Tarihin, belki de en meşhur uygarlığında günlük hayat nasıldı?
Romalıların günlük rutinleri nelerdi?
Alışverişi nereden, nasıl yapıyorlardı?
Hangi yemekleri yiyorlardı?
Hangi etkinliklere katılıyorlardı?
Nasıl evlerde kalıyorlardı?
Antik Roma gibi bir uygarlığı düşünürsek aklımıza çok daha fazla soru geleceği kesindir.
Matz’ın ilk elden kaynaklara dayanarak sunduğu bu anlatıda, bir Romalının…
Happy New Year all! Per usual, January has begun, as have all the 2013 New Year’s resolutions – and we all know you’re most likely trying to get healthy, lose weight, drink less, and pump up your ability to say “no” to that extra piece of cake. Well, in honor of all the hard work you’re likely enduring at the moment, we are bringing you some new tools to help you achieve your health and fitness goals for the New Year. This week, we have David Matz, founder of Healthbook, a health journal platform with tangible rewards. We hope you enjoy it and if you’d like the spotlight on your team, please tweet us @Evol8tion.
We think health, especially preventative health and wellness, is way too complicated. Our platform creates a user experience that changes behavior through engagement - engagement that motivates with simplicity, fun, and rewards. Each morning, we give our users an ever-changing 2-3 minute journaling experience that covers 30+ health and wellness topics. For actively journaling on Healthbook, we seamlessly grant that user access to a network of discounts at our partner retailers.
In the short term, we’ll have a revenue stream from the merchants to whom we drive business. Over the long term, we’ll be able to monetize the data we collect and our ability to drive outcomes within the health and wellness space.
David grew up in Denver, CO playing every sport under the sun. He ended up going to the University of Pennsylvania and played lacrosse there. While at Penn David became fascinated with behavioral economics and ended up choosing it as his major. He spent 3 years working in debt capital markets before deciding to leave to get his MBA at NYU, which is where he started Healthbook.
It was a confluence of 3 things really. First, I was a behavioral economist in college and realized how easy it is to trick people. One inspiring book on the topic was Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein which advocated using our understanding of psychology, specifically “how to trick people” for their own good. Second was the rise of the “daily deal.” I was impressed how motivating the psychology behind this was. Again, I thought that motivational force could do some good in the world. Last, was a business idea I’d had several years ago to open a string of healthy restaurants that would be partially subsidized by insurance companies.
After spending a long time thinking about how to mold these three ideas into a modern, profitable and socially responsible business, I came up with the basis of Healthbook. The goal was really to be the intersection of commerce and health, using simple psychology to benefit all parties - the retailer, the user and the insurer.
Very interesting…How do you feel technology can help people achieve their fitness goals?
The real keys are engagement and empowerment. When it comes to technology, it has never been easier to give people information and engage a large audience from a distance. I think there are fascinating things out there like the Nike Fuelband and Fitbit, which are really the pinnacles of measurement and tracking. Again, my view is that health is much simpler than we all think: its about eating healthier, exercising a bit more and staying on top of any conditions you may have. Delivering ways for people to do that has never been easier.
We are lovers of the Fuelband as well! There are so many ways startups are trying to help individuals stay on track and get more healthy, from food logging to exercise monitoring to pill trackers and nutrition information- where do you feel there’s the most opportunity for startups to break out in the space?
I actually think just about every niche by itself is pretty filled up. There are great trackers, fun games, beautiful web platforms and neat technologies. I think the challenge is who can do two (or three) things at once. When you think about an individual’s health ecosystem, at a minimum it includes (i) 1-3 doctors, (ii) an insurer, (iii) an employer, (iv) family and dependents (both you on them and them on you), and (v) vendors of health-related products (gyms, grocery stores, health magazines etc…). My point is that the ecosystem is a vast and intertwined web. The opportunity is really in finding ways to connect the web in a manner that benefits everyone.
We definitely agree with that one. Who was your most inspiring mentor in the startup space?
RecycleBank probably. They’ve done something similar to what we do, just in a difference space. It takes incredible smarts, creativity and drive to create a platform that meets so many constituencies’ needs and make it a winner for everyone.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve given, or received about the startup world?
There are two, and they work hand in hand. The first is “If you want something, ask for it.” Whether it’s a partnership, funding or advice, you never know unless you ask. Waiting is rarely the answer. Second, “Say what you have to say, then shut up and listen.” Sometimes we get so close to our ideas and companies, we miss things. As challenging as it is sometimes to take the blinders off, it’s the only way to get better.
Those are two very important pieces of advice that’s for sure! Who/what is your dream Brand Soulmate you’d like to work with?
Retail is our best complement, and there are tons of great companies we can work with. We can also work beautifully with any food, equipment or clothing retailers, so long as they care about health, too. Whole Foods is a perfect example of a perfect soulmate in the grocery segment. We have several segments in which we could find our soulmate which is both lucky and a challenge.
Alright now the inside scoop…. what’s your go to app, or technology tool you’ll be using to stay healthy and get fit for 2013?
I hate to be too self-promoting, but it’s Healthbook. I designed it because it works for an average Joe like me. It really helps me to stay accountable with daily food and exercise journaling and I enjoy all of the reminders and quizzes.
There’s nothing wrong with a little self promotion! Thanks for chatting with us and be sure to join the movement and follow @HBmovement. Stay tuned for next week’s spotlight!
