Newsletter #16

­ƒôà   FitX Programming Updates

MAJOR Event Announcement: 

Introducing “FitXpo - Forging the Future of Wellness” coming on February 19th and 26th

Mark you calendars for 12:00 - 3:00 pm EST on February 19th and February 26th for FitX’s first ever “FitXpo” - a multi-day event to convene 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 year’s theme is “Forging the Future of Wellness” - where we will engage in discussions of the future of the mental, social, and physical wellness spaces with awesome companies such as Exer AI, Oura, Fabriq, an Investing Panel, and the opening keynote by Fitt.Co. We are also still working to confirm Headspace, Tempo, and others to come!  In true FitX fashion, you can also expect a brief work-out or two to kick off the programming, product demos, and more. The full FitXpo schedule will be released in the coming weeks!

Registration will be available soon via CampusGroups. Put a placeholder on your calendar for now so you don’t miss it!

Event: Creating Equity In Wellness

Join FitX, AABA, BBSA, Out for Business, MBW, and Women Who Launch for a 2-hour event with Dive In Well, the preeminent organization creating equity within the wellness industry on February 11th from 5-7 PM EST. Regardless of if you want to work in Tech, Consulting, a Fortune 100 company, or start your own business - this session will help you understand how oppressive practices show up in business and learn how to dismantle them when you build, shape, and lead businesses in the future. The keynote speaker and lead facilitator, Maryam Ajayi, has led sessions for Headspace, Nike, General Assembly, Lululemon, and countless others. She brings 10+ years of experience in business growth strategy and strategic partnerships across a multitude of industries ranging from politics to tech.
 

Event: Wellness Week’s Building Business Well: Keynote and Q&A with Nicole Cardoza

On February 1st from 5-6pm EST, join Well@Ross for a talk and student-led Q&A with Nicole Cardoza, writer, creative entrepreneur and Founder of Anti-Racism Daily, Yoga Foster and Reclamation Ventures. Nicole is passionate about making wellness more accessible and her organizations have helped hundreds of thousands of people create more equitable, mindful practices for themselves and their communities. Nicole will share her thoughts and answers to your questions on approaching wellness as an entrepreneur, navigating capitalism as a Black female founder, the evolution of business and the workplace on our well-being and what steps you can take to make a positive impact on your own well-being now and in the future. 

Register for this event and submit your questions for Nicole via CampusGroups here. 
 

FitX + FinTech: Sign up for the Fintech Challenge and help a local wellness company like Thrive Juicery and Blue Lion Gym:

The Challenge this year is an opportunity not only to win up to $10,000 in total prizes for participants, but to play a significant role in solving a local business' most critical problem and helping them access up to $10,000 in matched funding to actually implement the solutions that teams present!

If you want to participate and want to work specifically on a participating wellness company, sign up and then email Ross Goldberg (rmpg@umich.edu) and let him know you’re a FitX member.

Register here | Registration closes on 2/5 and the competition will begin on 2/8. More detailed information to follow in subsequent weeks! 

­ƒæÅ  FitX Feature - Overview of 305 Fitness and Muse projects

Muse The Brain Sensing Headband

Do you want to improve your focus? Do you ever wonder if your meditation is working? Meet Muse, a brain-sensing headband and phone application that are making the intangible, tangible. By tracking your brain waves during meditation and sleep, this device enables you to improve and deepen your focus. You may be asking, isn’t that what every meditation app does? Muse’s differentiator is that it’s headband uses research-grade EEG to passively sense your brain activity and translate it into the guiding sounds of weather to help you stay calm and focused (e.g. real-time feedback). Coupled with its phone application, this device improves and learns with every use and provides interpretable data and insights. See more product details on their website here. 

Enter a team of Rossers. This Canadian Series C health tech machine learning company partnered with FitX’s Action-Based Learning team to bring the company’s wellness product into the U.S. market. The team met weekly with Muse’s CMO and VP of Corporate Development to understand their product, share project progress, and identify next steps. Their main efforts included doing an analysis of existing devices in both the meditation and sleep industries as well as conducting interviews with physicians and sleep clinics to elucidate their processes, costs, and appetites for new products like Muse. With these insights the team developed a competitive landscape analysis and robust plan to bring Muse to the U.S. 

Big shout out to the project team members: Rohan Kalra, Elise Gordon, Gena Inbusch, Julia Harmison, Kyle Brunsman, Mia Farnham and Nicole Veit

305 Fitness

Tired of your typical spin and cardio workouts? Do you ever just want to dance it out? Meet 305 Fitness, a company that offers workouts based on high intensity rhythmic cardio. Accompanied by a live DJ, the class will feature sports drills, conditioning exercise, high intensity interval training, and sculpting. It’s basically an amplified, modern-day version of zumba. 

As we know, 2020 was tough...in more than one way. We also know it revolutionized the fitness industry, especially for companies with unique business models. The 305 Fitness team asked a team of Rossers to help understand how to better attract and retain instructors. The Ross team analyzed the addressable market and marketing best practices to inform how 305 Fitness can strategically target new or previously churned instructors. and conducted a churn analysis. Additionally, the team conducted a churn analysis to understand why instructors were leaving. Through this analysis and weekly meetings with the 305 Fitness team, the team developed recommendations to inform a retention strategy. 

Big shout out to the project team members: Elise Gordon, Chelsea VanderWelle, Courtney Yancey, Jacqueline Trager, Meredeith Chapekis and Mariel Sena

If you want to learn more about these or other FitX Action Based Learning projects, reach out to us @ FitX.Michigan.Ross@umich.edu

ÔÅ®   Industry Highlights

New Year, New Me….Enter Dry January

The new year often brings resolutions and new goals centered around fitness, with one of the most popular of late, giving up alcohol, otherwise known as “Dry January”. Let’s be honest, 2020 was a tough year, and that led more Americans to turn to a variety of vices, but now with a light at the end of the tunnel, up to 15% of Americans said they would attempt giving up Alcohol for the month. There are a few benefits to easing up on the booze including better sleep and more energy. For those that are giving up alcohol or simply drinking less of it, but still want to be in a social setting, there are no shortage of alcohol free alternatives that resemble their boozed up brethren. It is estimated that the non-alcohol wine and beer market will reach $30B by 2025.

Peloton Acquires Precor To Bolster Supply Chain With Wait Times At Record Highs:

No one dominated the fitness scene in 2020 like Peloton, but even they weren’t prepared for the consumer demand created. This has led to months-long wait times that has customers turning to Social Media to complain. Peloton has a 1.4 out of 5 on the Better Business Bureau because of the number of customer complaints. Peloton CEO John Foley acknowledged the struggles and made it clear it was a top priority heading into 2021. In late 2020, Peloton acquired U.S. based equipment maker Precor for $420M to help ease their supply chain pain. 

Will fitness professionals return to gyms after they’ve reopened:

This past year many fitness trainers were left to fend for themselves as their gyms and studios closed. Many turned to alternate teaching channels to reach their clientele, and found these opportunities more profitable than their original role. This NYT article highlights how a former Orangetheory instructor has used Moxie, a fitness app connecting trainers to clients, to earn the same amount of money, with less effort, as she did as an OT instructor. Other trainers have been able to charge $300/hour, or $1000/day, for their services. This begs the question: will these fitness professionals return to gyms? Or continue to explore the lucrative at-home workout industry? Only time will tell.

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

Discover how Emily Hochman, CEO of Wellory, has created the new anti-diet app:

Emily Hochman overcame an eating disorder and used the experience to gain a better understanding of her own nutrition and health. She now wants to share that understanding with others: Wellory matches clients with a licensed nutritionist, registered dietitian, and certified health coach. Listen here to learn how she recently raised $4.2M to make personalized nutrition accessible for all.

Listen to Jimmy DeCicco, CEO of Super Coffee, journey from a dorm room to Shark Tank: Super Coffee is a sugar-free and supplement filled coffee line that was founded by college athletes in their dorm room. In four years, they have become the fastest growing company in food/bev and have high-profile investors like Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez. Learn more about their journey in this podcast.
 

­ƒôê  Financial Highlights 

• Popular vegan milk brand, Oatly, earned double in 2020 than what it earned in 2019 and is expected to go public this year with an IPO that could hit $1B

• Everlywell, an at-home testing kit for a range of health concerns (anywhere from thyroid issues to Covid-19 detection) has recently raised $75M in funding

• Zico Coconut Water comes full circle as Coca-Cola sells the brand (for an undisclosed amount) to a firm owned and operated by Zico’s original founder

• Mondelez International looks to move into the ‘better-for-you’ candy space by acquiring a majority stake in Hu Master Holdings, makers of paleo chocolate bars, valuing Hu at around $250M

• Garmin Ltd., creators of activity tracking wearables, acquired the leading provider of emergency monitoring and response services for an undisclosed amount, to help users ‘make it home safe from their adventures’.

• Curious to read about the pitch deck that got Levels 12M in funding? Peep it here.

­ƒÆ╗   Job Postings 

Full-Time

Sr.Product Manager, Health @ FitBit

Product Manager, Inclusion @ Peloton

Product Manager @ Whoop

Growth Marketing @ ClassPass

Sr. Product Manager @ Thrive Market

Strategic Partner Manager, FitBit

­ƒÿ£  FitX Fun Facts

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson shares the secret to his fitness success with the launch of ZOA Energy. ZOA  is made with superfood ingredients like turmeric, camu camu, and acerola, and will be the first healthy energy drink to hit the drinks aisle. The Rock calls ZOA a ‘true disruptor’ in the beverage sector, and has labeled the drinks with his own chest tattoo that reflects his ‘warrior spirit’. The drinks are being launched at the perfect time to help FitXers power through recruiting season!

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