“Part of every company’s founding story is a degree of dumb luck!” – Mario Schlosser, co-founder, and CEO of Oscar Health

Health is one of the ground factors for one’s physical and mental well-being. To be able to function and live in a complete state of social well-being, we need to be healthy. However, life is unpredictable and has its own ups and downs. Illnesses and injuries, unfortunately, take part in our lives.

However, health is always number one and there is no amount of money that can buy us good health. However, there is one thing that we can consider investing in – health insurance! Investing in health insurance means investing in our future.

Introducing: Oscar Health!

From rags to riches, and from the ups and downs on the fast track called life, here comes the story of Oscar Health. Let’s uncover the inspiring narrative of Mario Schlosser, the creator of Oscar Health.

A Child Bursting with Curiosity

What’s something that every child loves? – Presents! Being a child means getting a lot of presents and toys. Starting from simple toys, throughout his childhood, Mario assembled quite an array of toys, including mobile phones and computers. Toys and presents have a huge impact on a child’s imagination, and that’s exactly what happened to Mario.

Young Mario started dreaming about technology and computer programming. Born in Germany, Mario spent most of his childhood dedicating his time to computers. Every child has a passion for something. Computer technology was Mario Schlosser’s passion.

But how did he attain that passion? Where did it come from? Well, Mario knew nothing about computers until one day, the day that changed his entire life and left a special mark. It was the day when a family’s friend gave the 8-year-old Mario a ZX81 – a primitive computer that awoke this young boy’s passion for computer programming.

From that day on, Mario’s life revolved around computer science and technology. He wanted to learn everything there was about computers. The passion and love he had towards programming led him to boost his imagination and dream about endless future possibilities.

Education Matters!

It is quite easy to guess what Mario Schlosser studied - computer science, of course. The first stepping stone for Mario was the University of Trier in Germany, attending classes from 1997 until 1998. With the first step made, Mario decided to dedicate his life to computer science and learn as much as he could. Already having his dreams of the future outlined, Mario enrolled at the University of Hanover, in Germany, in 2003, earning himself a degree in computer science with the highest distinction. As a matter of fact, what Mario managed to achieve is not surprising at all!

But, for a person that’s highly motivated and adamant to make their dreams come true, like Mario, owning just one degree simply won’t cut it. After attaining his degree from the University of Hanover in Germany, Mario wanted to learn more and more. So, he decided to study further and explore more opportunities. This time, Mario enrolled at the Harvard Business School, leaving the Ivy League school with an M.B.A, in 2007.

Exploring the Puzzling World of Computers

When you know what you want, following the road to success is easy. Mario Schlosser knew exactly what he wanted to achieve in his life. Straight after he graduated from the University of Hannover in Germany, Mario went to work for a company called Infineon Technologies, a German company located in Silicon Valley.

Even though his first computer stint didn’t last too long, Mario Schlosser wanted to stay in Silicon Valley. His strong determination led him to start emailing various German professors at Stanford University. And, as the old saying goes “Don’s stop until you get what you want”, Mario followed up on his dreams.

The emails he sent to a number of professors at Stanford University led Mario to become a visiting scholar in computer science. While being a visiting scholar, he wrote and co-authored 10 computer science publications. Among those 10 publications, there was a particular one that left a mark. Mario wrote The EigenTrust Algorithm publication – the most cited computer science paper published in the past decade.

However successful, Mario’s career path didn’t end there. In fact, it had just started. After the experience, he had acquired while at Stanford University, Mario went back to Germany. The voyage to his native country led him to further enrich his career and started working as a Fellow Senior Associate for McKinsey and Co.

A Partnership Is Born

While studying at Harvard Business School, Mario acquired many new friendships. One such friend was Joshua Kushner, an undergraduate at Harvard. Spending time together and sharing the same passion for computer science, led Mario and Joshua to become good friends.

Having entrepreneurial genes in his blood, Mario decided to do something with all his knowledge. Having a good friend to back him up, Mario and Joshua co-founded a social games developing company called Vostu. This social games developer was headquartered in Buenos Aires, meaning Mario had to leave his native Germany and continue his journey in Latin America.

However, even though success doesn’t come overnight, Vostu had a great start. In fact, Vostu became the largest social-games developing company in Buenos Aires. But it didn’t last too long.

Vostu found itself in the middle of a huge lawsuit. Attacked with a copyright infringement lawsuit by a gaming company called Zynga, Vostu started to lose its power. This lawsuit was settled with a monetary payment to Zynga; however, it was the end of the Vostu career voyage for Mario Schlosser. In 2012, Mario was fired from Vostu.

Venture All the Way

There comes a time in life where everything is just piling up and becomes overwhelming. Having a wife that is three months pregnant and leaving Germany for work in Buenos Aires, Mario Schlosser had to think – and think fast of his next venture.

Sharing the thoughts with a friend is never a bad idea. Having coffee with his friend Joshua Kushner, Mario revealed his struggles for health care and getting answers from health professionals especially for his wife’s pregnancy - it was then when the idea struck Mario’s friend! Joshua suggested to his friend to start a health insurance company.

Even though having certain doubts on his mind about the idea, Mario decided to listen to his friend. Getting a third person to join in, Mario Schlosser, Joshua Kushner, and Kevin Nazemi worked together and created Oscar Health, turning their idea into reality. Oscar Health was named after Joshua Kushner’s great-grandfather, Oscar.

Starting Strong!

Oscar Health was founded in 2012 and launched at the right time. Its launching coincided with the implementation of the Obamacare, Affordable Care Act. The right timing helped Oscar Health to rapidly break into the market.

As a startup company, Oscar Health had only 380 employees at the time. However, with the big insurance market break, Oscar Health already garnered a number of 16.000 members within its first year of doing business.

And from then on, Oscar Health continued growing. From a simple consumer-focused health insurance company, Oscar Health became one of the most successful companies in the health care sector. The company uses technology to make its services available to everyone. One of the key points of Oscar Health is the transparency and personalization of its health care services. Everything can be done through a mobile app, even a request for a doctor’s visit 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Plus, every single customer has his concierge team for optimal assistance.

Every business has ups and downs, you win some – you lose some. That was the case with Oscar Health, too. To retire its debt, Mario decided for Oscar Health to go public, and in February 2021, Oscar Health did go public. Starting at $39 per share in March 2021, Oscar Health now trades at below $16 per share. Some of the main Oscar Health’s investors include CapitalG, Fidelity Investments, General Catalyst Partners, Khosla Ventures, and Thrive Capital.

Oscar Health Today

Before making its way into many people’s lives, health-insurance-wise, Oscar Health had faced a fair share of competition coming from companies like Collective Health, Flatiron Health, and Clover Health, among others.

Headquartered in New York City, Oscar Health provides a range of health insurance packages. This health insurance company offers coverage in New York, California, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Florida, Michigan, Austin, Houston, and Arizona. Having 563.114 members up to today, Oscar Health is dedicated to promoting transparency and trust among its members. Employee-wise, Oscar Health is growing bigger by the day, numbering 1839 employees to date.

Today, Mario is the CEO and co-founder of the company, while Joshua stands as Oscar Health’s co-founder.

From Medicare advantage plans, family and individual health insurance plans, packages for businesses, the ability to find a doctor near your area, friendly customer care, and the opportunity for 24/7 doctor visit requests is what makes Oscar Health a trustworthy health insurance company.