London based men’s health startup Manual has secured a $120 million non equity growth facility from US investor General Catalyst, according to recent filings. The agreement, signed in November 2024, provides the company with significant capital at a time of intense competition in digital health and weight management. Manual has already deployed the funds primarily to amplify its marketing and customer acquisition efforts, CEO and cofounder George Pallis told Sifted.
Major Non Dilutive Facility from General Catalyst
The capital comes from General Catalyst’s Customer Value Fund, an investment strategy that is structured more like a performance linked facility than a traditional equity round. Rather than taking additional ownership in the business, the investor is repaid out of revenue generated by customers acquired through the funded sales and marketing activity. For Manual, this structure offers a way to scale demand without further dilution of existing shareholders, while still accessing a sizable pool of capital.
How the Customer Value Fund Model Works
Under the Customer Value Fund approach, General Catalyst pre finances a company’s sales and marketing budget and ties its return to the measurable value of the customers that spending brings in. The firm’s entitlement is capped at an agreed level, after which the lifetime value of those customers remains fully with the company. If growth fails to materialize as expected, General Catalyst bears that downside risk, since the company does not repay out of pocket on a fixed schedule.
Positioning Manual Among Other CVF Backed Companies
Manual joins a select group of European scaleups that have tapped the Customer Value Fund for sizable facilities in recent months. The same pool of capital has supported Barcelona based HR platform Factorial with $120 million and Dutch fintech Finom with $105 million, illustrating General Catalyst’s appetite for high growth, recurring revenue businesses. Manual’s inclusion signals investor confidence that its unit economics on customer acquisition are strong enough to support this type of outcome based financing.
Manual’s Shift from General Men’s Health to Weight Loss
Founded in 2018 as a digital platform focused on men’s health concerns ranging from sexual health to diagnostics and blood testing, Manual initially built its brand around broader wellness. Over time it added tools, medical grade products and ongoing clinical support, aiming to tackle multiple aspects of men’s physical and mental well being in one place. Two years ago, the company pivoted toward prescription weight loss medication, moving aggressively into GLP 1 based treatments as demand for drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro accelerated.
Riding the GLP 1 Weight Loss Market
The global surge of interest in GLP 1 therapies has reshaped the competitive landscape for both consumer health and telemedicine providers. By repositioning itself around medically supervised weight loss, Manual is trying to capture a share of this fast growing market while retaining its focus on men as a core demographic. The new marketing firepower funded by General Catalyst is expected to be directed at educating potential patients, differentiating Manual from rivals and scaling its subscription base in the United Kingdom, Brazil and other target markets.
Building on a Growing Funding Track Record
The $120 million facility adds to a string of equity financings that have supported Manual’s growth in recent years. The company raised a $30 million Series A round in 2021 from investors including Sonoma Brands, Waldencast, Felix Capital and Cherry Ventures, followed by a £29 million round in 2024 led by existing backers Felix Capital and Cherry Ventures with participation from Octopus Ventures. Those raises took Manual’s total equity funding above 50 million pounds before the latest non dilutive capital, underlining investor belief in its product and expansion strategy.
Manual’s $120 million Customer Value Fund facility from General Catalyst marks a significant escalation in its push to dominate the men’s weight loss and health space. By combining large scale, performance linked growth capital with a sharpened focus on GLP 1 therapies, the company is betting that marketing driven expansion can deliver attractive returns without additional dilution. The outcome will hinge on Manual’s ability to convert this spending into loyal, high value patients in a crowded and rapidly evolving digital health market.
Source: Sifted