Wait! Did Anyone Tell the Customers?

Our biggest fail at my company Calibrate was around communication. But it taught me that trust is the only foundation worth building on.

- By Isabelle Kenyon

It felt like we had done everything right. We did our research. We asked our customers what they wanted. We built what they told us. Then, on May 10, 2021, we rolled out our new product and expected a lovefest.

Instead, that rollout launched a firestorm.

And yet, what I learned from the launch set up Calibrate-my metabolic health business-for lasting success. To date, we've grown to more than 20,000 members, raised more than $125 million, and brought in $20 million in sales last year. None of it would be possible without this failure.

Let me go back to why I founded Calibrate. After working in startups, a broken back led me to health care. I was leading strategic partnerships at a digital pharmacy when my mom told me she needed to lose weight to get back in control of her health. As I helped her find a doctor, I discovered research that combined medication with intensive lifestyle intervention; it worked, but it only existed in a clinical setting. I saw an opportunity to bring it to a larger market, and I launched Calibrate in June 2020 to do just that.