Ron Gutman has run the numbers on health care. While at Stanford, he put together a multidisciplinary group to study health care's drain on the nation's economy. "Fifty percent of these costs are preventable by changing lifestyle behaviors," he notes. "But 98 percent of our expenditure goes toward treatment. We figured that must be a great economic opportunity."
With his company Wellsphere, founded with Stanford classmate Dave Kashen, Gutman hopes to grab a piece of that 48 percent gap. Wellsphere's website creates social networks to push people toward fitness. A premium service, BeWell, helps large companies motivate employees to eat right, exercise, and stay healthy. "Corporations are actively looking for solutions to health care costs right now-and they're willing to pay for it,' Gutman says. "A severe heart attack can cost an employer $100,000. If we can postpone one heart attack for just one year, then we are able to justify the cost for 10,000 users."
Before Stanford, Gutman founded two successful businesses in his native Israel: a restaurant chain and a chain of wine stores. In those days, he was a twice-a-week exercise guy; now he hits the gym Monday-to-Friday; on weekends, he can be found jogging on the Stanford Dish—a 4½-mile trail in the foothills above the university. “Doing this business has helped me become more accountable,” he says. “I don’t do anything hardcore—I’m not a triathlete. I’m just keeping myself fit.”
