ƒôà FitX Programming Updates
Welcome back to another action-packed newsletter. The FitX board is eagerly awaiting school to start again when you can expect a number of engaging events and action-based learning projects. We have some pretty fun stuff up our sleeves! We’re excited to see you all (safely) back in Ann Arbor. Know an incoming MBA1 who you think would be interested in our programming or receiving our newsletter? Did you talk about clubs with your summer buddy? Forward this along and feel free to copy any member of our leadership team to tell them more.
Sonja Manning, President
Alex Bozzo, VP of Community & Branding
Elise Gordon, VP of Experiential Learning & Innovation
Rohan Kalra, VP of Experiential Learning & Innovation
Meredith Chapekis, VP of Alumni and Corporate Engagement
Caitlin Sugar, VP of Education & Industry
ƒæÅFitX Feature: Jordan Hartgens ‘21
Each issue, we aim to feature a current student or alumni working for a company that is changing how consumers access and/or track their health and wellness. This month, we learned from Jordan Hartgens about what she has been up to at Zwift this summer!
Q: What is Zwift?
Zwift is a fitness tech company based in Long Beach, California. Their product is an at-home cycling/running app where participants train and race within a video game! The product supports all ability levels from general fitness all the way to competitive cyclists, and it ends up being a super cool virtual community. They’ve been around since 2014 and are seeing MAJOR growth due to COVID-19. This summer, they hosted the Tour de France on their virtual platform this summer which was very exciting for the company!
Q: What is the focus of your project this summer?
This summer I'm working with Zwift's People Team to build diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategy for Zwift! Tech is a super interesting industry within which to be doing this work and now is such an important time to be doing it. Zwift has given me a lot of autonomy to envision what I think a DEI strategy should look like at their organization. I have a lot of room to be creative and think big, and I feel like I’m on the ground floor of building something that will be meaningful both to employees within the company and to the populations Zwift serves.
Q: What has been a highlight or big learning lesson from this summer with respect to diversity and inclusion in health/wellness?
This summer, I’m learning more about the dimensions of diversity and how they inform a business’ DEI strategy. As a Black woman, that’s always the first lens through which I look at the world. However, I’m tasked with building a strategy that fits the needs of a global company like Zwift so it has required me to be broader in my thinking and constantly ask what systems and structures can I create that will include and address the needs of as many people as possible. By creating products that authentically speak to the many dimensions of diversity, Zwift not only expands its target market and thereby its revenue, it also delivers the benefits of cycling to a broader population which is a beautiful thing. Success for me this summer looks like uncovering a strategy that further unlocks these possibilities for Zwift and its customers.
Interested in learning more? Reach out to Jordan!
ÔÅ® Industry Highlights
- What is your WTP for a Peloton Tread? Peloton is potentially making moves to increase their market share with a lower cost treadmill. CFO Jill Woodsworth, who FitX had the pleasure of meeting on our trek, hinted on an analyst call that the lower-priced tread wasn’t initially a focus for the company, but is back on the table for discussion. A Peloton tread currently retails for over $4000 (that’s like 1 Ross credit), which hasn’t deterred consumers so far, last quarter sales surged 60%. (Bonus: Check out this great podcast with John Foley on How I Built This “Resilience Edition” With Guy Raz)
- Did you miss how brands Peloton and SoulCycle responded to the BLM Movement? Check out this article from the NYT that dives deeper into what those brands did well and didn’t do well. Spoiler: SoulCycle’s customers and instructors were disappointed in their response and demanded more. “Zoe Galloway, a SoulCycle customer of 10 years, commented,Putting your Black instructors on a podium (literally and figuratively) and having them perform to show that SoulCycle is inclusive is not how this is done.”
- Nike has a new Diversity Chief: Nike has been making progress on diversity in hiring - in 2019 56% of employees were underrepresented groups and 42% were white (2% unknown). Now, Nike is continuing to evolve its diversity efforts with this new hire. Felicia Mayo will serve in the new role after holding a similar position at Tesla.
- Want to support a Black-owned brand for your next tights/athleisure splurge? Aurora is a brand that brings skin color diversity to tights and altheisure. They know that the lack of diversity in figure skating and other sports is not just about performance wear but financial barriers and they've also created a social impact arm to be aware of called For Athletes By Athletes which aims to increase access for athletes of color.
- Sexual Health Heads To The Bank: There’s another battle brewing in the health and wellness space. Direct to consumer medication, particularly focused on hair loss and erectile dysfunction. Ro and Hims capitalized on expiring patents for drugs like Viagra and Propecia. Ro just raised $200M earning them a $1.5 billion valuation. While Hims is eyeing a $1 billion IPO in the coming months.
ƒôê Financial Highlights
- DTC outdoors gear rental platform, Arrive Outdoors, raised $4.75M in seed funding.
- Snoop Dog’s VC firm, Casa Verde, leads $9.5 million round for Proper, a new holistic sleep solution.
- WAVE.tv, a media company focusing on short-form sports content, closed a $32M round.
- The Swedish-born milk alternative, Oatly, recently raised $200M in growth capital from investors like Oprah and Howard Schulz.
- Gold’s Gym will avoid bankruptcy by being acquired by German RSG group.
ƒÿ£FitX Fun Facts
Want to get in bed with Harry Styles? Well now you can on the Calm App. The meditation and mindfulness app has already featured celebrity sleep stories with the likes of Matthew McCaughey, but the internet was buzzing when it was announced that Harry Styles would be the newest addition to the lullaby crew.
Feedback, thoughts, or partnership ideas for us? Send a note to Sonja.
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