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The founder and CEO of the largest network of fertility services in North America didn’t start out trying to change the fertility industry. In fact, each of the successes (and failures) of TJ Farnsworth of Inception Fertility, has had the same motivator behind them — curiosity. Farnsworth likes to head “down the rabbit hole.” At the bottom is the need to know what’s next and why. Sometimes it’s about the best new wine, or sports player stats to get him up to speed to bond with his son.

He founded Inception in 2015, which merged with Prelude to create one larger parent company in 2019. Inception includes The Prelude Network of 90+ clinics across North America; and brands like My Egg Bank, a donor egg bank network; BUNDL, a multi-cycle IVF program; and four others.

His journey has been marked by an unequivocal focus on his mission, a personal connection to the clinics he leads, and a humble stance where failures are as helpful as successes. It started at home.

“I’m the son of a serial entrepreneur, it looked like fun.”

His role model, his mom

“I’m the son of a serial entrepreneur,” he says of his mother. “It looked like fun.” He remembers her always traveling, and long before cell phones and emails, seeming “excited to be building something.”

“Women raising private equity in the late 70’s to early 80’s was not super common. The last three businesses she started were in healthcare,” he remembers. So, at 28, “invincible, young, and single,” he decided it was the perfect time to follow in her footsteps. He started his first business in the radiation oncology space. He founded SightLine Health in 2005, and just five years later, it was named the fastest-growing company in Houston, and the fourth fastest-growing healthcare company in the U.S.

So, after he and his wife had a difficult infertility experience, he responded by setting out to make it better for others. Inception President Chris Bright shares, “TJ set out to build a company that could provide these services better, with a focus not only on outcomes but also on an exceptional patient experience.”

Business Plan: The Family Advisor

“You have to stay rigid with your vision. People didn’t know they needed an iPhone until they needed an iPhone,” he says. “Now that I've started enough businesses, I always write a business plan like we’re all MBA students. Getting it all on paper helps you think things through.” But as he does that, he makes sure to remind everyone: “Nothing’s going to go like this says.”

When he looks back at that original business plan for Inception, he sees the framework for much of what stands today — owning a brick-and-mortar mail-order pharmacy, though, wasn’t in the cards. But advancing the future of fertility care to fully understand a patient’s “dream family,” part of Inception’s Family Advisor ethos, now is. “It’s not about their end goal today. It’s about their end goal over the next 5-10 years.”

This ability to pivot while maintaining his vision doesn’t go unnoticed. “We take on projects that many would consider too risky,” says Inception Chief Product Officer Kat Stillman, ”Including developing and launching our own technology products like Prelude Connect. We also constantly challenge ourselves to be at the forefront of new science through launching our own Inception Research Institute and cultivating innovative partnerships.”

A CEO’s schedule

He travels “a ton.” If you ask him about exercise, he’d tell you about it except he’d be lying, he jokes. He takes his daughter to school while his wife, Margaret, preps their son for school. It’s a sacred time. “She wants to talk to me right now — that won’t last forever.” He doesn’t pause for breakfast, and eats lunch at his desk. Business lunches aren’t his thing either, he jokes.

At 6 P.M., he makes it home for dinner with the kids, and gets more work done from 8:30-10, when he says his wife wants to watch shows and chat. “She’s living proof that I’m a hell of a salesman,” he says. When he met her, he had no salary for three years while he launched a business, was living off credit cards, and lived in a “complete dump.” She’s never pressured him to travel less, and wants him to pursue his passion.

While balancing a family, relationship, and CEO schedule can be tough, he protects his weekends. “She says the kids need to see me for their birthdays…and for my birthday.” These are his sole two focuses: “I don’t golf, I don’t go hunting. I work. And I play with my kids.” These days, “playing” also means diving into research to be able to talk sports with his son, who is on the Autism spectrum. “Two years ago, I couldn’t name all the NFL teams. So I’m trying to learn.”

“I love seeing other CEOs be successful, even within our own industry.”

Hold the coffee – bring the wine

When he bought a house with an under-the-counter wine fridge, and some friends gave him wine for a housewarming gift, he noticed he’s never really had “good” wine. In fact, he was largely disinterested in alcohol, and his first and only cocktail would sit unfinished at the end of a business dinner. But it just took one great bottle, and down the rabbit hole he went. A vinophile was born.

“I have an obsessive personality, so I read everything I can about it,” he says, of wine and other curiosities. “It fits my neurosis very well that I can obsess about it, and there’s no end to how much I can read about it.”

His “compulsive organization skills” mean each bottle is hand-barcoded, and he tracks his inventory and keeps tasting notes of his wines. He doesn’t want to leave to golf on the weekends for four hours. He just wants to have a few glasses of wine with his wife.

But you won’t find this CEO drinking coffee or soda for a caffeine kick. And you won’t get a straight answer to his favorite type of wine — he loves many, depending on his mood, his meal, and other nuances. “It’s like asking who is your favorite kid?”

End of an ego: Driving collaboration in the fertility field

Though he’s much more successful now, his humility shines through — but that wasn’t always the case. “If you were to go back and interview me at 33, I probably had a bigger ego, that problem that really came from insecurity,” he says. “I wasn’t certain in my own skills and ability, deserving to be there, and imposter syndrome, that a lot of CEOs have.”

Now, as a 20-year CEO in his late 40’s, quite a bit of experience for his age, he is not comparing to anyone else. “Someone else’s success is not binary to mine. I love seeing other CEOs be successful, even within our own industry,” he says. He points back to his days in cancer treatments for establishing that belief. “Unfortunately, there’s no limit to the demand for cancer services…or fertility services.” He was shocked by the lack of collaboration, an issue that disappeared by necessity with the pandemic.

Your ego evaporates when you go through trial by fire, such as the time he remembers having to come up with $22 million in 72 hours when a funding source fell through right before closing. “You have to create humility from that. If you don’t, it will spell your doom eventually.”

His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs? “Know that you don’t know what you don’t know.” And head down each rabbit hole that inspires you.

This News Digest Story is paid featured content. The advertiser has had editorial input and control over its creation. However, the views and opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Inside Reproductive Health. The sponsorship of this content does not imply an endorsement by Inside Reproductive Health.