From: FitX
Date: October 6, 2020
Subject: FitX Newsletter #12 10/6


Newsletter #12

 

­ƒôà  FitX Programming Updates

We are excited to announce our newest members of the FitX Board for 2020-2021:

Directors of Strategy & Operations: 

Mari Mankey - Favorite FitX Brand: Peloton

Sam Fogg - Favorite FitX Brand:  Garmin

Director of Branding & Community: 

Mary Lindsay Ryan - Favorite FitX Brand: Orange Theory

Director of Corporate & Alumni Engagement: 

Patrick Holstad - Favorite FitX Brand: SugarWOD Crossfit

Directors of Action-Based Learning & Innovation: 

Gena Inbusch - Favorite FitX Brand: Variis by Equionix

Paige Mintz - Favorite FitX Brand: ClassPass

Director of Industry & Education: 

John Lee - Favorite FitX Brand: Barry’s Bootcamp

 

­ƒôà  Upcoming Event

  • 10/20 6:00 - 7:00PM Recruiting Success Stories in the Wellness Industry. Did all of this recruiting talk come at you quick? Curious about how to intern or work within the wellness industry? FitX will be facilitating a panel discussion and Q&A, with MBA2s who gained experience working or interning within this industry.

 

­ƒæÅ   FitX Feature - Sonja Manning ‘21 WellSet

Q: What is WellSet?

 

WellSet is the first “business in a box” solution for the wellness industry and the first online marketplace to find and book vetted wellness practitioners (think: nutritionists, acupuncturists, functional medicine doctors, doulas and so much more). Their mission (watch this 1 min video!) is to increase access to preventive and complementary healthcare for all. WellSet is a VC-backed pre-seed company and they just launched the marketplace in May (during COVID-19, what a wild time). I encourage you to browse the marketplace and if you have any questions about practitioners - I’d be happy to chat further (I’ve tried a bunch of them - somatic therapy, hypnotherapy, functional medicine etc.). 

Q: What was your focus during your summer internship?

As employee #7 I was fortunate to focus on a little bit of everything. I did have some discrete projects including: creating and implementing their Search Engine Marketing (SEM) strategy, building the data room and helping with investor relations (currently raising seed round), establishing industry partnerships and engaging with founders from companies like Seed, Foria, Sakara, Dame, Allbodies, Thinx (and more!), and doing customer research and discovery in order to build and test growth hacking strategies. I love working on a product that I really believe in and while not every moment was as glamorous as it might sound, I learned that I love the ambiguous, ever-changing, scrappy start-up energy. I believe in the team and the product so much that I’m still working for WellSet part-time (as a shareholder!).

Q: What are you most excited about within the health and wellness industry?

Wellness is on the rise because we need it now more than ever - 50 million americans have at least one autoimmune condition, obesity is on the rise, nearly one in five U.S. adults lives with a mental illness, and COVID-19 has created an unprecedented preventative healthcare crisis. “Health” care often focuses on last minute solutions but I think we are seeing now that the industry and consumers are embracing the full picture of prevention and treatment. I am excited that preventative healthcare is becoming more mainstream due to technology and increasing awareness of the efficacy. 
 

ÔÅ®  Industry Highlights

Echelon ‘Prime Bike’ sells out, Amazon quickly distances itself from ‘EX-Prime Bike’:

Echelon releases new stationary smart connect bike for $499, advertising it as ‘Amazon’s first-ever connected fitness product’. The bike quickly sold out causing Peloton’s stock to drop 6.7%. However, as word spread, Amazon soon distanced itself from the Prime Bike saying that it is not an Amazon product, and removed the bike from its website. A spokesperson for Echelon said that the company is working to rebrand the product and ‘get it back up for sale as soon as possible.’ In the meantime, if you are looking for a Peloton-esque bike, but unwilling to meet the $2K price tag, MYX Fitness, Schwinn and NordicTrack all are competing for your attention.

New data shows the impact of Covid-19 on cycling in major cities:

Major cities all across the US have seen the total volume of cycling trips increase astronomically. These trends mirror Strava data in the UK that state human-powered travel has increased by 162% in 2020, with London seeing an increase of almost 120% from May 2019 to May 2020. Other European cities such as Rome, Bologna, Lisbon, and Paris have added more than 300km of bike lanes collectively. In fact, this upsurge in cycling has created an international bicycle shortage. Will this cycling boom continue in a post-Covid world? Only time will tell, but experts believe that people will crave a more sustainable approach to physical activity - not just exercise.

Is that an outdoor gym that isn’t Muscle Beach?

When you think of an outdoor gym in Los Angeles, you probably envision Muscle Beach in Venice with people clad in neon spandex. Not now. Due to gyms being shut down in Los Angeles since March, they are now forced to utilize the year-round perfect weather to their advantage. See how Equinox built their first ever outdoor gym: Equinox+ In the Wild while Barry’s took over an outdoor parking lot to replicate the same experience outdoors. 

Sephora joins the BLM movement:

Sephora is changing their Accelerate program to focus on POC-founded and owned brands. Accelerate offers a host of resources to U.S.-incorporated, early-stage makeup, skin care, fragrance, wellness, hair and accessory brands. According to Morgan Stanley, a lack of diversity in investment means missing out on a $3 trillion opportunity.
 

­ƒôê  Financial Highlights 

  • Peloton Goes 0 - 100 Real Quick: FitX’s favorite spin brand has cracked $100/share. Just over a year after going public, Peloton has surged to a $30B market cap.

  • Hims, a DTC telehealth startup, is expected to go public with SPAC Oaktree Acquisition Corp. The company is valued at $1.6B

  • Silicon Valley’s most fashionable unicorn, Allbirds, lands $100M in Series E funding. The company is valued at $1.7B

  • The plant-based food market continues to grow with Green Monday Holdings, Meatless Farm, and daring all receiving millions of dollars in funding

  • Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez join the keto bandwagon and invest an undisclosed amount into ketogenic coffee beverage Super Coffee

  • Lululemon revenue rose 2% to $902.9M, and online sales were up 157%. Lulu also expects newly acquired Mirror to do more than $150M in revenue this fiscal year, an increase from estimates of $100M
     

­ƒÆ╗  Job Postings 

Sr.Product Manager, Health @ FitBit

Product Manager, Inclusion @ Peloton

Brand Strategy Manager @ Peloton

Sr. Product Manager, Health & Wellness @ Walmart

Data Insights @ Equinox

Growth Marketing @ ClassPass

 

­ƒÿ£.  FitX Fun Facts

Par For The Coffee Shop: Pro Golfer Phil Mickelson has launched a new coffee brand, Coffee For Wellness, which is infused with antioxidants and sustainably sourced. The coffee is boosted with ingredients like Collagen, MCT Powder, and Theanine. The PGA Golf champion has long been a coffee snob and is passionate about bringing this to market as his 26-year golf career comes to a close.

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