VILLAGEx 2023 Founder Friday: OS BENEFiTS
Founder Fridays is a series that spotlights VILLAGEx founders and their startups
As a college student, Elizabeth Tilton was on track to pursue a medical career at the University of Virginia. However, during her time in college, Elizabeth discovered a passion for food and hospitality that would change the course of career path.
Years after graduating, in 2019, Elizabeth founded Oyster Sunday, a hospitality studio that works with independent restaurants and food and beverage brands around the US. She loves working with chefs and restaurant owners, and finds fulfillment in helping them grow and thrive.
However, as Elizabeth got to know more people in the industry, she realized that there was a critical need for basic and essential health benefits for restaurant workers. Too many people in the industry were uninsured or underinsured, and the complex healthcare system made it difficult for restaurant owners to invest in employee benefits.
“I saw firsthand an industry reckoning with a lack of benefits. Too many in our industry feel forced to choose between their well-being and compensation, weighing factors such as healthcare, rent, transportation, and childcare—to name only a few. At the same time, traditional revenue models and the inherent complexities of the healthcare system have historically prevented many well-intended operators from investing in employee benefits, leaving many teams underinsured or uninsured,” shared Elizabeth.
Determined to make a difference, Elizabeth founded OS BENEFiTS in 2021. OS BENEFiTS provides access to preventive and catastrophic care, mental health and physical wellness providers, continuing education, family planning, and culinary tools to independent restaurants throughout the US. Elizabeth saw OS BENEFiTS as the intersection of her life's work — a way to combine her love of food and hospitality with her desire to make a meaningful impact on people's lives.
Today, Elizabeth is excited to announce that OS BENEFiTS is launching a dashboard in May 2023 with an updated user experience, enhanced personalization, and new benefits partnerships, including catastrophic insurance. She's optimistic about the future and is committed to continuing her mission of helping the nearly 70% of uninsured hospitality workers with OS BENEFiTS.
Q & A
(Responses have been edited for clarity)
What’s your best piece of startup advice for an entrepreneur in your industry?
Elizabeth: “Be the conductor. There are so many unbelievable first-chair violinists and cellists out there. Be the one to identify and cultivate their talent. The orchestra is only as meaningful as those who are willing to play together to create something beautiful performance after performance.”
Why startup in New Orleans?
Elizabeth: “With a family that has been in New Orleans for generations, I am a New Orleaninan to my core. I feel so appreciative of my time in New York City but with a fully-remote company, I always knew I wanted to build and give back to a city that gave me so much. I feel grateful for the time to be here in New Orleans to be with family and to have met my husband-to-be in the city I love.”
How do you hope you and your business evolve while in the VILLAGEx program?
Elizabeth: “As an entrepreneur, understanding what you know and where you need support is crucial. The journey to building a business is long and demanding and (all puns intended) it takes a village. I learned that with Oyster Sunday and am reminding myself again with OS BENEFiTS.
VILLAGEx has put me in contact with remarkable entrepreneurs in my cohort as well as a community of mentors and advisors that have been key to understanding my blind spots and how to push my company further. Sitting in and with discomfort is key but doing it with a community around you to be truly vulnerable is liberating. I hope my company and myself continue to be supported in this way, and I am appreciative of the growth spurt this program will provide.”
