Retrofit In The News

Vista Staffing Wins Virtual Trainers 1/2/13 - (KUTV) Many people have made a New Year’s resolution to get into shape and lose weight.

Now, one company is getting their wish with virtual trainers.

Vista Staffing Solutions, a company that helps fill temporary positions for health care providers, is the grand winner of the "Retrofit My Company Contest."

Company employees will get wireless tracking devices to monitor health. Experts will work with them over Skype to get healthy.

Retrofit says their goal is to prevent obesity. … Read The Story

Bootstrapping with Jeff Hyman of RetrofitMe.com 12/18/12 - Tastytrade.com hosts Tom Sosnoff and Tony Battista interview Jeff Hyman of RetrofitMe.com for the show "Bootstrapping in America". Tom & Tony talk to today's hottest entrepreneurs and celebrate entrepreneurial spirit daily. Retrofit CEO Jeff Hyman is a serial entrepreneur with a relentless passion for creating innovative companies and brands. He is driven by the belief that every individual is capable of doing incredible things once given the opportunity and knowledge… Read The Story

Tech Finally Tackles The Fat Problem 12/14/12 - It's a weight-loss program for individuals, not the groups of people that Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers traditionally serve. It targets professionals, who are too busy to commit consistent chunks of time to working out. And it supports people who have pledged to never step foot in a gym. The program is robust … Read The Story

Weight Loss Startup Retrofit Nets $8 Million, Launches Contest 12/13/12 - Menlo Park-based DFJ has invested $6 million in the Chicago-based startup in the series A financing that included new investments from Correlation Ventures and Hyde Park Angels. Previous investors New World Ventures and I2A Fund also participated… Read The Story

Retrofit, Which Just Closed an $8M Series A Funding Round, is a Subscription-Based Service for Effective Weight Loss and Healthy Lifestyle Management 12/3/12 - Retrofit CEO Jeff Hyman: "Retrofit provides the tools and highly trained experts needed to lose weight for life. The weight loss program takes a long-term view and helps clients create new habits. We deliver private lessons to our clients on how to lose weight and include wireless devices to track progress on a daily basis. Only Retrofit offers this level of privacy, personalization and convenience to help clients lose weight and keep it off for life" … Read The Story

Companies Embrace Technology to Help Workers Shed Pounds 11/26/12 - What does a company want from its employees? Commitment, Good Work Ethic, Honesty, Professionalism. They also want someone who is going to show up for work regularly, and that requires good health. Obesity or carrying significant excess weight contributes to more sick days, more expensive healthcare and more than likely impacts productivity. In fact, obesity-related absenteeism and decreased productivity at work, costs employers as much as $26.4 billion yearly. So it is in your employers best interest to help you to shed excess weight and improve your health profile. … Corporate wellness technology can have huge payoffs if it resonates with employees, who don’t want to access traditional diet and fitness opportunities. … Recently The Wall Street Journal featured a report on Retrofit, a new start up. Retrofit uses software, consumer electronics and personalized online appointments with health experts to help people shed pounds. Retrofit is especially helpful for professionals who travel, and for those who want to avoid the gym, because they are extremely overweight, or simply feel inhibited in a community environment. Skyping with your assigned health coach and using wearable activity trackers keep you engaged on the Retrofit program … Read The Story

CEO Spotlight: Retrofit's Jeff Hyman 11/26/12 - Founder of tech-savvy weight loss company describes the inspiration behind the business and its growth potential … Read The Story

Three Lessons a Hot Midwestern Weight-Loss Startup Can Teach Us About
Digital Health 11/17/12 - Retrofit's growth and traction offer three key lessons for digital health.

1. Tangible revenue model
2. Realistic health goals
3. Technology plays a supportive role

This is perhaps the single most important lesson of Retrofit, which is basically a high-end coaching service. While digital health monitoring devices figure prominently in the offering, they are explicitly used in service of the customized advice developed and delivered by real people … Read The Story

Retrofit Shedding the Weight, And Health-Care Costs 11/13/12 - New consumer technologies are giving American employers the power to boost the health, happiness and productivity of their overweight and obese workers, while controlling the rising costs of health benefits they provide … Read The Story

Weight-loss Startup Retrofit Gains $8 Million 11/13/12 - Retrofit Inc., which helps busy professionals slim down, is bulking up with $8 million in new funding.

The Skokie-based startup attracted the new investment from Draper Fisher Jurvetson, a well-known Silicon Valley venture fund in Menlo Park, Calif., to begin a national expansion.

Entrepreneurs seem drawn to Retrofit, which uses Skype, high-tech fitness gadget Fitbit and a WiFi-connected scale to help people with more money than time to change old habits and shed pounds. Among its clients are J.B. Pritzker, a Chicago venture capitalist who invested in Retrofit earlier this year, and Brad Feld and David Cohen, co-founders of Boulder, Colo.-based technology accelerator TechStars. Read The Story