The Deal with Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly How Whoop’s Will Ahmed Built a $3.6B Business Tracking Fitness
Jul 10, 2025
Will Ahmed, the visionary Founder and CEO of Whoop, revolutionized fitness tracking by developing his idea as a Harvard athlete. He shares the story behind how he convinced sports legends like Michael Phelps and LeBron James to adopt his technology. Ahmed discusses the unique challenges of competing against giants like Nike and Apple and sheds light on the transformative shift from hardware sales to a subscription-based model that fueled Whoop's growth to a $3.6B valuation. His journey emphasizes innovation, resilience, and the future of athlete performance.
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Origin of Whoop
- Will Ahmed started Whoop as a 22-year-old Harvard athlete intrigued by overtraining and measuring the human body.
- He read 500 medical papers before founding the company in 2012 with help from Harvard and MIT experts.
Early Wearable Tech Challenges
- Early on, wearable tech was less obvious and faced big technology risks to miniaturize medical-grade gear.
- Will had to prove accuracy while competing against giants like Apple, Nike, and Amazon entering the market.
Leveraging Personal Trainers
- Will targeted personal trainers to reach superstar athletes like LeBron James and Michael Phelps.
- Gaining trainers' trust helped get elite athletes to adopt Whoop early despite its unknown status.