WHOOP: Will Ahmed

Will Ahmed, founder of Whoop, shares his journey of creating a revolutionary wearable health tracker that provides insights into physiological metrics typically accessible only through medical professionals. Despite facing skepticism from investors and competition from giants like Nike and Apple, Ahmed was driven by a vision to help athletes optimize performance by understanding recovery, strain, and sleep. The device gained credibility among elite athletes, including LeBron James and Michael Phelps, thanks to its focus on continuous, non-invasive monitoring. Whoop's eventual pivot to a subscription model, offering the device for free with a monthly fee for data access, proved pivotal in its success.

• Will Ahmed's journey began in college as a squash player, where he identified a gap in understanding how the body recovers and the effects of overtraining.
• His personal experience with overtraining led him to explore how to measure recovery and strain on the body continuously.
• Will Ahmed's goal was to create a wearable device that could track physiological metrics 24/7, providing insights typically only available through medical equipment.

"I'll never forget this investor I met and he had all these reasons for why we should take the technology in a different direction or why we shouldn't build hardware at all. I gave him reasons for why I disagreed with him and he said, you know what? You are gonna fail. You're gonna fail because you don't listen."

• This quote highlights the initial skepticism and challenges faced by Will Ahmed in pursuing his vision for Whoop, emphasizing the importance of perseverance and belief in one's ideas despite external doubts.

• Overtraining occurs when the body is subjected to more strain than it can recover from, leading to decreased performance and symptoms akin to illness.
• Recovery is crucial for athletes to maintain peak performance, and understanding it requires monitoring the body's state outside of training hours.
• Will Ahmed's interest in recovery led him to question how to measure metrics that could indicate overtraining and recovery levels.

"You get to a state where your body's not recovering relative to the amount of strain that you're putting on it or the amount of stress that you're putting on it."

• This quote explains the concept of overtraining as a mismatch between strain and recovery, which is central to the development of Whoop's technology.

• Will Ahmed researched extensively, reading over 500 medical papers to understand how to measure recovery and strain effectively.
• He identified three key technologies for measuring physiological metrics: PSG machines for sleep, electrocardiograms for heart activity, and heart rate monitors.
• His goal was to integrate these technologies into a wearable form factor that could provide continuous, non-invasive monitoring.

"I wanted to deeply understand what was happening inside the body. And I had a real aversion to steps, especially then in the sense that I didn't think that steps answered anything about the strain recovery equation."

• This quote underscores Ahmed's focus on physiological data over basic activity tracking, aiming for deeper insights into the body's internal state.

• Ahmed faced numerous challenges, including skepticism from engineering labs and the need for financial resources to prototype his ideas.
• Despite initial rejections, he remained convinced that wearable technology was the future, drawing parallels to the evolution of computers from desktops to wearables.
• The breakthrough came with the use of photoplasmography, a technique using light to measure heart rate, which was both cost-effective and feasible for continuous monitoring.

"Computers, over the course of my lifetime had gone from being on your desk to on your lap to in your pocket. And inevitably, it seemed to me they were going to become on your body."

• This quote reflects Ahmed's vision of the technological progression towards wearables, reinforcing his belief in the potential of Whoop.

• Ahmed's persistence led to the development of Whoop, a wearable device designed to be worn 24/7, providing insights into recovery, strain, and sleep.
• Whoop differentiated itself from other fitness trackers by focusing on medical-grade physiological data rather than simple activity metrics like steps.
• The device became popular among serious athletes and fitness enthusiasts, establishing itself as a leader in the wearable technology market.

"The biggest thing I was focused on was if you could measure anything, what would you measure? And then the second order question became, is it possible to measure these things the way I want to measure them? Which is continuously and non invasively."

• This quote highlights the core questions that guided the development of Whoop, focusing on the potential for continuous, non-invasive physiological monitoring.

Overall, the journey of Whoop is a testament to the power of innovation, persistence, and the pursuit of a vision despite challenges and skepticism.

• The speaker discusses the transition from being a college student to becoming an entrepreneur, emphasizing the importance of a business plan developed during a class at MIT's business school.
• The business plan, a comprehensive 75-page document, provided credibility when recruiting talented individuals to join the venture.

"I took a class at MIT's business school called New Enterprises, where you go in with an idea and they essentially teach you how to write a business plan. And that business plan became this like, 75 page document that I wound up being quite proud of."

• The business plan was a foundational tool that helped in recruiting and establishing the venture's credibility.

• The original idea focused on creating a product for athletes, with plans to expand to a broader audience and eventually into medicine.
• The company, initially named my Bobo and later Bobo Analytics, was incorporated during the speaker's senior year.
• Despite lacking a technology background, the speaker sought funding from friends and family, facing skepticism and rejection due to the competitive market and personal inexperience.

"The original idea was we were going to start with athletes and then eventually we were going to build a product for everyone and then eventually we'd go into medicine."

• The initial vision was to start with a niche market and gradually expand.

"I went to my parents, my best friends, former bosses that I worked for. And look, I was met with more rejection in a short period of time."

• The speaker encountered significant skepticism and rejection when seeking initial funding.

• Critical team members included John Capralupo, Aurelian Nikolai, and Martin Oberhauser, each bringing unique skills to the venture.
• John Capralupo, a talented mathematician, and Aurelian Nikolai, a skilled mechanical engineer, were instrumental in developing early prototypes.
• Martin Oberhauser, a renowned designer, was recruited for his expertise in data visualization, despite initial resistance.

"John Capitolupo was 19 years old and taking, at the time one of the hardest math classes in the country."

• John Capralupo's mathematical expertise was a key asset for the venture.

"Aurelia Nicolai shows up at the Harvard Innovation Lab and reveals to me all of his 3D printed prototypes."

• Aurelian Nikolai's engineering skills were crucial for prototyping.

"I called him and Martin, in not so many words, said he's already working with a few other companies. Since we're based in the States, it makes it harder."

• Martin Oberhauser was initially reluctant to join but was convinced by the speaker's persistence.

• The team worked out of the Harvard Innovation Lab, creating a rudimentary prototype to validate the concept of wrist-based physiological measurement.
• The prototype, though cumbersome, demonstrated the feasibility of measuring heart rate and heart rate variability.

"The first prototype was a ridiculous looking product. It had to connect to a computer and then it had a long wire that connected to a box."

• The initial prototype was functional but impractical, serving as proof of concept.

• HRV was identified as a critical metric for assessing a person's physiological state, providing insights into recovery, stress, and overall health.
• The ability to measure HRV accurately from a wrist-worn device was a significant breakthrough.

"If you can measure this thing and baseline it to a human, you could understand in any given moment the state of their body."

• HRV measurement was pivotal in understanding and assessing physiological states.

• The venture required significant capital investment, leading to a constant state of fundraising.
• Successive prototypes improved upon the initial design, eventually achieving a wireless version with limited battery life.

"I was in what I would call a perpetual state of fundraising for the first 12 months of the business."

• Continuous fundraising was necessary to support development efforts.

"We got a wireless version of it. Now it had a four hour battery life and it was totally unclear whether it could be manufactured at scale."

• The development of a wireless prototype marked a significant advancement, despite remaining challenges.

• The team utilized college athletes for testing, leveraging diverse body types and conditions to refine the product.
• Challenges included accurately measuring physiological data across different skin tones and motion types.

"The challenge to heart rate monitoring is the darker the skin, the harder it is. The hairier the skin, the harder it is, and the more non periodic motion, the harder it is."

• Accurate data collection required overcoming challenges related to skin tone, motion, and environmental conditions.

"We built an algorithm with the foundation for the hardest conditions."

• The focus on challenging conditions ensured the algorithm's robustness and accuracy.

• Developing wearable technology for athletes involves solving complex problems, such as measuring individuals with tattoos, which can affect sensor readings.
• The complexity of the project increases as more is learned about the intricacies of human physiology and measurement techniques.

"And it was a great example of the more you learn about something, the less you know. I mean, just as you kept going deeper, there were all these things you'd uncover."

• This quote highlights the complexity and challenges faced in developing accurate wearable technology, emphasizing the continuous learning process involved.

• The rise of competitors like Fitbit and Nike's entry into the wearables market created significant pressure and challenges in raising capital and recruiting talent.
• There was skepticism from investors about competing with established brands like Nike, which had significant resources and brand recognition.

"And it made it much harder to raise capital and to recruit employees. And essentially it made it much harder to get people to buy into this story."

• This quote illustrates the difficulties faced in gaining investor confidence and talent acquisition due to the dominance of established competitors.

• The strategic differentiation lay in focusing on measuring physiological metrics rather than just counting steps, which was a limitation of products like the Nike Fuel band.
• The aim was to build a performance brand starting with elite athletes, contrasting with Nike's approach.

"They made a product that all of their best athletes would never use. It was a step counter. It didn't tell you anything about your physiology."

• This quote emphasizes the strategic differentiation by focusing on physiological metrics, which was seen as a missed opportunity by Nike.

• The name "Whoop" was chosen for its energetic and viral quality, originating from a colloquial term used among friends to express excitement.
• Branding played a crucial role in creating a unique identity and connection with users.

"Whoop was a word that in college, all of my friends and I would say to express energy or excitement."

• This quote explains the origin and rationale behind the brand name, highlighting its intended energetic and viral appeal.

• The initial product launch targeted elite athletes, offering in-depth metrics on strain, sleep, and recovery.
• The product was designed without a screen, focusing on accurate data collection and integration with smartphones.

"You would get strain sleep and recovery measurements with a certain level of depth behind each metric."

• This quote outlines the features and target market of the initial product, emphasizing its focus on detailed physiological metrics for athletes.

• The strategy to gain endorsements from top athletes involved reaching out to influential yet less recognized individuals in their circles, such as personal trainers.
• This approach allowed the product to be used by athletes like LeBron James and Michael Phelps without direct endorsement deals.

"The secret to getting to them just to say it was to find people in their lives that had a big influence on them that no one else knew."

• This quote reveals the strategic approach to gaining endorsements by leveraging influential connections within athletes' circles.

• Initial consumer adoption was slow due to high pricing, lack of marketing expertise, and inability to use athlete endorsements in advertising.
• Despite high user engagement, the challenge was converting this into widespread consumer sales.

"We weren't paying athletes, so we didn't technically have the rights to likeness and image."

• This quote highlights the marketing challenges faced due to the inability to use athlete endorsements in promotional activities.

• The realization of engagement success but low sales led to reevaluating the business model and marketing strategy.
• The focus was on understanding and addressing the barriers to consumer adoption and scaling the business.

"We had a big problem, which was that people weren't buying it."

• This quote underscores the critical challenge of converting high engagement into sales, prompting a reevaluation of the business strategy.

• Initially, Whoop's business model was based on a one-time fee for their product.
• The realization that a subscription model could be more effective led to a significant change in strategy.
• The new model included hardware as part of the subscription, emphasizing data, platform access, and coaching.
• This strategic pivot aimed to increase engagement and potentially save the company.

"It took us some time to realize that. That we had the wrong business model. Perhaps we were totally wrong to be selling this as a one-time fee."

• The initial business model was flawed, prompting a reevaluation and strategic shift.

"And I fell in love with that idea and I became convinced that that was going to save the company."

• The subscription model was seen as a crucial change to ensure the company's survival and growth.

• During the early years, Whoop faced competition from major tech and fitness brands like Nike, Apple, and Samsung.
• Being under the radar initially allowed Whoop to refine its product without intense competitive pressure.
• The company was perceived as more of a medical device for professional athletes, which differentiated it from competitors.

"You were kind of lucky that you were under the radar and perceived maybe by those, those other companies as like, oh, well, this is really more of a medical device for professional athletes."

• Being perceived differently allowed Whoop to develop its niche without direct competition from larger brands.

"The worst thing that could have happened to Whoop and would have killed the company, ironically, was selling 100,000 units in 2014, 15, 16, even 17, probably because we weren't ready for that big a number of people to come on and for all the challenges that would come with it."

• Rapid scaling without the necessary infrastructure could have been detrimental to Whoop's early development.

• Whoop faced significant funding challenges, often operating with limited financial runway.
• Despite these challenges, the company avoided down rounds and maintained investor interest.
• The shift to a subscription model, while financially challenging, was seen as essential for long-term success.

"At that point, I had gotten pretty numb to people passing on Whoop, or as it often felt to me, rejecting me."

• Frequent rejections from investors were a common experience, yet the company persisted.

"The irony was that the unlock for the business was going to be moving to a subscription."

• Transitioning to a subscription model was a strategic necessity despite the initial financial strain.

• In 2018, Amazon showed interest in investing in Whoop but ultimately did not proceed.
• Later, Amazon released a product similar to Whoop's, raising concerns about intellectual property.
• Whoop chose not to pursue legal action against Amazon, focusing instead on product development and brand strength.

"They knocked the product off, there's no question."

• Amazon's product closely resembled Whoop's, highlighting challenges with intellectual property.

"We were gonna win in the court of public opinion and with consumers."

• Whoop focused on strengthening its brand and consumer trust rather than engaging in costly legal battles.

• Whoop has built a strong brand with endorsements from high-profile athletes.
• The company focuses on its core mission of enhancing human performance and healthspan.
• Despite being primarily known for a single product, Whoop remains committed to its foundational mission.

"We have an amazing roster of professional athletes that have invested in the company."

• Athlete endorsements and investments have bolstered Whoop's brand credibility.

"I think we'll add products to our portfolio to the extent that they contribute to that core mission, which is to unlock human performance and health span."

• Future product developments will align with the company's mission to improve health and performance.

• The journey of building Whoop involved numerous challenges and near-failures.
• The founder attributes success to resilience, hard work, and a clear vision from the company's inception.
• Staying true to the original vision has been a guiding principle for Whoop's growth and success.

"I think there's certainly a resilience that the company's had or I've had over the last 13 years."

• Resilience has been a key factor in overcoming challenges and sustaining the company.

"In some ways I'm still trying to fulfill the vision that I had as a 21-year-old."

• The founder's original vision continues to drive Whoop's mission and objectives.