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Thursday, January 23, 2014
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The gym is being disrupted from all angles, from workout gear, the quantified self to even how we workout at home. Fitmob is launching today with a new way to create workout, and redefine what the gym is in the digital age.


Founded by Snapfish CEO and Mayfield VC Raj Kapoor and Ness Computing co-founder and former Palantir Engineer Paul Twohey, fitmob is placing its bets on connecting people through local, indoor and outdoor group workouts with high-quality trainers. With San Francisco as the first market, fitmob is announcing $9.75 million in equity and debt funding from Mayfield Fund, Silicon Valley Bank, and angel investors.


Via the fitmob mobile app or website, you can find local workouts in a park or indoor facility near you, sign up, enter your credit card info and attend the class. For now, fitmob will offer 30 workouts per week in San Francisco at the Brannan Street Wharf in SOMA, at fitmob’s HQ on 5th Street and in Dolores Park, focusing on strength, cardio and yoga fusion. Workouts are open to the public with the first week free for new members. We’re told fitmob will continue to expand to new neighborhoods and cities over the next year.


Fitmob’s drop-in workouts start at $15, and the more you use fitmob every week, the less you pay per workout. So participants who come twice a week pay $10 per workout, and those who come three or more times a week pay only $5 per workout.


On the trainer side, fitmob certifies trainers, and allows them to create their own workouts according to their skills. Signature workout experiences on fitmob include Weapons of Ass Reduction, Sweat Soiree, Twerkout Conditioning and Guru Gone Wild. The company also says that Tony Horton, the celebrity fitness trainer behind the boot camp style P90X workouts, is a co-creator behind the company’s concept.


Personally, I’m a big fan of hacking the workout, and finding alternative ways to get exercise in. The appeal of fitmob is being trained nearby in a group setting by professional trainers and also being able to meet people who share your fitness interests. Eventually it would make sense to see fitmob expand into workouts around smaller, vertically-focused groups such as new moms, marathon enthusiasts and more. The startup has even carefully hired trainers who not only can provide quality workouts but entertain the group as well.


In the video above, you can hear Kapoor talk about why he went back into the operational world from VC and how he sees fitmob evolving in the future.







9:08 AM

The gym is being disrupted from all angles, from workout gear , the quantified self to even how we workout at home . Fitmob is launching ...

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As you recall, I’ve been writing off and on about my experience crowdfunding a kids’ book. I’ve run the campaign for 45 days and there are now less than two days left. I raised a lot of money. I’m very happy. But now what?


Now I’m honestly scared. I’ve begun a solid developmental edit with a skilled editor with experience in children’s books. She’s going through it with a fine-tooth comb, bringing out phrasing that might be a little too complex for the intended audience. She’s also doing some of the stuff I should have been doing earlier, like figuring out tabs and curly quotes. It doesn’t seem like a big deal when writing, but the little things add up.


Before the campaign closes I wanted to look at some of the numbers I saw and what sorts of correlations I was able to draw. I would note that these stats are current but their value can be limited in terms of finding one-to-one correlations between actions I took and the reactions on the site. First, let’s look at traffic sources.


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As you can see here, email works. I sent out lots of email. I hated myself for it. But it works. If you don’t have a large list and a solid mailing-list provider, you’re probably sunk. That said, we need to remember that I wrote a kids’ book. I’m not working on a pocket drone or body tracking smartwatch. The email list consisted of people I know and who submitted their email to my Mailchimp account or other email gathering systems I’ve had over the years. These leads, as they say, are gold.


The third and fourth most valuable generators were Facebook and then Twitter. But look at those contributions numbers: 46 for Facebook and half that for Twitter. It’s embarrassing. I even “boosted” my posts on Facebook for a bit more visibility but the best I got out of social media was more social media mentions. It’s a spiral that is surprisingly frustrating. Social media encourages people to click, not buy. Again, your results may vary but I would discount social media as a sales driver and instead treat it as a way to generate buzz or goodwill.


This stat is far less interesting, but obviously, English-speakers tended to like my campaign more than anyone else. Turkey is an outlier because someone there bought a dinner with me which was one of the perks. I don’t know how we’re going to meet, but that’s what I promised.


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Next up is visits over time. This was an interesting graph because it correlated almost directly to my mass mailing efforts. Other spikes came when Indiegogo put my campaign in their newsletter and on their front page, which was surprising. Indiegogo itself drove quite a bit of traffic although not a lot of it actively converted. I was pleased to see it, though, and it shows the platform cares about the projects. Now for the money:


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As you can see, there is a vague correlation between traffic and cash accrued. In short I made $1.50 a visit, give or take, which is pretty good. This was skewed by some large pledges that blew me past some of the marks but it’s still an interesting statistic.


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Finally we have this massive mentions graphic that you can click to embiggen. It sort of says it all about how silly the dependence on social media is at this point for these sorts of projects. While I won’t say that I’m the biggest thing on Twitter, even some wonderful tweets from wonderful friends were like fireworks in the dark – a huge blast of interest that petered out quickly. Again, this is not to say that social media is a poor way to fundraise, but it can’t be the only way.


What else did I do to drive traffic? I fiddled with the pricing, knocking e-copies down to $3 for 24 hours. I also tried to update with a final video and regular messages to backers. One piece of advice I got was to hit up previous backers for more money, something I couldn’t bring myself to do. I could, however, definitely see them being put into my mailing list for the next two books.


Will I crowdfund again? Probably. I love the experience and I love contacting people I’ve been out of touch with and, for lack of a better word, hitting them up for money. However, in the interim I’ve reconnected with old friends, met some amazing readers, and will get to have dinner with Kerem Ozkan and Nick Saltarelli, two of the folks who were kindest to the project. I’m going to talk about finding printers and editors in the next installment of the The Mytro Project and until then I want to thank you for keeping up with the project. I know it’s a little self-serving to talk up my own project on TC, but I hope that some of the data is helpful to others working on similar projects down the line.







8:53 AM

As you recall, I’ve been writing off and on about my experience crowdfunding a kids’ book . I’ve run the campaign for 45 days and there are ...

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StackSocial, a startup offering deals on and early access to gadgets, apps, and other tech-related products, is making its move onto mobile with the launch of its iPhone app.


The company runs its own direct-to-consumer e-commerce site, but it also partners with publishers like Gizmodo, CNET, and AOL (which owns TechCrunch) to integrate commerce onto their properties. And while it isn’t releasing exact revenue numbers, it says that revenue grew 250 percent over the past year to “an eight-figure annualized run-rate”. It also says its publisher network reaches 50 million visitors each month, and that the top publishers in the network saw seven-figure sales in 2013.


The app, meanwhile, offers a similar experience on the iPhone as the consumer site. I was surprised that it took the startup, which was founded in 2011, more than two years to launch its first smartphone app, particularly given its focus on reaching “tech early adopters.” Mikey Lee, a content strategist at the company (and someone I worked with a million years ago at The Stanford Daily), told me that StackSocial had been largely focused on developing its publisher platform and bringing on more partners.


“In 2013, we saw a very organic rise in our user numbers and revenue to the StackSocial.com marketplace, and as a result, we decided to hone in on how we could address the needs of those users,” he said. “Mobile became a clear priority, as we saw mobile traffic doubling as an overall [percentage] of traffic to 1/3 of all traffic.”


In the app press release, founder and CEO Josh Payne says iPad and Android apps are coming this year as well.


This seems to be one of those “launches” where the company releases the app on the App Store a little ahead of time, but it wasn’t publicizing the release until now. Anyway, you can download the StackSocial app here.







8:39 AM

StackSocial , a startup offering deals on and early access to gadgets, apps, and other tech-related products , is making its move onto mobil...

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zipi

The Zipi is a Kickstarter project that appears humble and almost silly on the surface, but that actually solves one of the biggest problems I have with day-to-day use of earbud headphones. I use earbuds whenever I leave the house, because exposing yourself to the noise of streets and other human beings going about their business is unconscionable, but getting them out of the way when you want to interact with people is a pain.


To solve this, the Zipi adds an around-the-neck strap to any existing pair of earbuds, with a simple magnetic clip-on design. It connects via magnets at the back of your neck, separates easily enough when you want to remove them entirely, and prevents your earbuds from just falling to the ground when you take them out of your ears.


Ordinarily when I remove earbuds on the go, I awkwardly throw them over one shoulder or roll them up and stuff them in a pocket. In scenario one, they almost always sneak off my shoulders and find their way to the floor where I step on them. In scenario two, getting them off and then putting them back on again amounts to a full-scale production, which is extremely annoying if you also happen to be carrying any bags or coffee or whatever.


I can still foresee potential issues with coat collars and other jazz with the Zipi, but it looks favorable when compared with the terrible, unending nightmare that is my current state of earbud cord management. Plus they’re only $6 per unit at the introductory early backer price, and they don’t seem to require any kind of advanced engineering that could cause innumerable shipping delays.


Project creator Frank Cho has a Master’s degree from MIT in AI, as well as a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in computer graphics, so he’s clearly got a good head on his shoulders. He makes no secret about the fact that the Zipi is his first foray into product design, but he has a realistic timeframe for delivery of early September and a fully functional prototype already built, so here’s hoping the Zipi meets its modest $6,000 funding goal.







7:54 AM

The Zipi is a Kickstarter project that appears humble and almost silly on the surface, but that actually solves one of the biggest problem...

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I know you.


You’re lucky enough to have found the love of your life — and somehow, you’ve convinced her (/him) to love you back. For years and years, even!


You want to take them on the finest adventures. Symphonies. Speed boats. Friggin’ magic-carpet, whole-new-world kind of stuff.


But you’re also busy. When you’re not with them, you’re working (or, occasionally, sleeping.) You’re a hopeless romantic with hopelessly little time.


I know you, for you are me.


Delightful is a service built for couples to make date night easier. Delightful stealthily debuted into Beta at the end of 2013, launching as one of the first products out of OkCupid Labs (which itself is a part of IAC, the same company that owns Vimeo, Ask, Dictionary.com, CollegeHumor, UrbanSpoon, Tinder, and a zillion other mega brands that most people have no idea are related.)


This morning, the company is leaving Beta and launching their iOS app. Delightful is only available in SF at the moment, though some of the dates branch out to the East/South Bay Area.


You pick a date idea from their library, and Delightful gets everything ready. They’ll make the reservations, they’ll make sure everyone involved knows its a special night, and they’ll try to custom tailor the evening any way they can. (In one couple’s night out at the symphony, for example, Delightful made sure that glasses of champagne were waiting just outside of the theater at intermission so the couple didn’t have to wait in the drink line.) When you’re out on the town, you’ve got e-mail/phone/text access to an on-call concierge in case you need something in a pinch.


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Alternatively, you can “Build A Date”. You punch in the details on when you’re free and what you’re up for (Dinner and Drinks? Something educational? Something artsy? All of the above?), any custom requests (Vegetarian-friendly restaurants only? Need a taxi pre-scheduled to arrive at your place?), and their “date concierge” will work out the details.


In some cases, Delightful is able to offer up discounts. Businesses see it as a way to get a regular stream of customers who will (at least theoretically) have a particularly good experience, so they might drop the price a bit. But discounts aren’t the focus, co-founder Brian Luerssen says. “This isn’t a Groupon,” he tells me. “We don’t want people to have to print out a voucher, or bring in a coupon. They’re on a date. We want to help them focus on that. We’ll make sure the place knows you’re coming.” When Delightful can’t get a discount, they can often get something thrown in — a couple glasses of wine, VIP entrance, or a behind-the-scenes tour — to sweeten the deal.


Some examples of the sort of dates currently on the site:



  • Three-hour glassblowing class for two, plus complimentary flowers, for $180 (When I checked the glassblowing studio’s site, a pair of tickets was around $190)

  • A reservation at San Francisco’s E&O, two movie tickets, and two glasses of champagne — currently free for members.

  • Three-hour two of a bunch of Oakland restaurants, complete with tour guide and food at each stop, for $150

  • A pre-packed picnic basket, blanket and all, delivered to an SF park of your choice for $45.

  • A tour for two of the Kink.com (heads up: that’s not a link because it’s waaaay NSFW) armory/porn studio, followed by a round of drinks, for $25 (Yelp says this tour for two usually costs $50, or $35 if you find a promo)


So how do they make money? At its core, Delightful is a subscription service. After the first 30 days, membership costs $12 a month — though around half of the dates seem to be available sans-membership, albeit at a slightly higher rate. They also make a bit of money from each date, though the margin varies from date to date. With the above pre-packed picnic, for example, the margins are pretty solid because they provide everything; with the restaurant dates, they take a smaller (or no) percentage.


“Dumb!”, someone shouts from the crowd. “Just plan your own dates, lazy!”


And they’re not wrong! At least, not in an ideal world.


But sometimes, people who spend 10 hours a day working want to have a nice date without sweating the details. Sometimes, couples who’ve been together for years and feel they’ve tapped out all of their fresh ideas (and all of Google’s results for “Fun things to do around San Francisco”) could use a hand coming up with something special. And sometimes, people are just plain uncreative. At $12 a month (about what you’d pay for the tip on a decent meal for two) with the added bonus of occasional discounts and “VIP” add-ons, the price isn’t crazy.


With that said, this certainly seems a bit tough to scale. They’ve got the OKCupid ties, so they’ve got a pretty massive audience to pitch these dates to. The more they succeed, though, the more “concierges” they’ll need, and the more businesses they’ll need to get on board — which, presumably, means a bigger sales team. And, of course, some will appreciate this concept more than others — perhaps more than the other person in a relationship. Does a special night become less special when you paid someone else to plan it?


SF residents can sign up for Delightful now, or you can find their new iOS app right over here.







7:13 AM

I know you. You’re lucky enough to have found the love of your life — and somehow, you’ve convinced her (/him) to love you back. For years a...

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Sensorberg

Hardware startup Sensorberg just raised $1 million (€750,000) from Technologie Holding GmbH and undisclosed angel investors. Part of the Microsoft Ventures Accelerator in Berlin, Sensorberg is one of the most promising iBeacon startups in Europe. As a reminder, iBeacon is an indoor positioning system developed by Apple to trigger and send relevant information to your smartphone when you are walking inside a shop.


As a retailer, you first have to buy a few Sensorberg Beacon sensors and place them in your store — for $120 (€89), you get 3 sensors. Then, you’ll be able to take advantage of the SDK and dashboard to implement campaigns or location features for your app.


Estimote is a serious competitor in this space. It has been chosen for Best Hardware Startup at TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2013 and recently raised a $3.1 million seed round.


Beacons work on Bluetooth Low Energy to detect when a customer’s phone is close to a sensor. Sensorberg promises a 10-month battery and a 30 meter range for its devices.


While the devices are pretty similar, the two startups will probably differentiate themselves through their respective SDKs and sales teams. In fact, Estimote beacon sensors work with Sensorberg’s SDK. It is probably too early to tell which company provides the best implementation of iBeacon.


But there are many potential real world use cases, and this is what makes iBeacon interesting. For example, when you enter a clothing shop, you can receive a push notification with all the latest promos. When you enter a coffee shop, you could get the brew of the week on your phone. Or a shopping mall could display a map to help you find the right store. It could power a new payment system as well, essentially a Square Wallet on steroids.


The hard part is to convince big retail chains to use iBeacon. These customers have the potential to develop a good mobile app, get a large user base and integrate iBeacon features. In the U.S., Macy’s is experimenting with iBeacon. Apple will take advantage of its technology as well.


But for now, it remains a novelty. It can go either way and become a massive retail technology or end up like QR codes. Remember QR codes?







7:13 AM

Hardware startup Sensorberg just raised $1 million (€750,000) from Technologie Holding GmbH and undisclosed angel investors. Part of the Mi...

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When you think of online and mobile real estate sites, Zillow and Redfin are probably the first names that come to mind. Seattle-based Estately, however, has been quietly growing in the shadow of these larger companies, and the 17-person company doubled both its revenue and site traffic in 2013. Now, it hopes to continue to build on this momentum with the release of its first mobile app.


Estately for iPhone, which is launching today, is a pretty late entrant to the mobile real estate game. Zillow, Redfin, Trulia and others have long offered mobile apps. As Estately CEO and co-founder Galen Ward told me earlier this week, the company’s focus has long been on running a very lean startup, and the team didn’t want to divert resources away from its efforts on the web. Ward also argues that waiting for iOS 7 allowed his company to more easily build the kind of native app the team wanted to build.


map_bubble_save_patternEstately expanded to 30 additional markets last year, bringing its total to 70. Unlike some of its competitors, it has direct access to MLS listings in most areas. To do this, the company had to set up offices in many states, but in return, it can notify users within 15 minutes when a new house comes on the market because it has full access to the same information regular real estate agents have.


Ward told me that the new app is meant to be “super easy to use.” There are no slide-out menus and everything was designed to streamline the process as much as possible. Because it is an iOS 7-only app, the team was able to easily create animations for when users favorite a house and perform other actions in the app. The app, Ward said, should “feel alive and like something that people want to touch.”


As for other platforms, Ward told me that the team doesn’t have any plans to expand beyond iOS right now. Instead, the company plans to deepen its investment in iOS (maybe with a dedicated iPad app) before it goes broad.


Estately is playing in a very competitive market, but even without a clear mobile strategy, the company has done well over the last year. To remain competitive in the long run, though, it definitely needed this mobile app, so it will be interesting to see how this will influence the company’s growth over the course of this year.







6:09 AM

When you think of online and mobile real estate sites, Zillow and Redfin are probably the first names that come to mind. Seattle-based Est...

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