Startup DreamersStartup Dreamers
  • Home
  • Startup
  • Money & Finance
  • Starting a Business
    • Branding
    • Business Ideas
    • Business Models
    • Business Plans
    • Fundraising
  • Growing a Business
  • More
    • Innovation
    • Leadership
Trending

A Cybersecurity Primer For Businesses In 2025

July 14, 2025

Why Surcharging Is a Bad Move For Small Businesses — and What to Do Instead

July 14, 2025

Can’t Get an Email Back? These 7 Tips Will Make Sure You Get a Response Every Time

July 14, 2025
Facebook Twitter Instagram
  • Newsletter
  • Submit Articles
  • Privacy
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Startup DreamersStartup Dreamers
  • Home
  • Startup
  • Money & Finance
  • Starting a Business
    • Branding
    • Business Ideas
    • Business Models
    • Business Plans
    • Fundraising
  • Growing a Business
  • More
    • Innovation
    • Leadership
Subscribe for Alerts
Startup DreamersStartup Dreamers
Home » Meet Ness, The Company That Rewards You For Being Healthy
Innovation

Meet Ness, The Company That Rewards You For Being Healthy

adminBy adminJune 21, 20230 ViewsNo Comments4 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Feeling good has become a market, one that is estimated to be worth more than $1.5 trillion. With individuals placing more attention to their mental and physical health than ever before, the self-care industry is expanding by the minute. And while new wellness businesses launch as fitness, meditation, or supplements brands, to name a few, Derek Flanzraich decided he would approach health and wellness from a different angle.

In March, the founder of Greatist, a successful health media startup that he later sold to Healthline in 2019, officially launched Ness, the first health-focused credit card company. Inspiration came to him during covid, when no one was traveling and individuals’ physical and mental health was being negatively impacted by lockdowns. Suddenly, credit card companies that focus their rewards on travel lost quite a bit of appeal and relevance. “Travel isn’t as popular as before and at the same time, we clearly see a growing interest for wellness. However, traditional credit cards are focused on travel benefits and very little on health,” shared Flanzraich. By creating Ness, he demonstrates that fintech can most certainly play a role in accelerating the spread and accessibility of self-care and wellbeing.

“Our vision is for everyone to afford being healthy. We want to develop an inclusive definition of health through our unique health-first credit card platform.”

The first card, issued by the Bank of Missouri and powered by Mastercard
MA
, launched as a public beta version in March with an annual fee of $349. Cardmembers receive 5x points when spending with healthy merchants, a $200 credit in wellness spend, up to 20,000 points on healthy activity like working out, sleeping and mindfulness, and credits with selected brand partners. The app now includes 30,000 merchants that are selected based on certain criteria and categories fitting under the four pillars of health defined by Ness: eat, move, care and restore. This extensive range of partners, from Wholefoods to Equinox, On Running, Alo Yoga, Parsley Health, Glowbar, Chillhouse and many more, captures very well the holistic vision of health that Flanzraich defends. “Our vision is for everyone to afford being healthy. We want to develop an inclusive definition of health through our unique health-first credit card platform,” he shares.

This holistic ecosystem is attractive to health and wellness enthusiasts, offering many appealing benefits, such as a $100+ annual credit with selected partners or $15 back in the form of a credit for every $75 spent at Sweetgreen, up to two times a month. The two companies share similar values: “We’re thrilled to partner with an innovative, impactful partner like Ness. Rewarding and incentivizing our communities towards better food choices and healthy living is deeply aligned with sweetgreen’s mission” shared Daniel Shlossman, Chief Marketing Officer of sweetgreen in a press release.

For those who question how accessible Ness really is given its premium offering and annual credit card fee, Derek Flanzraich has an honest opinion. “As a business, we decided to start with lower-risk customers, who are highly committed to wellness and provide high engagement. It’s the best way to build a brand: start with customers who are the most engaged.” The strategy is working, with top users spending on average $4,183 monthly (not just on wellness but every day expenses) and interacting with the Ness app twice a day. But there is no intention to stop here.

Now, the company is focused on expanding its customer base and working towards making health more affordable. The question Flanzraich asks himself is: “how can we get a Ness Card in everyone’s wallet?” With the release of a no annual fee credit card in the coming months, the barriers to card adoption will decrease: its affordability should convince individuals prioritizing their well-being to sign up for it no matter their budget. And while customers first join Ness for the health and wellness incentives, they end up using it as a primary card, receiving 2x points on every transaction and enjoying the app for discovery of new products, experiences and services.

Partnerships with health insurance providers are also on the way, with the ambition to integrate health plans via a potential co-branded credit-card platform and help individuals finance healthcare expenses, which would significantly simplify their experience with healthcare. It would also help reduce the overall cost of healthcare and incentivize proactive and preventive health, which is ultimately Flanzraich’s objective: “We want to celebrate people being healthy and make it more affordable to do so.”

Read the full article here

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Articles

A Cybersecurity Primer For Businesses In 2025

Innovation July 14, 2025

Today’s Extra Clues And Answers

Innovation July 13, 2025

One Of The Best Action Movies Ever Made Lands On Netflix Today

Innovation July 12, 2025

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Clues And Answers For Friday, July 11th

Innovation July 11, 2025

Taylor Vs. Serrano 3 Will Set A World Record—Here’s How To Watch

Innovation July 10, 2025

UiPath CTO Details ‘Office Layout’ For Agents, Robots And Humans

Innovation July 9, 2025
Add A Comment

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Editors Picks

A Cybersecurity Primer For Businesses In 2025

July 14, 2025

Why Surcharging Is a Bad Move For Small Businesses — and What to Do Instead

July 14, 2025

Can’t Get an Email Back? These 7 Tips Will Make Sure You Get a Response Every Time

July 14, 2025

How to Build a Side Hustle That Stands on Its Own — Without Burning Out

July 14, 2025

Tornado Cash Made Crypto Anonymous. Now One of Its Creators Faces Trial

July 14, 2025

Latest Posts

‘Obvious’ Side Hustle: From $300k Monthly to $20M+ in 2025

July 13, 2025

The Smart Way to Scale From Single- to Multi-Unit Ownership

July 13, 2025

How I Turned My Hobbies Into Profitable Side Businesses

July 13, 2025

Linda Yaccarino Tried to Tame X. Now She’s Out as CEO

July 13, 2025

One Of The Best Action Movies Ever Made Lands On Netflix Today

July 12, 2025
Advertisement
Demo

Startup Dreamers is your one-stop website for the latest news and updates about how to start a business, follow us now to get the news that matters to you.

Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest YouTube
Sections
  • Growing a Business
  • Innovation
  • Leadership
  • Money & Finance
  • Starting a Business
Trending Topics
  • Branding
  • Business Ideas
  • Business Models
  • Business Plans
  • Fundraising

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest business and startup news and updates directly to your inbox.

© 2025 Startup Dreamers. All Rights Reserved.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Press Release
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

GET $5000 NO CREDIT