Case Story. How EW2Health transformed from a Behavioral Change to a GLP-1 Companion Offer (Interview with Renato Romani, Founder)

In an exclusive interview, founder Renato Romani from EW2Health shared how they transformed their business model to better serve the evolving needs of obesity care.

The company originally focused on stress-free weight monitoring using a Predictive Behavioral Algorithm (PBA) to help users track weight trends without daily weigh-ins. Recognizing the rise of GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy, they pivoted to become a companion solution for clinics, offering AI-driven weight loss tracking to improve patient retention and medication efficacy. Their B2B SaaS model provides clinics with a real-time monitoring dashboard, integrating with wearables and pharmacy systems. This shift has driven rapid adoption, particularly in the Netherlands and Brazil, with plans for global expansion.

Here is how EW2Health transformed their business model

Initial Business Model

Focused on stress-free weight monitoring to help users track trends without daily weigh-ins.
Targeted B2B partnerships with weight loss clinics, providing real-time adherence and weight trend insights.
Faced challenges as healthcare professionals were hesitant to adopt data-driven monitoring.

2. Pivot to GLP-1 Companion Solution

Recognized the rise of GLP-1 medications (Ozempic, Wegovy) and the need for complementary monitoring solutions.
Identified a market gap: clinics needed a structured way to track patient progress, and patients preferred stress-free weight tracking.
Repositioned as a companion tool for GLP-1 treatment, helping clinics improve patient retention and medication efficacy.

3. Key Adjustments

Refined Predictive Behavioral Algorithm (PBA) to track short-term weight loss rates relevant to GLP-1 patients.
Developed clinic dashboards with GLP-1-specific insights and integrated with wearables, glucose monitors, and pharmacy systems.
Partnered with large obesity clinics and digital health platforms for real-world validation.

4. Monetization Strategy

Transitioned to a scalable B2B SaaS model, charging clinics €15 per patient per month.
Revenue streams expanded to include hardware commissions, API licensing, and data analytics services.
Achieved rapid traction, particularly in the Netherlands and Brazil, with plans for global expansion.

5. Key Lessons & Advice for Healthtech Startups

Identify the real pain point – The problem was not weight tracking itself, but clinics lacking scalable monitoring tools.
Adapt to slow healthcare adoption – Expect long sales cycles but strong retention once integrated.
Keep it simple – Clinicians need actionable insights, not complex dashboards.
Stay flexible – Pivoting to GLP-1 clinics led to a 10x better market fit.
Educate stakeholders – Overcoming old habits is often the biggest challenge in healthtech adoption.

By aligning with the evolving healthcare landscape, the company successfully transformed into a critical player in GLP-1 patient management.

The full interview with Renato Romani.

R2G: Please explain your business model before you switched to a GLP-1 related BM?

Renato: Before shifting to a GLP-1 companion model, our business was focused on helping people monitor their weight trends without the psychological stress of daily weigh-ins. Research shows that 60% of people with diabetes avoid checking their glucose levels, and weight monitoring faces a similar issue – many people avoid stepping on a scale because they don’t want to confront numbers that might discourage them.

We identified a major behavioral barrier: traditional weight tracking was demotivating because it focused on isolated numbers rather than meaningful trends. To solve this, we developed a Predictive Behavioral Algorithm (PBA) that translates weight fluctuations into an easy-to-understand weight trend range, allowing users to track their progress without fixating on daily numbers.

Our initial B2B business model was designed for weight loss clinics. Patients would step on a numberless smart scale, and professionals could see their adherence, weight loss speed, and short-term trends—a huge breakthrough in understanding real progress, as short-term fluctuations often mislead both patients and clinicians.

We built the first remote monitoring program specifically for obesity management, offering clinics a dashboard that provides real-time insights on adherence and progress. However, we faced a significant challenge: many healthcare professionals are not data-driven. Even though our system provided valuable insights, professionals were reluctant to change their workflow.

Resarch2Guidance: Why did you change your model to a GLP-1 companion solution?

Renato: The arrival of GLP-1 medications (like Ozempic and Wegovy) fundamentally changed the obesity care landscape. These drugs are highly effective, with studies showing that patients lose up to 15% of their body weight. However, GLP-1 alone is not enough for long-term success—without lifestyle interventions, many patients regain weight once they stop taking the medication.

Clinics suddenly realized they needed to monitor patients’ weight loss more closely to ensure sustainable outcomes, yet patients still didn’t want to track their weight traditionally. That’s when we saw a perfect market fit:

GLP-1 clinics needed a way to track patient progress
Patients didn’t want to focus on daily weight fluctuations
PBA provided a unique solution—monitoring weight loss rate in a stress-free way

We became the ideal companion solution for GLP-1 treatment, helping clinics retain patients longer and ensuring medication efficacy while improving long-term weight maintenance. This shift dramatically improved our product-market fit, opening doors to partnerships with digital weight loss programs, insurance companies, and large-scale clinics.

Research2Guidance: What did you do to change it?

Renato: The transition involved several key steps:

Refining our PBA technology to provide short-term weight loss rate tracking, a crucial insight for GLP-1 patients who experience non-linear weight loss.
Adapting our dashboard for medical clinics, emphasizing GLP-1-specific insights like adherence trends and predictive weight loss stability.
Building new API integrations to allow our system to connect with wearables, glucose monitors, and pharmacy databases.
Partnering with large-scale obesity clinics to test and validate the system within real-world GLP-1 treatment workflows.
Educating healthcare professionals about the importance of weight loss rate tracking, not just total weight loss, to maximize medication effectiveness.

Research2Guidance: How long did it take?

Renato: From recognizing the market shift to full implementation, it took us about a year.

Q1-Q2: Market research & early clinic testing
Q3: Product adaptation, partnerships, and API development
Q4: Launch with GLP-1 clinics, scaling partnerships

We faced delays of about four months due to the complexity of integrating new partners and adapting our AI-driven insights. However, now we are seeing exponential traction, with hundreds of patients onboarded and growing demand in The Netherlands and in Brazil.

Research2Guidance: What were the biggest hurdles on the way?

Renato:

Investor Mindset – Many investors don’t understand healthcare. Unlike fintech or traditional SaaS, healthtech operates in a reactive system where adoption cycles are slower but long-term impact is higher. Convincing investors that preventive monitoring is profitable required a shift in perception.
Professional Resistance – Healthcare professionals often prefer intuitive, non-data-driven methods. Teaching clinics why weight loss rate tracking is more reliable than static weigh-ins was a challenge.
Technical Integration – Connecting our AI-powered weight tracking to medical workflows, wearables, and pharmacy systems required substantial backend development and compliance work.
Despite these challenges, our market validation skyrocketed once clinics started seeing results—30% more recurring revenue, 25% lower operational costs, and 20% less patient management time.

Research2Guidance: Did you get some help, from whom?

Renato: Yes! Several key groups supported us:

Industry Experts & Clinical Partners – Our early adopter clinics in the Netherlands and Brazil helped validateour approach in real-world obesity programs.
Tech & Wearable Partners – Companies like Garmin, Withings, and telemedicine providers helped us integrate monitoring tools into their ecosystems.
Investor & Entrepreneur Networks – Advice from fellow healthtech founders was crucial in navigating the slow-moving but high-impact healthcare industry.
Family & Friends – Entrepreneurship in healthcare requires resilience. A strong personal support system helped us push through tough times.

Research2Guidance: How do you make money now?

Renato: Our B2B SaaS model includes multiple revenue streams:

Clinic Subscriptions – Clinics pay a monthly fee (€15 per patient) for access to our AI-powered dashboard.
Hardware Commissions – Patients buy numberless scales from our partners, and we earn a commission.
API Licensing – Healthtech platforms and insurance providers pay to integrate PBA insights into their systems.
Data Analytics & Custom Reports – Large health organizations pay for insightful weight loss trend reports to optimize their patient care strategies.

This model ensures high scalability, with low marginal costs and recurring revenue growth as we will expand across Europe, Brazil, and the USA.

Research2Guidance: What advice would you give to other HealthTech companies that are finding the right business model?

Renato:

Find the real pain point – We initially thought weight monitoring was a B2C problem, but the real issue was that clinics lacked an effective, scalable monitoring system. Identify who has the most to gain from your solution.
Understand healthcare’s slow adoption cycle – Unlike fintech or SaaS, healthcare is highly regulated, slow-moving, and evidence-driven. Expect longer sales cycles but stronger customer retention once adopted.
Balance innovation with simplicity – Clinicians don’t have time for complex dashboards. Make insights actionable, not overwhelming.
Be flexible but persistent – We pivoted from direct patient monitoring to GLP-1 clinic support, which led to 10x better market fit. Be open to change, but stick to your core value.
Invest in education – Your biggest competitor is old habits, not other startups. If professionals don’t understand the value of your innovation, they won’t adopt it.

Research2Guidance: Any Final Thoughts?

Renato: HealthTech is one of the hardest but most rewarding fields. If you can build a model that aligns with both healthcare realities and modern AI-driven insights, you can change lives at scale. That’s why we do what we do at EW2Health.

Research2Guidance: Thank you for this insightful conversation, Renato.

If GLP-1 is something you are curious about, we invite you also to read: GLP-1 Market: The Once-in-a-Lifetime Business Opportunity for Digital Health Behavioral Change Solutions and Are GLP-1 Apps the Breakthrough for Companion Solutions?