Meet AmyAnn and Blake Cadwell | Co-Founder of Soundly

We had the good fortune of connecting with AmyAnn and Blake Cadwell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi AmyAnn and Blake, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
Soundly’s mission is to create a friendly and welcoming entry point into hearing health. We wanted to create a platform that helps alleviate the stress of comparing hearing aids and hearing health treatment options. With the recent rollout of over-the-counter hearing aids, Soundly allows people to easily compare OTC and prescription hearing aids side-by-side. Since launching the platform in May of 2022, we’ve helped 300K people get the care they need. Recently, we also launched a comprehensive free hearing test that gives results in 5 minutes.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Blake: Before founding Soundly, I led creative campaigns for Nike & Chipotle at Day One, a communications agency, for 7 years. I had always struggled with hearing loss, but didn’t take the initiative to get hearing aids until the pandemic. Once I went through the process of finding the best hearing aids for me, I realized what an archaic, outdated process it was, and that I couldn’t be the only one struggling with it. That’s when I decided to start Soundly with my wife, AmyAnn.
AmyAnn: In 2014, I co-founded a women’s lifestyle media company called The Good Trade. Alongside an amazing team, I have built the brand organically to scale providing over 100M readers with editorials on sustainability, slow living, and self-care. Impacted by Blake’s journey with his hearing health, I wanted to use my experience in digital media to help families who have also struggled to navigate their own hearing health.

Today, Soundly is the first of its kind hearing health marketplace, designed for the first 8-12 hours of a consumer’s journey of hearing aid research. We help consumers find products, compare prices and connect to local audiologists, as well as provide an online hearing test that’s one of the most comprehensive of its kind. Following the FDA’s historic ruling of introducing over-the-counter hearing aids to market, we refined our comparison guide for consumers to easily view OTC and prescription aids side-by-side to find the right fit for their needs.

And we’ve already been recognized for our impactful work – in November, we won a Gold Distinction at the Shorty Impact Awards for our campaign on Roblox, where we created an exclusive line of hearing aids on the platform to help reduce the stigma around hearing loss in young people. There’s still so much work to be done to increase awareness and normalize hearing aid representation, which is why we wanted to help make an impact for young people to feel seen on their favorite gaming platform.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Blake: Truly so many to choose from. Some neighborhood favorites. For drinks: L&E Oyster bar, Figaro Bistro, Mignon Wine Bar
For shopping: Sunbeam Vintage
For nature: Silverlake reservoir

AmyAnn: If I was designing the perfect day in Los Angeles for a treasured friend, I would start them at the Surya Spa in Santa Monica for a four hand ayurvedic massage, followed by a hike in the Pacific Palisades, and an easy lunch at the Brentwood Country Mart. Ultimately, the Eastside has my heart, so I would have them make the trek back to the Silverlake reservoir for an afternoon walk fueled by coffee from Canyon in Echo Park. Dinner reservations would be at Botanica for veg-forward mediterranean fare, drinks to follow at Bar Stella—easily the most romantic bar in LA.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
AmyAnn: When I became a mom in 2021, after nearly a decade of building and running businesses, I realized how lonely and parallel these two experiences can feel. Support groups for female identifying founders and ambitious mothers local to LA, like Mysha and the Female Founders Collective, are providing opportunities for authentic community building — something we need now more than ever.

Blake: My good friend Tony Duenes has inspired me in so many ways. Tony lost his sight in his 30s and has since completed his masters degree in assistive technology and finished multiple Ironman events. Tony has taught me so much about assistive technology and human persistence. You can read his story in the LA Times here.

Website: https://www.soundly.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hearsoundly/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/soundly-inc/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hearsoundly

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoundlyHearing

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@HearSoundly

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@hearsoundly

Image Credits
Image Credits: Blake Cadwell, Day One Agency