Posted April 1, 2025
Elliot Cohen, cofounder of PillPack, joins Julie Yoo, a16z Bio + Health general partner. Together, they discuss Elliot’s experience designing and building a consumer-first pharmacy alongside TJ Parker.
Elliot’s journey with PillPack began when he noticed his father struggling with a mail-order pharmacy that couldn’t get the simplest thing right: the correct version of a pill.
Elliot shares the nitty-gritty of building a consumer-centric business in healthcare, including how they had to adapt CSV files and cake boxes to get their initial product off the ground, and how they balanced the needs of a healthcare system with the desires of their customers.
Want more a16z Bio + Health?
Sign up for our bio + health newsletter to get the latest take from us on the future of biology, technology, and care delivery.
Thanks for signing up for the a16z Bio + Health newsletter.
Check your inbox for a welcome note.
MANAGE MY SUBSCRIPTIONS By clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Privacy Policy.
Contributors
- Elliot Cohen
- Julie Yoo is a general partner on the Bio + Health team at Andreessen Horowitz, focused on transforming how we access, pay for, and experience healthcare.
- Olivia Webb is the editorial lead, healthcare, on the Bio + Health team.
- Kris Tatiossian is the content lead, life sciences, on the Bio + Health team.
More From These Contributors
- Scaling Mental Health Access through AI with Neil Parikh and Daniel Cahn Neil Parikh, Daniel Cahn, Julie Yoo, Kris Tatiossian, and Olivia Webb
- An Ironman Suit for Doctors with Muthu Alagappan Muthu Alagappan, Julie Yoo, Olivia Webb, and Kris Tatiossian
- Voice AI: Solving Healthcare’s Workforce Challenges with Ankit Jain Ankit Jain, Julie Yoo, Olivia Webb, and Kris Tatiossian
- Transforming Clinical Trials with Alexander Saint-Amand Alexander Saint-Amand, Julie Yoo, Olivia Webb, and Kris Tatiossian
- It’s Time to Build: Healthtech Infrastructure Julie Yoo
The views expressed here are those of the individual AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by a16z. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, a16z has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation. In addition, this content may include third-party advertisements; a16z has not reviewed such advertisements and does not endorse any advertising content contained therein.
This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly as well as unannounced investments in publicly traded digital assets) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/.
Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.
