Founder and CEO David Rambo Expands Simplex Wellness Fitness Facilities with a Helping Hand from WSFS

Pivoting to wellness as a career path wasn’t in the plan for David Rambo in the aftermath of a business venture in the dot com world. But when he closed his dot com business and began working at a fitness center, his entrepreneurial spirit kicked in and he was soon owning and growing the business in center city Philadelphia.

For David, owning the fitness center was more than a business, however. It was a personal journey to make and maintain healthy lifestyle changes that challenged the status quo in health and wellness. His goal was to create an environment for customers that went beyond.

In 2012, David founded Simplex Wellness using an approach that combines functional nutrition, fitness and behavioral changes offered at recreation facilities, office buildings and corporations in Philadelphia.

As Simplex Wellness expanded its scope, David founded Simplex Health, a sister company and online platform designed to help clients prevent and reverse chronic disease through insurance-funded access to medical nutrition therapy. This partnership provides clients with a 360-degree approach to overall wellness.

“Simplex Health is a venture-backed startup and is in perfect alignment with Simplex Wellness,” said David. “In growing both companies, an opportunity for expansion was presented through the acquisition of HealthEase.”

By acquiring HealthEase, which specializes in fitness facility design, management and corporate wellness solutions, David would be able to expand Simplex Wellness to three times its size with seven properties along the bustling Market Street corridor in center city Philadelphia.

“The opportunity to bring HealthEase into the Simplex family would create greater economic scale for us,” said David. “Unfortunately, my bank and others weren’t on board. I was disappointed that they wouldn’t look at the big picture, they seemed to be just crunching numbers and taking the old approach of sending paper through a machine that said ‘no.’”

Then David connected with Carl Buchholz, SBA Relationship Manager for WSFS Bank, through HealthEase’s owner, a WSFS Customer.

“We saw an opportunity that would be beneficial to both HealthEase and Simplex,” said Carl. “And working together, we were able to secure SBA 7(a) funding for Simplex to realize David’s expansion goal.”

Adds David, “WSFS came in with an ‘eyes wide open’ perspective and was willing to peel back the layers of the onion to see a solid investment with upside and an established client base with both Simplex and HealthEase.”

“We got to the finish line in under six weeks and with HealthEase’s financials not tethered to Simplex, which opens up cash flows, too. Amazing.”