Student Venture Story: Sweat Points
Background
CU Boulder Senior Chad Piatek founded the ventureSweat Points. The idea for this specific type of app came to Piatek as he was talking to his fellow members of the CU Boulder Club Lacrosse team about what they need in an app. They explained that many apps which give you rewards for working out are focused on weight loss, or reaching a certain number of steps per day, not maintaining healthy habits. So, Piatek rose to the challenge and began to think outside the box.
When first starting out, one main challenge Piatek faced was finding people with the right technical skills to fit his needs. He didn’t have any experience in app development and needed to bring in an outside contractor. After weeks of searching, he managed to come into contact with Tanner Quigley off AngelList. Quigley is also a CU senior who happens to have a passion for coding. “I had a few other job offers at the time, with some bigger companies. He said I’d be in charge of the whole things and I kinda liked that compared to writing code for someone else’s project,” said Quigley.
Problem It Solves
As someone who stays relatively fit himself, Piatiekrealizedthere wasn’t a fitness app on the market that fit his needs. Sweat points rewards users for working out and encourages them to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
How It Works
What started as a running app quickly evolved into so much more after the team realized that the market was already flooded with fitness apps already focused on running. Instead, the team is designing their app to work with Fitbits in order to track heart rate and other vital information. Using API, the team is able to access free and open information that allows them to do research into people’s needs. Using the Application Program Interface, data from a Fit Bit can transfer over to the Sweat Points App as well.
Current State
The team is excited for the future of the app because unlike competitor products, the app will soon have the ability to not only use geolocation to help track physical progress, but will include input options for various types of workouts. No matter if the user if “lifting with the boys at the rec” or doing some yoga, they can still earn points. Yet another unique aspect of the app, is that the points which users earn can go to local businesses and higher profile relators.
Though the team is still in the developmental stages of the project, they plan to have an app available for download in March. Anyone who is interested and wants to find out more can visit their website.