From: FitX
Date: February 23, 2021
Subject: FitX Newsletter #18 2-23-2021


­ƒôà FitX Programming Updates

 

Final Day of FitXpo is this Friday - February 26th from 12:00 - 4:00 PM

The FitXpo fun continues for one more Friday! As a reminder, this is our first-ever multi-day experience convening executives and entrepreneurs around the most top-of-mind health & wellness topics, including the future of wellness post-COVID and the industry’s role in increasing access to wellness. 

 

This Friday we’ve got 4 unique and engaging sessions for you:

  1. Social Well-Being - Co-sponsored with MBW: Learn about how digital solutions can improve social wellness from Fabriq Co-founder and Chief Evangelist, Amy Baglan!

  2. Inve$ting in Well-Being - Co-sponsored with EVC: Hear the investment theses that informed investments in fitness, healthcare, mental health, and wellness from 4 investors from KB Partners, Rock Health, Will Ventures, and Bridge Builders Collaborative

  3. Improving Interactions in a Virtual World - Co-sponsored with Tech Club:  Using your smartphone or computer (no additional hardware required!), Exer's AI technology tracks and corrects your movements with real-time audio feedback - experience the tech then chat with the founders!

  4. The Smartest Smart Ring  - Co-sponsored with Healthcare and Life Sciences club: Hear from Harpreet Rai, CEO of Oura (a Michigan alum!) talk about why sleep is the best place to focus on improving health outcomes 


The FitXpo schedule for this Friday is below and live on CampusGroups. Register today!

 Did you miss some of the sessions on Friday? We’ve got a recap for you (below) and you can find the videos here! Only umich.edu emails can access the folder. 

One more event to keep on your radar - check out the “State of the SportsTech Industry” conference on March 24th and 25th. 

 

­ƒæÅFitX Feature - Recapping Day 1 of FitXpo

Thank you to everyone who participated in day one of FitXpo. We had over 120 participants across our 3 main sessions. We’ll recap of a few of the main takeaways from each session.

Kickoff With Fitt.co CEO Joe Vennare

Joe walked us through his background where he began as a personal trainer and gym owner into the creation of the digital fitness empire, Fitt.co. Joe’s big takeaway about the future of fitness: “Wellness is personal”

  • On Omni-Channel Exercise: Brick and mortars weren’t willing to disrupt themselves. (Sounds like a business school case study...Kodak anyone?) 

  • On Wearables & Data: We’re gathering more data than ever, but the question is what to do with it. Eventually fitness/wellness and healthcare will be vertically integrated. Wearable data + personalized recommendations + integration into healthcare provider = the holy grail.

  • On the High Performance Lifestyle: Sleep is a really fascinating category to watch. Recommends checking out smart mattresses like EightSleep

  • On Trickle Down Health: Health should not be a luxury but it is - and essentially we are selling a ton of products to the same people - how do we actually improve health outcomes? It often means getting back to the basics - walking, eating local fruits and veggies, and sleeping. As fitness entrepreneurs, it’s up to us to solve the RIGHT problems with the products and companies we create. 

 

Q&A With Tempo Product Manager Chris Knape and Head of Content Michelle Grabau

Tempo is disrupting the world of in-home fitness with a personalized experience and metrics tracking. Chris joined the company after falling in love with the product and Michelle was one of the most successful OrangeTheory Fitness owners in the country. If you haven’t seen Tempo before, check out this video.

  • Tempo’s Differentiation: Tempo’s use of computer vision to provide real time feedback creates the sense of working with a personal trainer.

  • Creating A Community: Like other in home programs, Tempo has a live leaderboard, but the ability to track metrics like weight and reps make it even more competitive. 

  • On Making Fitness Accessible: Tempo is trying to address misconceptions about strength training and promotes the long term health benefits association like preventing osteoporosis. Tempo is expanding product offerings to engage with a variety of users

 

Meditation Goes Mainstream With Headspace Product Manager Keya Patel

Headspace has one mission: to improve the health and happiness of the world. To learn more about their lofty goal we heard from Michigan alumnus Keya Patel who shared her journey of selling brownies outside of Ricks to raise funds for her club, to leading Product Management for the leading meditation app in the world. If you haven’t downloaded Headspace, check out the Student Plan for just $10/year!

  • On the science behind Headspace: Founder Andi Putticombe was studying to become a monk, but once he founded Headspace he sought the expertise of researchers and scientists on the power of meditation. 

  • How To Manage Tension Between What’s Best For The Business vs Client: Keya shared her empathetic approach to building allies within the business to develop products that would be beneficial to Headspace users. For example, Headspace chose to make Headspace free to all front line responders and to educators. 

  • Exciting Headspace Partnerships: Headspace appointed John Legend as Chief Music Officer to help create and curate music that facilitates mindfulness. Headspace is also branching into B2B partnerships through Headspace Health to bring meditation to the workspace.

 

Of course - we also meditated!

 

ÔÅ® Industry Highlights

  The impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on our wellbeing:
Harvard Business Review recently conducted a study of nearly 1500 people from 46 countries to assess how Covid-19 has impacted peoples’ mental health. Unsurprisingly, the results were overwhelmingly negative, with the majority of people stating that their general and workplace wellbeing has declined since the pandemic, however about a quarter of survey respondents stated their wellbeing has actually improved this past year. THIS IS THE GOOD NEWS WE NEED! Many people stated that the ability to exercise more and eat healthier has led to improvements in their mental wellbeing. These participants cited additional benefits such as increased motivation, opportunities for purposeful growth, better sleep and more family time. Showing us that it really is the little things that have bettered our lives this past year.
 
Ava receives FDA clearance for fertility tracker:
Ava, a digital healthcare company, has developed a fertility tracking sensor bracelet that helps women best predict their ovulation cycle to become pregnant. The tracking sensor monitors pulse rate, breathing rate, and skin temperature to determine the 5 most fertile days in a women’s cycle. Last week, they announced they have received FDA clearance for the tracker, making it the first and only FDA-approved fertility tracking wearable. Although Ava is the first in this space to receive FDA clearance, we don’t expect it to be the last. Many wearable companies are beginning to tap into the expansive Femtech market so stay tuned...
 

Facebook is not-so-secretly building a smartwatch:
Many of the details concerning Facebook’s new hardware are being kept tight underwraps but here’s what we do know: it will be an Android-based wearable, Facebook is working on building its own operating system for hardware devices, and the smartwatch will have messaging and health/wellness features. Currently, the social networking giant has more than 6,000 employees working under their hardware division. It’ll be interesting to see how Facebook is able to differentiate their hardware from existing wearable companies such as Fitbit, Whoop, Garmin, etc. 

 

­ƒÄÖ Listen In: New Podcasts To Check Out (on your Winter Walks?)

The issue of manifestation and wealth as wellness:
Tune into the Twelfth House podcast where guest Amanda Chase describes ‘the problematic language of modern manifestation circles, toxic positivity, and the harm caused by brands who sell us on the idea that through material accumulation and manifestation, we can find true happiness.’
 

Get excited for FitXpo’s The Smartest Smart Ring with the latest Fitt Insider podcast:
Harpreet Singh Rai, Michigan alum and CEO of Oura, discusses the evolution of wearables from step counting to health monitoring, and why competition from tech giants like Apple, Amazon, and Google is actually a good thing. Listen before the session we have with Harpreet this Friday….and Go Blue!

 

­ƒôê Financial Highlights 

  • Alex Rodriguez is starting a SPAC, Slam Corp, for which he recently filed to raise $500M; Slam Corp plans to pursue businesses in the sports, media, entertainment, health and wellness sectors

  • Oatly, Swedish-based alternative milk company, could be seeking a value of $10B in an initial public offering (ICYMI: catch their unique Superbowl commercial here)

  • Dexcom, the continuous glucose monitoring company for people with diabetes, is launching a venture capital fund that will focus on investment opportunities in sensing technology, remote patient monitoring, and population health.

  • Virta health, delivers the first clinically-proven treatment to reverse type 2 diabetes, raises $93M in latest funding round

  • Chobani is eyeing a 2021 IPO that could value the yogurt maker anywhere between $7B and $10B. 

 

­ƒÆ╗ Job Postings 

Full-Time

Product Manager @ Whoop

Sr. Product Manager @ Thrive Market

Strategic Partner Manager, FitBit

Intern

MBA Intern @ Oxeon Venture Studio

MBA Intern @ Peloton

 

­ƒÿ£FitX Fun Facts

Nature Fynd, the food tech company that uses fungus found in Yellowstone National Park to create alternative meat and dairy products, is releasing its first products for sale - dairy free cream cheese and meatless breakfast patties. Despite how they sound, Nature Fynd has been able to attract impressive investors such as Al Gore and Bill Gates. Most recently, Nature Fynd has been able to raise $80M in their latest funding round. Their new products will be sold together for $14.99 which includes taxes and shipping… so now we’re curious, would you try?

 

Feedback, thoughts, or partnership ideas for us? Send a note to Sonja.