Under Glen Tullman's leadership at Livongo we were was lucky enough to witness the ideal trajectory for a startup, through 2019 IPO to $18.5B acquisition by Teladoc at end of 2020.
The past 3 years have been a masterclass in destroying value. The main reason this happened is because Teladoc leadership didn't value the most important asset– human capital. One by one all the superstars from Livongo leave Teladoc and go to other digital health companies– when we were still Livongo barely anyone left. This is because we were treated well and united in the mission to empower people with chronic conditions to live better and healthier lives. TDOC is stale in comparison and teammates are not happy, thus the mass exodus.
TDOC stock price peaked at $308 in Feb 2021 and currently sit at $9, meaning it's one of the worst investments you could have made in the past 3 years. Even Cathie Woods from ARK is selling her shares at this point, and she's down a LOT. Teladoc just fired CEO of 15 years and in my opinion this happened 2 years too late. They just fired President last week too. The potential synergies of Teladoc and Livongo have still not been realized due to poor leadership, and I doubt they ever will. Meanwhile all the Livongo alum are now at nimble digital health startups, stealing TDOC's market share. This would honestly make a great case study for an MBA on how not to perform a merger/acquisition.
Teladoc isn't an evil company, just inept leadership. It is 25 years old and not built for the current digital health climate. Try to look up any presses releases Teladoc has made in past years about advancements in AI. An article just came out trumpeting Teladoc's AI-driven chronic condition clinical outcomes but Livongo has been doing this since long before acquisition. Teladoc is simply stagnant and not innovating.
Teladoc has been doing layoffs which isn't out of the ordinary, but in 2024 they're laying off essential teammates / high performers and doing it unprofessionally.
I'm shocked at Teladoc's lack of support for employees' health and wellbeing, especially given their business is offering employer benefits like mental health services. There are essentially no benefits of working at Teladoc except it's fully remote and they're getting desperate so you might be able to claw your way up the totem pole. By the end of my tenure, work felt rewardless.
Finally, research BetterHelp which is owned by Teladoc. Not the best business practices…
