Entrepreneur Anna Mowbray invests in ambitious healthcare start-up

New Zealand businesswoman Anna Mowbray invested in a healthcare startup in hopes of making healthcare more accessible.

Auckland-based Health Now allows consumers to split payment for doctors, dentists and other health services
up to 12 weeks as part of a buy now, pay later scheme.

The business was founded by Steven Zinsli, 28, and offers other services including a digital wallet for employers to put up money for their workers’ health and a subscription service that allows users to save money for future treatment.

Mowbray, co-founder of global toy giant Zuru, has invested in Health Now and now owns a 4.8% stake in the company.

The value of your investment has been kept secret.

Health Now launched its pilot program in August of last year and formally launched in March. It has seen four straight months of more than 200 percent growth, and Zinsli is preparing to move to the United States at the end of the year to grow the business and its US subsidiary Cover Us Pay.

Zinsli and Mowbray were connected by a mutual friend. Mowbray said that Health Now operated in a “really exciting space” and that she was immediately captivated by Zinsli and her vision for making health care more affordable.

Health Now benefited other health companies, which was another draw, he said.

“When you see a founder, and a young founder, who has a bigger cause that really drives him and then he has the motivation to be able to deliver, that really excites me,” Mowbray told the Herald.

“If we can make healthcare more accessible, that’s a good thing for the wider community in New Zealand.”

According to Health Now, four in 10 people in New Zealand have neglected their health due to cost-related barriers.

Health Now has three arms in its business with its Employer Help Business, which helps employers provide health benefits for staff by placing funds in employee health wallets for use at all merchants, along with its Health Now Pay Later payment service and Health Savers wallet, which allows people to sign up and pay small contributions in advance to accumulate funds for any future treatment needed.

Zinsli has been working at Health Now since 2020. Before starting the business, he studied podiatry and later specialized in osteoarthritis. Initially, he wanted to go to medical school, but ended up investing in PhysioConnect, a multidisciplinary healthcare business that was, for the most part, home to 6 different healthcare disciplines, had 15 sites, and 120 employees, which he and his partner quickly scaled .

Mowbray spent years abroad in China and Hong Kong building the Zuru Toys business. He spends most of his time focused on expanding Zuru and working on additional spin-off startups, along with business advisory work.

Mowbray is an active advisor to Health Now and will continue to support Health Now’s growth. She wasn’t about to talk about finances.

Mowbray said he enjoyed advising Zinsli and viewed his involvement as “a catalyst of trust” that helps the company scale faster and achieve globalization.

“It’s amazing to work with a company that can have such a massive social impact while creating a strong business opportunity.”

Health Now has an office in Portland and will soon launch in the US market under the Cover Us Pay brand, following the acquisition of a Cover Us subscription discount prescription business, which has 52,000 pharmacies on its books.