Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • August 2021
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Livongo: Scaling a Purpose-Driven Organization in Healthcare

By: Ranjay Gulati, Aseem Shukla and Reva Nohria
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:33
ShareBar

Abstract

When seasoned entrepreneur Glen Tullman founded the chronic health care startup Livongo in 2014, it was personal. His son lived with diabetes, and Tullman knew firsthand how taxing it could be to manage such an unrelenting disease. Livongo set out to empower people with chronic conditions to take control of their health through better behaviors, and in the process save money for themselves, their employers, and healthcare providers. In the years to follow, he and a motivated team of technologists and medical professionals built a purpose-driven organization that in turn created an easy-to-use mobile experience that was medically sound to deliver on that promise. "Members" (the individuals Livongo served) loved the product, and by 2020, Livongo had contracted to provide its services to nearly a third of the Fortune 500, and the company was doubling in size annually and went public. But as Livongo grew, leadership recognized that Members also needed virtual access to medical professionals, or telehealth. After an intensive search, the company confronted a major new opportunity: whether to merge with telehealth behemoth Teladoc, with the prospect of becoming one of the largest digital health companies in history. But despite the strategic appeal, Livongo and Teladoc were very different companies. This divergence raised important questions for Tullman and Livongo's leadership: could Livongo live up to its potential, and retain its distinctive and passionate culture, if it joined with Teladoc?

Keywords

Healthcare Industry; Scaling; Telehealth; Health Care and Treatment; Small Business; Internet and the Web; Customer Focus and Relationships; Growth and Development Strategy; Opportunities; Mergers and Acquisitions; Health Industry

Citation

Gulati, Ranjay, Aseem Shukla, and Reva Nohria. "Livongo: Scaling a Purpose-Driven Organization in Healthcare." Harvard Business School Case 422-017, August 2021.
  • Educators
  • Purchase

About The Author

Ranjay Gulati

Organizational Behavior
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • June 2025
    • Strategic Management Journal

    Outcome and Process Frames: Strategic Renewal and Capability Reprioritization at the Federal Bureau of Investigation

    By: Ryan Raffaelli, Tiona Zuzul, Ranjay Gulati and Jan Rivkin
    • March 2025
    • Faculty Research

    Sarojini Naidu: Courage of the Nightingale

    By: Ranjay Gulati, Malini Sen and Anjali Raina
    • September 2024 (Revised December 2024)
    • Faculty Research

    Sona Comstar and Blackstone: Unlocking Value Through Business Transformation

    By: Ranjay Gulati and Kanika Jain
More from the Authors
  • Outcome and Process Frames: Strategic Renewal and Capability Reprioritization at the Federal Bureau of Investigation By: Ryan Raffaelli, Tiona Zuzul, Ranjay Gulati and Jan Rivkin
  • Sarojini Naidu: Courage of the Nightingale By: Ranjay Gulati, Malini Sen and Anjali Raina
  • Sona Comstar and Blackstone: Unlocking Value Through Business Transformation By: Ranjay Gulati and Kanika Jain
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College.