GOQii

GOQii
Industry Fitness Technology
Founded Menlo Park, California (February 26, 2014 (2014-02-26))
Founder Vishal Gondal
Headquarters Menlo Park, California
Area served
 India

GOQii is a California-based fitness technology venture in Menlo Park that offers a wearable fitness band paired with remote personalized coaching.[1] The company was founded by Vishal Gondal, the former CEO & Founder of Indiagames. After closing its beta Beta program in April 2014,[2] GOQii became commercially available in India in August 2014.[3]

The company also has offices in Mumbai, India and Shenzhen, China and plans to expand its services to the Middle East, the United States, and Singapore.[4][5]

The company has been running beta in the United States of America for the last few months [6] and has now commenced commercial operations in April 2016.[7]

History

After selling his former startup, Indiagames to Disney in 2011 for approximately $100M,[8] Vishal Gondal founded GOQii, a one on one mobile coaching and fitness tracking service. The idea for GOQii developed when he noticed that he wasn’t simply using the devices exclusively, but also sharing the collected data with a personal trainer who would then provide him with customized advice.[9]

The company embarked on a beta program with 1000 subscribers in early 2014 [10] before launching commercially in India in August.

In January 2015, the company launched a limited US beta only open to 500 initial customers in the U.S. Selected applicants receive 12 months of personal training through unlimited chat and monthly video calls over the company's mobile app, along with a free wearable device.[11][12]

Service Model

GOQii offers a wearable fitness band which collects users’ (called players) activity and sleep data. A personal coach is assigned to a player who reviews this data and communicates via mobile app to guide them towards their health and fitness goals.[13] A player pays a subscription fee for personalized coaching with a wearable device, which has an OLED display and hum vibration module, tracks steps, distance, time, calories, active time, and sleep.[14]

App and coaching system

GOQii players are connected to a team of coaches via the GOQii app. Members of the coaching team analyze the data the fitness tracker collects to help users make “sustainable and incremental changes” towards a more active lifestyle. Every coach has a background in personal fitness, nutrition, and cognitive behavioral therapy and is responsible for coaching between 100 and 150 users. The coaching plan includes pre-scheduled monthly calls, real-time chats, and daily texting. The GOQii companion app allows users to share their stats on social media and tracks Karma points. The app also supports a Hi-5 feature wherein a coach can congratulate a user for being on track.[15][16]

GOQii Doctor and Health Locker

On August 4, 2016, in partnership with Thyrocare and Max Healthcare, GOQii launched its new version, which included a personal Health Locker and a lifestyle doctor (called the GOQii Doctor), who is a qualified physician (MBBS/MD) and will be available on the GOQii platform for medical consultation. A GOQii doctor is responsible for analyzing the medical history of a player and work with the personal coach to design the right routine that ensures the best results for a healthy body and a positive mindset. In addition, a player can also take a ‘Health Risk Assessment’ test and get their ‘Health Score’ via the app.[17][18]

The Health Locker feature allows a user to keep all their health records in one place in an organized manner and have access to them online through the app. Its diagnostics feature allows users to book tests, take them from home and get results directly into their Health Locker.[19]

Karma points

Players earn Karma points when they meet their daily goals; for every 390 steps, GOQii “players” earn one karma point. They can use these points, which third party donors match in dollars, to donate to their chosen charity. GOQii has partnered with Oxfam India to facilitate this process. Through the GOQii app, donors can select how much they wish to donate to a certain cause.[20][21]

Key People

Founded by Vishal Gondal, the board of directors includes Bala Deshpande, Alex Yao of Cheetah Mobile and Pravin Gandhi. In April 2016, Amit Singhal of Google joined as one of the board of directors.[22]

The company has raised funding from Angel Investors including Amit Singhal of Google, Neeraj Arora of WhatsApp,[23] Marco Argenti of Amazon Web Services Mobile, Anil Godhwani of Habitera, Steve Luczo of Seagate, Mike McNamara of Flextronics, Kanwaljit Bombra of Dell, Vijay Vashee of Microsoft, Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit Nene and Dr. Shriram Nene.[24][25]

Funding and Strategic Partnerships

GOQii received $13.4 million in Series A funding led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Cheetah Mobile Inc.[26] with additional support from Great Wall Club (GWC), DSG Consumer Partners, Ilkka Paananen and Pravin Gandhi in November 2015.

Financial services firm Edelweiss has entered a strategic partnership with GOQii and closed an investment round in early 2016.[27] GOQii tied up with Axis Bank to collaborate on wearable devices for its customers offering them the fitness service and allowing them to make NFC payments from the device later in 2016.[28][29]

References

  1. ↑ James Temple. "Introducing GOQii: Startup Pairs New Fitness Tracker With Human Coaches". Recode. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  2. ↑ Nikhil Subramaniam. "GOQii band adds the human element to wearable fitness trackers". FirstPost. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  3. ↑ Nandagopal Rajan. "GOQii fitness band brings in a coach who makes you sweat good karma". Indian Express. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  4. ↑ Megan Rose Dickey. "This Founder Is Giving Away Fitness Trackers For Free". Business Insider. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  5. ↑ Press Trust of India. "GOQii to expand in US, Middle East; eyes $20 mn fund raising". Business Standard. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  6. ↑ Jonathan Shieber. "Health And Wellness Wearable GOQii Launches US Beta". TechCrunch. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  7. ↑ Andy Boxall. "New Fitness App Partners You Up With A Personal Trainer". DigitalTrends. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  8. ↑ Shivani Shinde. "Walt Disney acquires all of Indiagames in $80-100 mn deal". Business Standard. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  9. ↑ Parmy Olson. "Meet The Wearable Gadget That Outsources Your Personal Trainer To India". Forbes. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  10. ↑ Vikas SN. "Vishal Gondal's GOQii Launches Fitness Tracker Paired With Human Coaches". Medianama. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  11. ↑ Riddhi Mukherjee. "Vishal Gondal's GOQii launches US beta". Medianama. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  12. ↑ Richard Laermer. "GOQii Launches Exclusive U.S. Beta". Business Wire. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  13. ↑ Louie Lozano. "Wearable Fitness Startup GOQii Connects You with Real Coaches". Sport Techie. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  14. ↑ Abhishek Baxi. "GOQii Life Review: An Impressive Edge Over Other Fitness Bands". Gizmodo. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  15. ↑ Luis D. "GOQii sport wearable ditches apps, pairs with actual fitness coaches". Phone Arena. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  16. ↑ Anand Rai. "Indiagames' founder Vishal Gondal's new venture GOQii adds human touch to fitness devices". TechCircle. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  17. ↑ "GOQii launches new Band with reduced subscriptions, Health Services, NFC payments". FirstPost. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  18. ↑ Nidhi Singal. "Goqii launches new fitness band with services like doctor & contactless payment". BusinessToday. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  19. ↑ Angad Singh Thakur. "Fitness bands, with Doctors attached". Forbes India. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  20. ↑ FE Online. "GOQii launches 'Coach', connects fitness enthusiasts with best trainers". Financial Express. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  21. ↑ Karan Bajaj. "GOQii, a unique new Indian offering". Economic Times. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  22. ↑ BS Reporter. "GOQii ropes in ex-Google Search boss Amit Singhal as a board member". Business Standard. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  23. ↑ Sainul K Abudheen. "Vishal Gondal's GOQii bags funding from WhatsApp's Neeraj Arora, Amazon exec". VC Circle. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  24. ↑ Mahafreed Irani. "Indian entrepreneur launches fitness band GoQii, backed by Bollywood star Madhuri Dixit Nene". DNA India. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  25. ↑ Bhawna Gupta. "Fitness tracker GOQii raises funding". VC Circle. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  26. ↑ Catherine Shu. "Fitness Wearable And Coaching Startup GOQii Lands $13.4M Series A From NEA And Cheetah Mobile". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  27. ↑ Vijayakumar Pitchiah. "Wearables startup GOQii raises funding from VC arm of Edelweiss". VC Circle. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  28. ↑ Priyanka Sangani. "Axis Bank to launch wearables for its customers in collaboration with GOQii". Economic Times. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  29. ↑ "Axis Bank Ties Up With GoQii to Launch Wearables". Paisa Bazaar. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
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