

Weilos (YC S13) Moves From Fitness Coaching To Weight-Loss Selfies - rwu721
http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/28/yc-backed-weight-loss-startup-weilos-relaunches-moves-from-fitness-coaching-to-weight-loss-selfies/

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dchuk
Weight-loss selfies? That's barely a feature, let alone a full blown product.
Who gave the go ahead on this pivot?

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rwu721
dchuk - i did. Wasn't all that excited when I saw the title of the article.
The word selfie was meant to infer that we have a special camera tool that
helps people take self progress pictures, something that really motivates
people to reach their goals bc they can visualize their smallest improvements.
Progress pictures can be stored privately or shared publicly on the app.

More importantly, we want to build a safe and supportive mobile community to
help people reach their goals. Just getting started but off to a pretty decent
start - would love for you to check it out.

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ig1
It seems with the selfie because of the time taken for changes to show-up that
people might get demotivated in the interim.

Have you considered doing the same for food instead ?

That is having people take photos of all their meals and automatically sharing
with their friends, to encourage eating healthier (soft competition) and
making people think more about what they eat because it'll be broadcast.

That would seem more conducive towards a "real-time" feedback loop.

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petersimones
@ig1 that app exists (I'm the CEO). It's called TwoGrand. You should check it
out! iPhone: [http://bit.ly/TwoGrandiPhone](http://bit.ly/TwoGrandiPhone), and
Android: [http://bit.ly/TwoGrandAndroid](http://bit.ly/TwoGrandAndroid).

And @rwu721, the Weilos refresh is super clean. Well done.

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rwu721
Thx @petersimones. Really great job on your app as well!

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jkscm
Did I miss the sarcasm or why do you use the @ in threaded discussions?

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mbesto
So, Loseit?[0]

This isn't a criticism, but rather an observation. Lots of startups trying to
take standardize verticals of the world's largest websites (Reddit and
Craigslist).

[0] - [http://www.reddit.com/r/loseit](http://www.reddit.com/r/loseit)

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rwu721
mbesto, we love loseit! Met many of our best users there, and have reached
reddit frontpage a couple times through posts on loseit - owe a lot to them.

In some sense, we're trying to create a more customized loseit for weight loss
/ fitness, with a better UX. Especially on mobile.

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AznHisoka
So.. like MyFitnessPal?

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rwu721
MFP is an awesome calorie counter where you can also add friends to share your
meals. We're slightly different bc our focus is on photos and social support
on all types of fitness, weight loss updates.

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zenbowman
The fitness industry is already an arena of terrible misinformation. If anyone
actually wanted to help people, creating a social network based around
superficiality (photos) rather than any real progression towards acquiring
health is not the way to go.

Even if it works financially, it will still add to the ocean of misinformation
that is the modern health and fitness industry.

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codex
Another fruit fly YC startup with a micro niche too small to dent the universe
more than any random fluctuation would. YC does the world a disservice by
promoting the cult of the startup and then finding every mom and pop idea that
knocks on the door.

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argonaut
In case you didn't read the title, Weilos started out as something IMO much
more interesting and useful, which was pairing trainers with people trying to
lose weight, which is a serious problem and a serious market for most of
America.

YC has no control over what people pivot to.

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Diamons
I can't wait for this bubble to pop.

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rdl
I'm curious what caused the pivot; was it a shortage on supply of trainers,
lack of people coming in, or retention/engagement?

Photo sharing seems a lot more "lightweight", so easier to get people in, but
doesn't seem as "sticky", so not as good for retention.

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B0Z
Any plans for an Android version? Disappointed that I can't check this app
out. (Or at least an Android sign up page so I'm not missed when I forget
about it in the next 20 minutes.)

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rwu721
Hey B0Z - thx for the interest and honesty haha. Unfortunately don't have
android yet, but will be in the works soon!

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bly
Hi Ray - Best of luck with this pivot. Just wondering if you have any
bandwidth nowadays to get in touch and help out a fellow startup guy (god I
hate the word "entrepreneur"). I am setting out to build a mobile social
network with some other partners. Would love to pick your brain on how to get
things started. If you are still in the bay area I can buy you coffee =)

