Fitt Insider

Today I’m joined by Eric Min, co-founder and CEO of Zwift — a fitness company born out of gaming where users ride and run in virtual worlds.    In this episode, Eric shares the key insights that led him to start Zwift. We discuss the company’s plan to launch a smart bike and other connected equipment, including a rower. And Eric explains why Zwift hopes to make virtual cycling an Olympic sport.    More from Eric    Eric Min is the Zwift CEO and Co-Founder at Zwift, the online fitness company born from gaming.   Launched in 2014, Zwift has grown to see over 3.4 million accounts registered with the platform. The company achieved Unicorn Status in 2020, following a $450M funding round, led by KKR. Utilizing massively multiplayer online (MMO) gaming technology, Zwift brings the outdoor experience indoors blending mass participation events, competition and social connections in immersive 3D environments, ripe for exploration.   Working in partnership with the World Cycling Governing Body (the UCI), Zwift hosted the first UCI Cycling Esports World Championships in 2020. In the same year, Zwift also hosted the first Virtual Tour de France in July for both men and women.   In collaboration with the UCI, Zwift will be one of the five sports – alongside rowing, baseball-softball, sailing and motor sport – on the programme of the inaugural edition of the Olympic Virtual Series, a new virtual event launched by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).   More from Fitt Insider   Fitt Insider is a newsletter and podcast on the business of fitness and wellness. Join industry-leading operators and investors by subscribing: http://insider.fitt.co

Today I’m joined by Saeju Jeong, the co-founder and CEO of Noom — a psychology-based digital health platform.    In this episode, we discuss Noom’s 14-year history. Saeju shares his journey, from South Korea to founding and scaling a digital health startup. We explore the product’s many iterations, including fitness, healthcare, and weight management. And Saeju explains why he is so passionate about helping people live healthier lives.    More from Saeju   Born in South Korea to a family of doctors, Saeju has always had an intense desire to help people. From an early age, he knew his life’s work would be dedicated to improving the wellbeing of as many people as possible. It was after the death of his father at a young age that Saeju became more motivated than ever to truly change lives for the better and use his entrepreneurial spirit (Saeju founded South Korea’s first-ever heavy metal record label) to make an impact. After dropping out of college and moving to the US, Saeju met his co-founder Artem Petakov who shared his vision of helping people live healthier lives and convinced him to leave Google to develop Noom. As CEO, Saeju is responsible for setting the strategic vision for Noom and has led the company through several years of tremendous growth, helping millions of people improve their lifestyles and health. In 2020, Saeju was named EY Entrepreneur of the Year.   More from Fitt Insider   Fitt Insider is a newsletter and podcast on the business of fitness and wellness. Join industry-leading operators and investors by subscribing: http://insider.fitt.co

Today I’m joined by Jason Karp, Founder and CEO of HumanCo — a holding company of health and wellness brands.    In this episode, we talk about Jason’s experience starting Hu, a healthy snack brand, and selling the company to Mondelez. Jason shares his vision for HumanCo, which includes investing in, incubating, and acquiring brands. And we discuss HumanCo Acquisition Corp, a $250M SPAC led by Jason and CAVU Venture Partners.    More from Jason   Jason H. Karp is Founder and CEO of HumanCo – a mission-driven holding company that invests in and builds brands focused on healthier living and sustainability. Recently, Jason also co-founded HumanCo Acquisition Corp. – a $300m SPAC focused on Health & Wellness where he serves as Executive Chairman. In addition to HumanCo, Jason is also Chairman and Co-Founder of Hu (as in Human), one of the fastest-growing snacking companies in the U.S. Hu was recently sold to Mondelez International in January 2021. Prior to HumanCo, Jason spent over 20 years in the hedge fund industry. He was the Founder, CEO and CIO of Tourbillon Capital Partners, an investment fund that managed over $4 billion, and prior to that, worked at 3 multi-billion dollar funds at the partner level. Jason has a B.S. in Economics, summa cum laude, from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where he also was an Academic All-American and All-Ivy in Varsity Squash.   More from Fitt Insider   Fitt Insider is a newsletter and podcast on the business of fitness and wellness. Join industry-leading operators and investors by subscribing: http://insider.fitt.co

Today I’m joined Jacob Rothman, co-founder and CEO of Perch.    Perch is a velocity-based training system that uses 3D cameras to quantify and improve performance.    In this episode, we talk about using technology to improve strength training. The idea of trickle-down health — where a company initially targets elite athletes before broadening its customer base. And how Jacob thinks about the role of content, community, competition, and data in the future of strength training.    More from Jacob   Jacob is the Co-founder and CEO of Perch. Originally from Charlotte, NC, Jacob attended MIT where he studied Mechanical Engineering and played baseball. After graduating in 2016, he attended grad school at MIT for one year before dropping out to work on Perch full time. Perch uses small and mobile cameras to monitor and manage athlete performance and activity in the weight room. Perch currently helps elite athletic organizations, such as the LSU Tigers and the NY Giants, get the most out of their work in the weight room, while working towards enabling a safer, more efficient, and more connected fitness experience for everyone.     Jacob has previous work experience at Apple, Oculus VR, and various MIT labs. He currently resides in Boston, MA.   More from Fitt Insider   Fitt Insider is a newsletter and podcast on the business of fitness and wellness.   Join industry-leading operators and investors by subscribing: http://insider.fitt.co

Today I’m joined by Greg Caplan. Greg is the co-founder and CEO of Spot Meetings — a platform for walking meetings.    In this episode, Greg explains how his personal experience with remote work led him to start the company. We look at what goes into designing a meeting platform for walking. We discuss the health and productivity benefits of simply walking more. And Greg talks about launching Spot’s beta and amassing a waitlist of 5K people.    A quick disclosure, we are excited to be investors in Spot — supporting the company on its mission to help people escape Zoom fatigue and be more physically active.   More from Greg   Greg Caplan is the co-founder of Spot Meetings, a platform for walking meetings. Previously, he co-founded Remote Year, the original remote work and travel community.    Visit: www.meetwithspot.com   More from Fitt Insider   Fitt Insider is a newsletter and podcast on the business of fitness and wellness. Join industry-leading operators and investors by subscribing: http://insider.fitt.co

Today I’m joined by Jeff Morin — CEO of Liteboxer, an interactive at-home boxing experience.    In this episode, we talk about Jeff’s background in building hardware products, why Liteboxer was four years in the making, how the company’s gaming-inspired platform makes people want to work out, and the potential for mixed reality to disrupt the fitness industry.    More from Jeff   Jeff Morin is an MIT-educated engineer and certified personal trainer with an eye for both physical and technological performance. Prior to founding Liteboxer, Jeff operated as Manufacturing Lead at Formlabs then DEKA, overseeing manufacturing management, supply chain, and procurement for next-gen product development.   More from Fitt Insider    Fitt Insider is a newsletter and podcast dedicated to the business of fitness and wellness.    Join industry-leading operators and investors by subscribing: http://insider.fitt.co

Today I’m joined by Robin Thurston, CEO of Outside.    Outside, or Pocket Outdoor Media, as it was formerly known, is a platform for active lifestyle content and experiences.    In this episode, we talk about the acquisitions, rebrand, and $150M funding round that helped turn Pocket into Outside. Robin shares his vision for a recurring revenue bundle across all aspects of an active lifestyle. And we discuss the challenges and opportunities brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.    More from Robin   Robin Thurston is the CEO of Outside, the world’s leading creator of active lifestyle content and experiences. Formerly known as Pocket Outdoor Media, Robin acquired Outside along with other companies such as OutsideTV, Gaia GPS, AthleteReg and Peloton Magazine in February of 2021. Across web, print, podcast, social, video, and TV, the brand engages with over 70 million of the most active and influential consumers in the world every month. Under his leadership, Outside is reinventing how athletes consume content, participate and engage, increase knowledge, find gear, and ultimately perform in their sport.   Before joining Outside, he ran a consumer genetics company called Helix in Silicon Valley before returning to his home state of Colorado.  Prior to Helix, Robin co-founded and built MapMyFitness into one of the world’s largest open fitness tracking platforms. Following the acquisition of MapMyFitness by Under Armour, he joined the innovative sports apparel organization and served as Chief Digital Officer, where he led the overall strategic direction of the company’s Connected Fitness and eCommerce business.     Robin spent the first ten years of his career building a mutual fund classification and ratings platform at Lipper (a Thomson Reuters Company), as well as a risk and compensation platform at both American Century Investments and Wellington Management. He graduated with a MS in Finance from University of Colorado at Denver and lives with his wife and three children in Boulder, Co. He is a lifelong cyclist who started riding and racing in the early 1980’s.

Today I’m joined by Alexa Meyer.    Alexa is the co-founder and CEO of Coa — a mental health and emotional fitness company offering therapist-led classes.    In this episode, we talk about Coa’s mission to become the Nike of mental health. Why we should treat mental fitness like going to the gym. How in-person, community-focused classes help to destigmatize the idea of going to therapy. And why professional basketball player Kevin Love invested in the company.    More from Alexa   Alexa is the Co-Founder & CEO of Coa. After trying to take care of her own mental wellbeing, she was frustrated with the lack of options and asked: “Why isn’t there a gym for mental health?” This sent her on a mission to make emotional fitness as inviting and community-based as physical fitness. She started the first "Mental Health Pop-Up" and helped hundreds of people across the country try therapy. She continues this mission at Coa where she uses her background in start-ups, product, and branding to change how the world thinks about emotional wellbeing. Prior to Coa, Alexa was a VP at a fast-paced tech startup, worked at the world’s largest brand strategy firm, Interbrand, and studied psychology and consumer behavior in Canada (her home country!).   More from Fitt Insider    Fitt Insider is a newsletter and podcast dedicated to the business of fitness and wellness.  Join industry-leading operators and investors by subscribing: http://insider.fitt.co

Today I’m joined by Jon Carder.    Jon is the co-founder and CEO of Vessel — an at-home diagnostics company helping users optimize their health.   In this episode, we talk about using blood and urine tests to measure biomarkers. How Vessel sold 100K test kits as part of its pre-order campaign. Jon shares his plan to launch a connected, health-tracking toilet. And we discuss the company’s mission to put a diagnostic lab in the palm of every hand.    More from Jon   Jon Carder is a serial Internet entrepreneur. After starting his first company, eHeaven.com, at the age of just 19 (which led to a short-lived early retirement at 27), his determination to build and innovate drove him to launch a series of multi-million-dollar online businesses: ClientShop.com, MojoPages.com, Mogl.com, and Empyr.com. Today, Carder serves as CEO and co-founder of Vessel, an in-home wellness tracking company that instantly and accurately uncovers what your body really needs.   More from Fitt Insider    Fitt Insider is a newsletter and podcast dedicated to the business of fitness and wellness.    Join industry-leading operators and investors by subscribing: http://insider.fitt.co

Today I’m joined by Jeff Byers.    Jeff is the CEO of Amp Human — a human performance company helping athletes unlock their potential.   In this episode, we talk about Amp’s evolution from a single product into a platform. Jeff’s plan to build a system around human performance. How the company gained traction in the Tour de France, NFL, and United States military.    More from Jeff   Jeff Byers is the co-founder and CEO of Amp Human-- a human performance company and venture-backed startup based in Park City, Utah.  They work with the world's best athletes and teams, including Super Bowl and Stanley Cup Champions, and Tour de France winners. In addition, Amp Human has assembled one of the best scientific advisory boards in the industry to help push innovation and research forward.  Their flagship product, PR Lotion, gives the body more bicarb (a natural electrolyte) to neutralize lactic acid in muscles which allows athletes to push harder, feel better, and go longer.   Prior to starting Amp Human, Jeff was an early member of a biotech company for 3 years, which inspired him to build Amp Human. At the biotech he and his co-founder saw an opportunity within the biotech to leverage its technology outside of medicine and in the human performance space and establish themselves at the forefront of human performance.   Before his business career, Jeff attended the University of Southern California, where he was a 2-time captain and a multiple year starter for their championship football team. While playing he graduated with his undergraduate degree in 3 years and proceeded to earn his masters in business administration before entering the NFL.  He had a 4 year career in the NFL, mostly for the Carolina Panthers, serving as a backup but also starting a handful of games