16 connected strategy in the healthcare industry Given that it was founded a few years after many of the other major digital health players in diabetes, Virta has only had slight evolutions in terms of its service offerings and revenue models over time, seemingly learning from the lessons of its predecessors. Additionally, like Omada and Glooko, Virta also invested a lot of time and resources into establishing the clinical effectiveness of its nutritional program through rigorous, peer-reviewed research and clinical trials. Within the first year of its founding, Virta ini- tiated a clinical trial and was able to quickly publish its first peer-reviewed manuscript, which demonstrated diabetes reversal in nearly half of its trial population in as little as 10-weeks, in which 87% of patients on insulin either reduced usage or eliminated it altogether.30 With clinical evidence supporting its program established early-on, Virta was able to gain traction quickly - gaining a lot of publicity from the medical community as well as adoption/coverage of its platform from enterprise customers. Connected Customer Experience Evaluating the connected strategy of Virta, its diabetes reversal program employs three of the four connected customer experiences. First, Virta leverages a curated offering by generating tailored meal options for nutritional ketosis as well as specific medication management plans. Second, Virta provides coach behavior by matching each patient with a health coach for 1:1 consultations and daily nudges to encourage patients to stick to the ketogenic diet. Additionally, another feature that employs coach behavior is the private patient online community, which provides Virta patients with another layer of accountability and outlet for advice/recommendations for success. Finally, Virta pro- vides a respond-to-desire experience with its on-demand access to health coaches and supervising physicians if any questions or issues arise, which is a fast and efficient way to gain access to provider services. Connection Architecture Virta’s virtual diabetes reversal clinic employs multiple connection architectures across their various patient services. First, Virta is a connected producer because it creates educational materials and specialized meal plans for patients to succeed in achieving nutritional ketosis. Second, Virta is a connected market maker because it creates a direct link between healthcare providers (suppliers) and patients, but is not directly involved in handling the service, which is personalized recommendations from the health profes- sionals. Third, Virta serves as a complementor peer-to-peer network creator because it provides an opt-in online patient community, free with enrollment, to supplement the guidance, support, and accountability of the health coaches and curated content.