Sarah Jones Simmer is out as CEO of the weight-loss startup Found, a company spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider on Friday.
Simmer decided to step down to “elevate leaders with seasoned healthcare expertise,” the Found spokesperson said. The change, which the spokesperson said has been in the works for months, comes as Found expands its focus to working with employers to offer its weight-loss program as an employee benefit.
“As the business has transformed under Sarah’s leadership from a direct-to-consumer subscription business to one that’s reimagining the future of weight care through multiple go-to-market motions, it has become clear that now is the appropriate time to pass the baton,” the spokesperson said.
Found, started in 2020 in San Francisco, is one of a slew of startups that formed in the last few years to help people lose weight through a combination of medication and online lifestyle coaching as demand for new GLP-1 obesity drugs like Wegovy skyrocketed.
The company has raised about $132 million from investors, including WestCap, GV, Define Ventures, and Atomic. It’s served more than 200,000 patients, according to its website.
Found started out selling its weight-loss program directly to consumers, who largely paid cash for the subscription service. That consumer focus fit squarely into Simmer’s wheelhouse. Before she joined Found in 2021, Simmer was the chief operating officer of the dating app Bumble.
But the company’s business has evolved. In May 2023, it launched “Found for Business,” a weight-loss program for employers and their workers.
In late 2023, Isabelle Kenyon, the CEO of weight-loss startup Calibrate, stepped down as the company faced the threat of bankruptcy and underwent a restructuring.
The spokesperson said Found has “a strong balance sheet and years of runway.”
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