Hardware Podcasts

WHOOP: Will Ahmed

How I Built This · 21 Jul 2025 · 1h 05m

What this episode covers

Will Ahmed, founder of WHOOP, explains how his experience with overtraining as a Harvard squash player led to the creation of a wearable device focused on continuous physiological monitoring rather than simple step counting. He details the early struggles of prototyping with engineering labs, recruiting a small team including John Capalupo and Aurelia Nicolai, and the strategic decision to target elite athletes like LeBron James and Michael Phelps to build credibility. Ahmed describes the company's pivot from a high upfront hardware cost to a subscription model, which ultimately saved the business and allowed WHOOP to compete against giants like Nike, Apple, and Amazon.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Nike, Apple, Amazon, Jawbone
Products
WHOOP, Fitbit, Amazon Halo
Also
LeBron James, Michael Phelps, Cristiano Ronaldo

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