Sofia Health

Sofia Health is placing individuals at the center of their care and empowering people to take control of their health.

Helping People Take Control of Their Health

Sick of searching for an alternative, complementary, or integrative provider and thinking you found the right one… only to then realize the telephone number is wrong, they don’t offer the service you need, and perhaps the worst part – dealing with the scheduling only to discover the provider is not accepting new patients? Riley Rees, Sofia Health’s Founder and CEO, is on a mission to change this by creating a health and wellness marketplace that seamlessly allows individuals to connect to health and wellness professionals.

Sofia Health is turning questions into answers and endless failed searches into all-around convenience in connecting, scheduling, and payments. The ultimate mission is to help people take control of their health to lead healthier lives.

Practitioners found on Sofia Health include physicians, health coaches, functional medicine practitioners, holistic practitioners, nutritionists, fitness professionals, yoga and barre instructors, breathwork specialists, reiki masters, birth doulas, life coaches, chaplains – the list goes on!

In addition to providing easy access to industry-leading professionals and their services, patients can also shop for group classes and products. Whether managing a chronic illness or achieving peak performance, Sofia Health presents a digital-first platform focused on convenience and preventative health allowing individuals to get their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health needs met.

Consumers can easily view each provider’s education, certificates, philosophy, availability, and pricing. On the flip side, providers gain access to health-seeking consumers and Sofia Health takes away the hassle of managing many of the administrative tasks that come with running a business. Practitioners have the capability to offer a free consultation, ensuring both parties are a good fit for each other.

The Drive for Something Better

Riley grew Sofia Health to what it is today after a personal health (cue business!) discovery. After injuring herself during a workout, Riley was seeking out forms of treatment that stemmed beyond medication and physical therapy. What Riley found was that she was turning to Yelp in search of providers. Often, that pointed her to outdated websites and a frustrating need to sift through the “title soup.” The realization of how challenging it was to find the type of practitioner she wanted was the spark that started Sofia Health.

While in business school at MIT Sloan, Riley began reaching out to people with chronic illnesses to learn about their unique stories. Repeatedly, she heard comments like, “it took me 5 years,” “numerous doctors later,” “I did all kinds of tests.” These statements resonated with her own personal health struggles. Through customer interviews, two motivations stood out. First, people want to take control of their own health and choose their own modalities and interventions. Second, people matter. No amount of technology in the world will replace a human. And when you are suffering and searching, you want a human who understands and can help. And thus, Sofia Health was born.

Today, Riley cherishes customer feedback in all forms. It is the stories from customers, however, who say Sofia Health changed their life that push Riley forward.

What’s Next?

Riley’s vision for Sofia Health is to become the go-to destination for overall health and wellness and to contribute to the larger movement towards holistic health – an understanding that true health is a combination of physical, mental, and spiritual health.

Not surprisingly, growth is top of mind for Sofia Health. This is evident by her commitment to reinvest heavily and forego further initial seed-round fundraising efforts to focus on the core business. Early traction made this possible. An advisor pointed out “Riley, you have customers. Focus on that.”

COVID-19 has accelerated the need and reality of digital health innovation. Companies such as Sofia Health help to fill in gaps around virtual care delivery and serve those who are seeking to improve personal wellness and mental wellbeing.

A large part of Sofia Health’s mission is expanding access to care. This access to care is not just for the affluent, but for everyone. “One aspect we are passionate about as a company is our ability to connect individuals in underserved areas to providers. Our infrastructure allows us to support new businesses and in turn, they can provide free services to individuals who might not otherwise be able to afford it. We hope to see this expand into many communities and we can’t wait to see how this fosters the future generation of health and wellness entrepreneurs”.

Ultimately, Riley’s goal is to place individuals at the center of their care and empower them to take control of their health. “We hope to grow considerably in 2021 and continue to align the needs of both providers and consumers”, says Riley.

Learn more about Sofia Health, and feel free to reach out to Riley or the team for any inquiries!

Contact: info@sofiahealth.com