing information, or print it for medical consultations. It also serves as an archive of the family health history for future generations.
In addition, Inherited Health has created original and professionally written content on over 1,000 genetic conditions, tests, and testing providers as well as a proprietary Family Health History tool which identifieshereditary disease risks and ways to improve health. Most of this information does not exist anywhere on the internet, other than via Inherited Health.
