Strive Health Turns Seven: Our Journey to Transform Kidney Care Continues

Seven years ago, Strive Health was founded with the goal of fixing a broken kidney care system. That mission still guides our work today as we support more than 145,000 people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) across all 50 states. 

While we’ve grown in numbers, our focus has remained on providing patient-centered care and supporting the dedicated Strivers who make that care possible.  

Thank you to everyone who has played a role in Strive’s journey. As we look ahead to the future, let’s reflect on how we got here. 

It Started with a Conversation 

In 2015, Strive Co-Founder and CEO Chris Riopelle and his best friend, Dave Thomas, were chatting and Thomas mentioned that he went to the doctor that day.  

Riopelle asked Thomas to share his lab results. With over a decade of experience in the kidney care industry, Riopelle immediately recognized the risks in Thomas’ results and advised him to go to the emergency room. Once there, Thomas was treated for kidney failure and later received a kidney transplant. The experience stayed with Riopelle long after Thomas’ recovery.  

“If my best friend’s health nearly slipped through the cracks, what chance do millions of other people have?” Riopelle remembers thinking.  

The numbers agree. More than 35 million adults in the U.S. are estimated to live with kidney disease, yet approximately 90% don’t know they have it. Most patients are only diagnosed when their kidney disease is late- or end-stage, limiting treatment options and increasing health-plan costs exponentially.  

Thomas’ close call underscored the need for a healthcare model that acts before people are in crisis. With a clear vision, Riopelle and Co-Founder Will Stokes set out to transform kidney care.  

The Early Days of Strive 

Like many startups, Strive Health took shape in a garage with a small but determined team. 

“There were only a few of us when I first joined,” recalls TJ Malman, Senior Director of Corporate Strategy. “It was a typical startup environment where we all wore many hats. Thankfully, we graduated from Chris’ garage pretty quickly. But maybe too quickly because Chris was working alone at our first office very early one morning and he triggered a noise complaint while listening to Dave Matthews Band too loudly. As he worked away, he had the music turned up our little one-speaker system as high as it would go. (Laughs). When thinking back on those early days, the clarity of our vision and collective commitment to our mission set us apart from the start. We simply knew that there was a better, more compassionate way to support people with kidney disease.”  

Strive Health’s model is designed to repair a kidney care system that primarily treats ESKD and relies heavily on in-center dialysis. From the outset, Strivers focused on creating a solution that could identify at-risk people earlier and intervene at the right time. 

After two years of building, the newly formed Kidney Heroes® patient care team saw its first patient in St. Louis in April of 2020. Those visits marked a milestone moment in kidney care, one that coincided with the onset of a global pandemic that strained the entire healthcare system. 

But rather than slow down, Strive expanded, growing its workforce by 600% in 2020 to a team of 300 Strivers. 

With each passing year, Strive grew its impact. In 2022, we launched Comprehensive Kidney Care Contracting (CKCC) Performance Year 1 as the largest non-LDO participant. In 2023, we closed our Series C funding and gathered hundreds of Strivers together in person for Strive Nation.  

At every step, Strivers proved that building an outstanding workplace goes hand in hand with changing patients’ lives.  

Reflecting on Our Impact  

Fast forward to 2025, our reach looks dramatically different than those first few years.  

Now more than 700 Strivers strong, we partner with over 6,500 providers and manage nearly $5 billion in annual medical spend for over 145,000 people. Our Kidney Heroes® team conducts an average of 900 patient visits every day, supported by AI and predictive analytics technologies that identify and stratify patients to guide coordinated care.  

The outcomes speak for themselves. Among kidney care patients, Strive has:

-Reduced hospitalizations by 41%

-Reduced the total cost of care by 20%

-Contributed to an 85% increase in optimal dialysis starts

-Maintained 94% patient satisfaction

Each figure represents a real person whose care improved, whether by starting dialysis at the right time or avoiding an emergency room visit through early intervention. 

Our impact hasn’t gone unnoticed. Strive has earned more than a dozen “best workplace” awards, including four straight years on Forbes’ America’s Best Startup Employers list. On a leadership level, Riopelle has been recognized as an EY Entrepreneur of the Year and a Denver Business Journal Most Admired CEO. 

“When I co-founded Strive in 2018, the mission was simple but urgent: fix a broken kidney care system,” Riopelle said. “Seven years later, that mission is reflected in our more than 1.3 million patient touchpoints and the progress we’ve driven in the larger healthcare system. Every Striver who has shown up with compassion has played a crucial role in reshaping what kidney care can — and should — look like.” 

Looking Ahead to Our Next Seven Years 

In September 2025, Strive announced a $550 million Series D capital raise. Our vision for what comes next? Growth with purpose.  

We’ll always maintain our standard of excellence for partners and patients through our high-touch, value-based care model. That approach has already generated more than $400 million in savings for health plan and provider partners, and the opportunity ahead is even greater. 

As the Strive team looks to 2026, we plan to expand our multi-specialty services and further enhance the power of our technology and AI-driven tools to help deliver proactive, whole-person care.  

None of this would be possible without the people who champion Strive’s mission every day. Our Strivers’ tenacity and commitment have reinforced our culture and helped transform millions of patients’ lives. We’re equally grateful to our partners who have trusted Strive and helped bring our vision to life.  

Seven years in, Strive remains committed to proving that a more compassionate and proactive kidney care system is possible. 

Interested in joining our team to help transform kidney care? Explore opportunities at StriveHealth.com/Careers.