‘Scientific wellness’ might be a bad business

The startup Arivale had an enviable beginning, with a world-renowned scientist providing ideas and some superlatively successful venture capitalists supplying the money. And then the company, which sold "scientific wellness" in the form of genetic and microbiomic health advice, went out of business.

As GeekWire reported, the Seattle-based company shut down this week owing to “the simple fact that the cost of providing the service exceeds what our customers can pay for it.” Over its lifetime, the firm recruited just 5,000 customers and repeatedly slashed the price of its service in order to keep them.

The news comes months after Human Longevity, a similar company founded by genomics pioneer J. Craig Venter, took an 80% valuation haircut to stay alive. Like Arivale, Human Longevity charged thousands of dollars for cutting-edge testing, betting that customers would shell out for detailed health information and expert advice. That, it turns out, is not a terribly attractive product.