Retrofit In The News

Chicago's Retrofit Raises $8mm Series A Round, Launches Contest 11/13/12 - This morning, data-driven weight loss company Retrofit announced that it had just completed an $8mm Series A round led by Silicon Valley-based VC firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ). I covered Retrofit back in August, when they’d already raised $2.7mm, and I was very optimistic that they’d soon be raising more. Given that the personal healthcare space is only getting hotter, today’s Series A round should come as no surprise to anyone in the industry. Read The Story

Local Fitness Startup Retrofit Has Raised $8 Million in a New Funding Round, Bringing its Total Investment to $10.7 Million. 11/13/12 - The company, which is based in Skokie but moving to Chicago early next year, crafts 12-month weight loss programs for customers, particularly busy professionals, based on data collected via wireless tracking devices such as a scale and pedometer. Clients consult with dietitians, behavior coaches and exercise physiologists via Skype videoconferences. The company says its customers will lose at least 10 or 15 percent of their current weight, depending on the program they select, and keep it off for 12 months. Read The Story

Retrofit Raises $8M Series A and Announces Contest 11/13/12 - Retrofit, the weight loss program that relies on data to encourage Americans with busy lifestyles to get healthy, has raised $8 million in Series A funding in a round led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ). Hyde Park Angels and Correlation Ventures also took part in the round, as well as previous investors New World Ventures and I2A Fund. This brings total investment in the company up to $10.7 million. "We're investing the capital back into the Retrofit product to make it even better," says CEO … Read The Story

100 Founders Share Their Top "Aha" Moments - Guess How Many Jobs They've Created So Far? 10/15/12 - #71. Jeff Hyman, Retrofit Weight Loss, 150 jobs, www.retrofitme.com.
My wife and I visited an Arizona wellness resort. Having a personal team of experts inspired me to create a program using technology to deliver the same kind of personalized weight loss program via the Internet. I raised $700,000 to start Retrofit, an expert-led, data-driven program with unrivaled results… Read The Story

How Your Business Plan Might be Holding You Back 10/1/12 - Last year, Chicago-based Hyman had another entrepreneurial idea-Retrofit, a data-driven weight-loss company. This time, instead of writing a business plan, he spent four months testing his concept; he also interviewed potential customers, distributors and obesity experts to get a complete understanding of the market. After more than 100 meetings, Hyman put together a business plan that was only two pages long. With it, he managed to raise $2.7 million in startup funding. "Time is now your enemy," Hyman says. He is among many in business today who are convinced that "the dynamics of the market change so quickly" that spending months to perfect a highly detailed business plan simply isn’t worth the trouble … Read The Story

A New Metric for Wellness: Percent Body Weight Lost and Kept Off Through One Year 9/14/12 - A new metric we propose is not going to fix these problems, but it can at least focus the conversation on programs that can truly make a difference for individuals and our society over the long term. Our key metric for wellness is: percent of body weight lost at the end of one year….As financial metrics are aligned, this type of cultural sea change will drive down healthcare costs for individuals and employers. Such industry measures to insure client success are working to move the conversation towards long-term weight loss with positive social implications….Overall, weight losers also report sleeping better, being happier and having an overall better sense of well-being. Now that is the bedrock of a truly sustainable business … Read The Story

Apps Now Key to Small-Business Savings 8/20/12 - Small businesses are using technology to help them operate more efficiently and cost-effectively in an increasingly competitive environment…USA TODAY looks at new ways companies are gaining an innovative edge… Jennifer Plotnek, a lead behavior coach at Retrofit Weight Loss in Chicago, says, "I use my iPad all the time to Skype, as do my clients. I have had clients use their iPad to meet with me in airports, cabs, cars and offices." … Read The Story

Healthcare Startups are Hot, and Chicago's Retrofit is Blazing the Trail 8/14/12 - 68.3% of our nation is overweight and 95% of those who lose weight regain it within 12 months. Jeff Hyman, CEO of Chicago's data-driven weight loss company Retrofit, cited these facts and explained the consequences. Growing obesity rates and recent changes to insurance laws will continue to strain our country’s healthcare system… Retrofit is poised to make great strides in the quest to get our country back in shape … Read The Story

Startup Secrets: How do you Pitch Your Idea to Investors Without Giving Away Too Much? 8/14/12 - Almost by instinct, entrepreneurs jealously guard their business ideas. But today's tech innovators are under pressure to open up about their secrets. In an era of social media and online app development, startups seeking capital face an uncomfortable reality: the need to disclose details of their plans to investors without assurances of confidentiality… Skokie entrepreneur Jeff Hyman, who's building his second online business—a weight-loss management company…says the trick is to share information selectively, with people you've researched and trust … Read The Story

Take Business Lessons From Classic Big-Screen Stories 8/9/12 - Serial entrepreneur Jeff Hyman learned what not to do by watching 1999's "Office Space." The film satirizes a cubical-filled organization with a Dilbert-esque CEO. "In the movie, the boss focuses more on processes and ceremonies than he does on results and outcomes," Hyman said… Firms rarely start out that way. It's growth — having so many employees you no longer know their names — that complicates how CEOs run their companies. "It becomes about managing managers," Hyman said. "You worry about processes and lethargy and those bad habits sneaking in." Bring in stars. To head off that cliched environment at his current startup, executive weight-loss service Retrofit, Hyman took care to hire top-quality managers. "'A' players make all the difference," he said … Read The Story