In this episode of "20 Minutes VC," host Harry Stebbings interviews Headspace CEO Sean Brecker, discussing the growth of LA's tech ecosystem and the success of Headspace, a meditation app with 8 million downloads and significant investments from figures like Jim Breyer, Jeff Weiner, and celebrities such as Jared Leto and Jessica Alba. Brecker shares his transition from banking to the startup world, emphasizing the importance of Headspace's mission to improve global health and happiness through meditation, and how the app fosters user engagement and habit formation. The episode also touches on the broader health and wellness app market, Headspace's content creation process, and strategies to convert users from free to paid services. Additionally, the show highlights We Are LA Tech as a valuable resource for the LA startup community.
"Now today I'm thrilled to bring you part two of our special double on LA's tech ecosystem this week. And as it's founders Friday, I had my pick of LA founders to choose, but there was one I was particularly drawn to for longterm listeners of the show."
"Sean is essentially the driving force behind all financial and commercial matters at Headspace as it continues to expand the product, which has been downloaded a whopping 8 million times."
The quotes emphasize the focus on Los Angeles' tech scene and the significance of Headspace within that context, as well as the CEO's role in the company's growth and development.
"We are LA tech is the number one resource uniting the LA startup community, offering a unique combination of curated offline experiences, the number one LA tech podcast called we are LA Tech and the only mobile app that keeps you in the know with a full calendar of events."
This quote highlights the resources and services offered by We Are LA Tech to connect and support the startup community in Los Angeles.
"They're the makers of the perfect mattress that will allow you to have that perfect sleep and recharge those batteries with three-layer technology and next-generation memory foam."
The quote describes the benefits of the Eve Mattress, emphasizing its quality and the assurance provided to customers through the trial period.
"Well, it's a question I get asked a lot by my former colleagues in banking, and I wish that I had a very sophisticated answer for you, but the truth is it was primarily dumb luck."
The quote provides insight into Sean Brecker's unexpected career shift from banking to the tech industry, emphasizing the role of chance in this change.
"Yeah, it's a great question. And I was one of those people that viewed it as a sort of hippie like thing."
This quote reflects the challenge Headspace faces in changing perceptions about meditation and how the company approaches new user onboarding with an educational focus.
"And the great thing is, the science is very robust on this. There have been, to date, over 2000 studies by researchers, and these are very serious studies, peer reviewed on the benefits of meditation."
This quote emphasizes the scientific backing of meditation's benefits, highlighting the extensive research that supports its efficacy.
"What we want to do is really affect a sort of cultural movement in which people think about proactive mind health in the same way that they think about proactive physical health."
This quote illustrates the broader mission to normalize proactive mental health care, similar to how physical health is prioritized, which is central to the company's user engagement strategy.
"With regards to the guided meditation content, there is only one former monk who really is a genuine expert."
This quote provides insight into the unique expertise behind the guided meditation content, highlighting the authentic experience provided to users.
"So 100 minutes, ten days times ten minutes, 100 minutes of free content really is a very solid meditation foundation."
This quote explains the rationale behind the Take Ten approach, emphasizing its structure to provide a substantial introduction to meditation practice.
"People are not going to convert paying users if we have not given them a good product experience in the free part of the app."
This quote underlines the importance of a positive user experience with the free content as a prerequisite for converting users to the paid version of the app.
Yeah, we're always sort of experimenting with this, right? I think we will always, whatever is free will always be a solid foundation. I think that's sort of the guiding principle in terms of how do we get people to convert to paid.
This quote explains that Headspace continuously experiments with the balance between free and paid content, with free content serving as a fundamental part of their strategy to encourage paid conversions.
I don't think people are tiring of it, but we always ask ourselves the question, is that the best experience for everyone as they come into the product.
Sean Brecker suggests that while the current format is not yet tiring for users, Headspace is always evaluating if it's the most effective way to introduce new users to the product.
We talk about vitamin users and aspirin users. The vitamin users are the ones that are in a routine that are doing this as a sort of preventative measure to keep themselves healthy and happy.
Sean Brecker describes the two main types of Headspace users, highlighting the company's understanding of consumer behavior and their goal of promoting routine use of the app for mental well-being.
At the end of the day, what we are doing is we're trying to compete for people's time.
Sean Brecker clarifies that Headspace's real competition is for users' time and attention, aiming to shift it from less beneficial activities to mental health investment.
For us. The reason that we did that was we felt like they were incredibly savvy around how to build media products, and we do view ourselves as a media company, but they also really understand the blocking and tackling, sort of nuts and bolts hygiene of growing businesses and organizational design and strategy.
Sean Brecker explains the rationale behind selecting the Churnin Group as their lead investor, emphasizing their media expertise and strategic business acumen.
"across our cap table, our investors are big fans of the product and have, there's been a sort of profound impact on their lives that has occurred because of their use of the product."
This quote highlights the personal connection and positive impact the product has had on the lives of its investors, which goes beyond their financial stake.
"So business is, Ben Horowitz is the hard thing about hard things... Non business, I would say a man in full by Tom Wolf..."
The quote lists Sean Brecker's favorite business and non-business books, providing insight into the kind of literature that influences him both professionally and personally.
"Well, I think it's really around trying to attach it to a routine... For me, I try and do it in the mornings... We have a very sort of encouraging of doing meditation... Team meets at 10:00 a.m.. And 03:00 p.m. Every day."
The quote provides personal insights into how Sean Brecker incorporates meditation into his daily routine and encourages it within his company culture.
"Oh, so many. But I'd say the ones that I read every day are the information and recode... I love reading. Whenever they put stuff out, Bill Gurley obviously just puts something read, you know, whatever he puts out, whenever he puts it out."
This quote identifies the blogs and newsletters Sean Brecker prioritizes in his daily reading, which helps him stay informed about the industry.
"Yeah, I mean, I think the most gratifying thing is just the impact that we're having on people's lives... And I also get to work with incredible people, and it's been a great experience."
The quote reflects the satisfaction Sean Brecker gets from the positive feedback from users and the rewarding experience of working with his team.
"Time management. You'll probably hear this from many ceos... Hiring is a given... But time management is very difficult and is perhaps more specific to sort of people in my role."
The quote highlights the particular difficulties faced by CEOs in managing their time effectively, amidst the ongoing challenge of recruiting talent.
"Yeah, well, I think people view us fairly as a meditation app, but we think that to really focus on health and happiness, it's about more than meditation... And I hope that I'm still here in five years."
The quote outlines the long-term vision for Headspace, indicating a commitment to expanding its scope and Sean Brecker's personal desire to remain involved in this journey.
"A huge hand to Sean for giving up the time today to be on the show and so amazing to hear his journey with headspace... Wow, what an amazing LA feature week it has been... Remember Eve, make that one perfect mattress."
This quote concludes the podcast episode, showing appreciation for the guest's contribution and promoting other recommended products and resources.