In an era where conventional pharmaceutical solutions often fall short, Strive Compounding Pharmacy emerges as a transformative force in personalized medicine. Founded with a mission to disrupt the healthcare status quo, Strive offers tailored medication solutions designed to meet each patient’s unique needs. By going beyond the minimal standards set by regulatory bodies, Strive ensures that every medication is crafted with precision, quality, and safety in mind. Their commitment to high standards and innovative practices sets them apart from traditional pharmaceutical approaches, providing a compelling alternative for those seeking more personalized and effective healthcare solutions.
Introducing Co-founders Michael Walker and Nathan Hill: Championing Personalized Medicine through Compounding Expertise
Michael (Mike) Walker, co-founder of Strive, has been passionate about personalized medicine from early in his pharmacy career. Growing up in Farmington, Utah, alongside fellow co-founder Nathan (Nate) Hill, the two developed a close friendship that would later inspire their collaboration.
After graduating with a PharmD from Midwestern University, Mike began working for a doctor operating a pharmacy offering commercial and compounded prescriptions. During this time, he discovered his true passion for compounding instead of traditional retail because of its personal approach. He recognized the limitations of one-size-fits-all treatments offered by major drugstore chains and became dedicated to exploring more individualized approaches to healthcare.
Around the same time, Nate relocated to Arizona. He had been a pharmaceutical sales rep and began recognizing the many systemic issues with Big Pharma’s approach to care—thanks to selling a drug that treated the side effects of another drug! With their complementary backgrounds, Mike and Nate saw a unique opportunity. They took a leap of faith and started Strive as the solution to the standard system.
Their mission was clear: to bring the benefits of personalized medicine to as many people as possible and to help patients optimize their health rather than simply treat symptoms.
Scaling Strive Compounding Pharmacy: Challenges and Strategies
Nate’s entrepreneurial spirit, honed during his college years, came into play as he and Mike worked through the logistics—business plans, securing funding, and the practical steps to launch their venture. With support from Mike’s father-in-law, they were able to avoid the complexities of an SBA loan, making their pharmacy dream a reality. Once everything was in place, the company quickly began to expand.
Strive Compounding Pharmacy’s rapid growth and successful scaling were driven by strategic decisions and overcoming significant challenges. Early on, the company’s Arizona location saw immediate success, providing a solid foundation. However, scaling proved more difficult as Strive expanded to new locations in Utah, Denver, and San Diego.
“There were times when I was just transferring money from account to account just to meet payroll,” recalled Nate Hill.
One key challenge was replicating the success experienced in Arizona across new markets. The initial growth was expansive but lacked depth, and not all new hires performed as expected. Think about it—providing a custom-tailored product at scale? That’s difficult for any business.
A turning point in overcoming these challenges came with a deeper understanding of Strive’s core values and the importance of having “the right person in the right seat.” Adopting principles from the book Traction helped streamline hiring and organizational practices, ensuring that new team members aligned with Strive’s core values.
“It wasn’t until we went through a whole brand exploration that we really nailed down our core values,” explained Nate.
The company’s ability to scale effectively was also attributed to equipping specialized team members and delegating responsibilities rather than hoarding responsibilities and decision-making, as many founders struggle with. By hiring experts and trusting them with critical tasks, Strive managed to meet increasing demand despite the hurdles.
“We started the company, but we didn’t build it alone,” all the company’s leaders emphasized.
The People Behind Strive Compounding Pharmacy
At the heart of Strive Compounding Pharmacy is its dedicated team, which embodies its core values and mission. “The soul of the company is the people who are here and what they embody,” noted Nate. “They truly love the brand and love being a part of Strive’s mission.”
Strive’s team members are deeply committed and take pride in their work. Their dedication goes beyond professional satisfaction, as they are motivated by their work’s meaningful impact on patients’ lives. This passion and commitment are central to Strive’s success and ability to make a significant difference in healthcare.
One of those team members is Strive’s Chief Clinical Officer Matthew (Matt) Montes De Oca.
With a pharmaceutical degree and being a manager at one of the largest retail pharmacies, Matt honed his leadership and business growth skills while developing a passion for the clinical aspects of pharmacy. Driven by a personal quest for optimal health and a fascination with functional medicine, Matt explored alternatives that went beyond conventional treatments and made the decision to join the Strive Pharmacy Team.
His growth into Chief Clinical Officer represents the amount of investment, attention, and care he and the company put into ensuring their products are safe, effective, and compliant. He also focuses on creating a consistent, high-quality experience for patients and providers alike, ensuring that every interaction with Strive reflects the company’s dedication to excellence. Thanks to Matt’s efforts, Strive leads the industry in quality by going above and beyond industry standards— “because we know, to change the norm, we have to be really, really good at what we do.”
Strive’s Commitment to Quality Assurance
The company’s philosophy, “our scrutiny is your assurance,” reflects its dedication to operating transparently and maintaining the highest product standards.
At Strive, quality assurance goes well beyond the minimum standards set by the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP). Matt explains that while USP standards define the basic requirements for the strength, quality, and purity of medicines, Strive implements additional best practices and incorporates elements of the Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) standards.
“We’re not implementing the minimum. We’re doing the best practices,” Matt said as he highlighted Strive’s rigorous approach.
This commitment begins with sourcing raw ingredients from FDA-registered and inspected drug establishments. Upon receiving these materials, Strive performs third-party analytical testing to confirm the accuracy of the manufacturer’s certificate of analysis.
Further ensuring product safety and efficacy, Strive employs multiple quality checks throughout the compounding process. For example, while USP recommends testing the potency of sterile products once a year, Strive tests potency between three to five times a week, maintaining a strict threshold of ±3% from the intended potency, compared to the standard ±10%. This proactive approach helps prevent any deviations that could impact the safety of the final product.
Strive’s relentless focus on quality has become a defining feature of its reputation, setting a new benchmark for what patients and providers should expect from a compounding pharmacy. Thousands of healthcare providers proudly prescribe Strive medications because they know it represents their own commitment to using the best available.
Establishing Strive’s Brand Identity
The inspiration for Strive branding came from a personal passion for high-end, experiential brands. The co-founders’ appreciation for unique and custom experiences—drawn from various brand interactions, including sneaker culture and boutique retail—shaped the initial approach. This vision aimed to move beyond most pharmacies’ conventional, often impersonal, mundane, and uninspiring atmosphere.
In the early days, Strive rejected the typical approach of using standard paper bags for medications. Instead, they sourced custom woven bags featuring their logo to enhance the boutique feel. After a substantial amount of growth, the company had built the ability to pour time, passion, and resources into its brand. It was time to more deeply define the “soul, substance, and style” of Strive.
Through collaborating with a branding agency, Strive’s rebranding project reflected its evolved identity, encapsulating what the company had become and aspired to be. The new brand identity, launched in late 2023, included not only a refreshed logo, color palette, and brand guide but also a deep understanding of Strive’s “soul, substance, and style,” ensuring that Strive’s image resonated with its core values of quality and personalized care.
“We knew if we were going to take compounding mainstream, we had to do it this way.”
Through these efforts, Strive has successfully established a brand that represents not just a compounding pharmacy but a commitment to superior, personalized healthcare experiences.
As a testament to the power of Strive’s mission and values, that incredible brand agency team was so committed and bought into the mission that they’re now in-house, full-time at Strive. They continue to push the envelope with Strive’s brand and what it represents.
Advancing the Mission Through Strategic Storytelling
Zachary (Zach) Shurtleff is the most recent addition to the executive team at Strive, joining the company in December as the Vice President of Marketing. Zach was brought in to build upon the incredibly strong foundation that Strive had established in the industry without any prior marketing, having achieved significant growth and recognition mainly through the strength of its service and quality.
In his first appearance in front of the company, Zach said, “You’ve already built a bonfire of culture and purpose, so with marketing coming in, those flames are about to be fanned. The spotlights are going to shine, and your stories are going to be told. Our patients and providers need to know the great work you do and the passion you have so we can all advance in the same direction to create a movement.”
Zach has quickly become a vital player despite his short tenure, contributing significantly to the company’s mission of making compound medications mainstream through education, awareness, and transparency. For people to shift their trust from Big Pharma to Strive, they need a peek behind the curtain to know they can trust Strive’s people and products.
With robust strategic communication and narrative development capabilities, Zach brings a fresh perspective that’s helping both patients and providers take that step by educating them on the benefits of personalized medicine.
He is also committed to advocating for compounding rights and standing up against anti-competitive practices in the pharmaceutical industry. His dedication to and belief in the cause has made him a key advocate in Strive’s fight to create a fairer, more collaborative environment for compounding pharmacies.
Strive’s Vision for Global Impact
The team at Strive sincerely believes that in order to change how people perceive and receive medication, they must pursue their mission boldly and with the soul, substance, and style the brand represents.
“We know the world is waking up to a better way of taking care of themselves, and we’re totally here for it,” said Zach.
Strive’s alternative option to traditional pharma aims to revolutionize the approach to health and wellness by promoting healthy lifestyle choices and focusing on prevention rather than just treating symptoms. Nate and Mike often refer to compounding as “well care” vs. the traditional “sick care.” They desire to foster a healthier, happier global community through the personalized, proactive care that only compounding pharmacies (and healthcare providers that use them) can provide.
Co-founders Mike and Nate envision Strive as a disruptor in a field dominated by insurance companies, the FDA, and Big Pharma, asserting that Strive represents “freedom to choose” your healthcare journey.
“Compounding is not a crime,” Nate highlighted Strive’s commitment to this cause with the motto inspired by past advocacy efforts like the “skateboarding is not a crime” campaign.
The slogan reflects Strive’s stance against restrictive regulations and its dedication to providing high-quality, affordable, patient-centered medications. As Strive continues to expand and build its marketing and branding efforts, the founders stated that they believe the company has the potential to effect significant change, bringing awareness to beneficial medications and advocating for a more patient-focused healthcare system. They understand that going against the powerful, deep-pocketed Big Pharma companies will come with its fair share of headwinds—but they also believe that if any compounding pharmacy is going to do it successfully, it’s going to be Strive.
Discover the Strive Difference: Redefining Healthcare with Personalized Solutions
Strive Compounding Pharmacy is revolutionizing the pharmaceutical landscape by prioritizing quality, personalized care, and optimizing patient health. Unlike traditional Big Pharma, which often prioritizes profit over patient well-being, Strive offers a refreshing alternative with a mission to improve health outcomes through customized medication solutions.
Why Choose Strive?
- Exceptional Quality Assurance: At Strive, quality isn’t just a standard—it’s a commitment. While adhering to U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) guidelines, Strive surpasses these minimum requirements by integrating Pharmaceutical Good Manufacturing Practice (P-G-M-P) standards. This means rigorous testing at multiple stages of the compounding process, including third-party verification of raw ingredients and frequent potency checks to ensure that medications are safe, effective, and tailored to individual needs.
- Providing Choice: Strive stands as a disruptor in the healthcare industry, advocating for patient and provider freedom and choice in their healthcare journey. By offering personalized medications that cater specifically to individual needs, Strive challenges the status quo of impersonal, one-size-fits-all solutions often pushed by Big Pharma.
- Commitment to Innovation: Strive is not just about delivering medications; it’s about leading a movement. With a focus on educating providers and patients about alternative medication options, Strive aims to foster a more informed and health-conscious society. Their approach goes beyond merely fulfilling prescriptions; they are dedicated to advancing the understanding and accessibility of personalized medicine through educating doctors and patients alike. They believe that educating the world on the value of compounded medications will be the tide that raises all ships.
- Support and Transparency: Strive values the trust of its patients and partners, which is why it embraces scrutiny and maintains transparency in its operations. Their proactive stance on quality control and adherence to going above and beyond the highest standards underscores their dedication to delivering medications that truly make a difference. Strive’s sales organization is committed to their clinics being supported and enabled rather than feeling “sold to.” Every interaction with a Strive representative will reflect Strive’s commitment to you and your patients’ experience.
For those seeking a more personalized, transparent, and quality-driven approach to medication, Strive Compounding Pharmacy offers a compelling alternative to traditional Big Pharma. Any provider can begin prescribing compounded meds. Whether you’re new or experienced in prescribing compounded medications, Strive also provides clinical education and support to deepen your understanding and confidence.
Explore how Strive can enhance your health and wellness experience by visiting www.strivepharmacy.com.
Join the movement towards better health and start prescribing Strive’s medications today!
Follow Strive on Instagram @strivepharmacy.
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