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\n\t\tOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.\t<\/p>\n
Years before \u201clongevity\u201d became a wellness buzzword, Josh and Katy Whalen were building Joi + Blokes<\/a>, a company focused on helping patients feel better as they age.<\/p>\n The married couple started the business after struggling with hormonal health issues in their own lives. Katy was dealing with postpartum health challenges and perimenopause, while Josh learned he had extremely low testosterone. They said getting answers often meant doing their own research and connecting the dots themselves.<\/p>\n That experience eventually became the foundation for a bootstrapped \u201chis and hers\u201d platform that asks patients to complete detailed lab work and virtual consultations before building personalized hormone and wellness plans around their results. The company has since grown into more than $50 million in revenue.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were just trying to educate people,\u201d Katy Whalen said during a recent appearance on the One Day with Jon Bier podcast. \u201cNobody understood why you would want a big, comprehensive, proactive lab and no one knew what a peptide was.\u201d<\/p>\n Related: How Hustle Culture Quietly Erodes Your Long-term Leadership Potential \u2014 and the Strategy You Need Instead<\/strong><\/p>\n What a difference five years make. Today, conversations around peptides\u2014specifically GLP-1s like Ozempic and Zepbound\u2014are mainstream. What once lived mostly inside wellness podcasts and biohacker circles is now discussed openly by celebrities, major news outlets and even your parents.\u00a0<\/p>\n For Joi + Blokes, the shift has fueled explosive growth. When the company launched, Josh said much of the work involved simply educating consumers about why hormone health, preventative care and advanced lab testing mattered in the first place. Now, demand for everything from testosterone optimization to weight-loss medications has surged. \u201cIt\u2019s a gold rush,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s also brought new challenges. Competitors have flooded into the space, causing regulators to question compounded GLP-1 drugs. Big Pharma companies like Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have also cracked down on clinics they believe are operating too aggressively. Josh said Joi + Blokes received multiple cease-and-desist letters. \u201cWe are self-funded, trying to make payroll, so you bet your ass that\u2019s scary,\u201d Katy says.<\/p>\n Related: This Founder Is Taking a Bite Out of the $50 Billion GLP-1 Market By Going Natural<\/strong><\/p>\n Despite the heightened scrutiny, the Whalens say they actually welcome more oversight around GLP-1 drugs and peptides, arguing the boom has attracted too many questionable operators into the space.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need it to be regulated to a point that it\u2019s sustainable for patients and it\u2019s safe and effective,\u201d Josh said.<\/p>\n He says that the company wants to distance itself from what he described as the \u201cWild West\u201d side of the peptide industry, where consumers can buy products online with little medical oversight.<\/p>\n The couple said one of the hardest parts of scaling the company together was that both of them were under constant pressure at the same time. Instead of turning to each other for support, they often hesitated to add even more stress to the other person\u2019s plate because they already knew how overwhelmed the other felt.<\/p>\n There were times they feared the marriage might not survive. At one point, Katy even canceled a planned appearance on the popular podcast The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Show because she didn\u2019t feel comfortable presenting their relationship as healthy while they were struggling behind the scenes. \u201cI\u2019m not going on there and pretending like we\u2019re good,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n But things are improving. They began going to counseling and setting clearer boundaries around work and becoming more intentional about carving out time where conversations didn\u2019t revolve around employees, growth or operational stress.<\/p>\n Related: The Truth About Being in Business With Your Spouse \u2014 How to Navigate Work and Life Together<\/strong><\/p>\n As always, the Whalens plan to stay two steps ahead of the competition. Just as they were early to the longevity and weight-loss boom, they are now betting fertility will become one of the next major frontiers in wellness.<\/p>\n \u201cOur audience has been getting younger and younger since we\u2019ve started,\u201d Katy said, adding that many newer patients are looking to be more proactive about their fertility earlier in life. \u201cSo many women and men come to us and say, \u2018Hey, we\u2019re not having kids now, but I want to be primed,\u2019\u201d Josh adds.<\/p>\n To meet that demand, Joi + Blokes is expanding further into fertility care, including services tied to egg freezing and IVF support. The company says it wants to give patients a clearer picture of how hormone levels, stress and overall health may affect fertility long before they decide to start a family.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no more interesting category for men or women right now than fertility,\u201d Josh says.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Years before \u201clongevity\u201d became a wellness buzzword, Josh and Katy Whalen were building Joi + Blokes<\/a>, a company focused on helping patients feel better as they age.<\/p>\n The married couple started the business after struggling with hormonal health issues in their own lives. Katy was dealing with postpartum health challenges and perimenopause, while Josh learned he had extremely low testosterone. They said getting answers often meant doing their own research and connecting the dots themselves.<\/p>\n That experience eventually became the foundation for a bootstrapped \u201chis and hers\u201d platform that asks patients to complete detailed lab work and virtual consultations before building personalized hormone and wellness plans around their results. The company has since grown into more than $50 million in revenue.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nThe world catches up<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The Wild West days may be over<\/h2>\n
Scaling a business strained their marriage<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The next big thing<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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