Again within the halcyon days of 2019, we piloted a brand new format for Extra Crunch we dubbed the EC-1. Modeled after the Kind S-1 submitting that late-stage startups undergo the SEC as a part of the IPO course of, EC-1s are authoritative, deep analyses into growth-stage startups. We profiled and analyzed various firms like Patreon, Niantic, Roblox, Kobalt and Unity, taking a look at all the pieces from their product design, to their buyer relations, to their occasions technique and to the altering economics of music licensing.
They had been extremely popular and we had large ambitions for the sequence, however then 2020 hit, COVID-19 swept in, and immediately our means to journey and meet with a dozen executives in-person at an organization was curtailed (there was additionally only a wee little bit of breaking information to cowl as effectively!) We didn’t need to reduce on high quality, so we bided our time.
Nicely, with some stage of normality lastly kicking in, we’re excited to restart this sequence in 2021. We now have almost ten EC-1s within the works proper now, and I’m excited to introduce our first EC-1 profile of this new batch — an organization that has really skyrocketed amidst that darkish pandemic 12 months.
Tonal is a singular entrant within the upscale health market, utilizing a proprietary mix of {hardware}, software program, and content material to convey complete energy coaching to the house in as small and environment friendly of a bundle as potential. Gross sales have zoomed the previous 12 months as gyms shut down worldwide, and the corporate has been pelted by curiosity from each prospects and buyers.
That success in the present day, although, occludes a prolonged strategy of iteration over years in opposition to the droning negativity of most VCs who by no means anticipated a company enterprise infrastructure founder to be able to constructing a preferred shopper {hardware} gadget. Tonal is not only a narrative of willpower, but in addition an instance of how a lot effort it takes to construct a significant startup, from product design and launch technique to cautious advertising and constructing the moats to guard itself from competitors in a ferocious market.
TechCrunch’s author and analyst for this EC-1 is JP Mangalindan. Mangalindan has been protecting know-how for years now, beforehand serving as chief tech correspondent for our company sister website Yahoo Finance and likewise publishing throughout a plethora of different tech publications. He brings a wealth of perception not simply into startups and Tonal, however the wider health market as effectively. The lead editor for this bundle was Danny Crichton, the copyeditor was Richard Dal Porto, and illustrations had been created by Nigel Sussman.
Tonal had no say within the content material of this evaluation and didn’t get superior entry to it. Mangalindan has no monetary ties to Tonal or different conflicts of curiosity to reveal.
The Tonal EC-1 is comprised of 4 important articles representing about 10,600 phrases and a studying time of about 43 minutes. Let’s get began:
- Half 1: Origin Story “How a homegrown experiment became one of the fastest-growing companies in fitness tech” (3,200 phrases / 13 minutes) — we begin with the historical past of Tonal, the multi-year effort to lift VC funds and iterate on a product whereas reinventing the definition of strength-training tools
- Half 2: Product launch “Millions of dollars and 3.5 years, and it all came down to this” (2,800 phrases / 11 minutes) — explores the tradeoffs and techniques Tonal used to launch its product, a launch that as a {hardware} firm, it couldn’t afford to mess up
- Half 3: Neighborhood constructing “Building online communities for fun, profit and product” (2,200 phrases / 9 minutes) — analyzes Tonal’s early forays into group constructing and the way it makes use of group to enhance its merchandise whereas additionally retaining prospects for its crucial subscription enterprise
- Half 4: Aggressive panorama and future “ Can Tonal become the luxury fitness market champion?” (2,400 phrases / 10 minutes) — evaluates the eager competitors confronting Tonal on this market, and analyzes the corporate’s subsequent steps to proceed its profitable progress
We’re at all times iterating on the EC-1 format. In case you have questions, feedback, or concepts, please ship an e mail to TechCrunch managing editor Danny Crichton at [email protected]