Fitly, a Philadelphia-based consumer wellness startup, is appearing on ABC’s Shark Tank TV show next month. Healthcare startups have had a mixed performance on the program, so it will be interesting to see how the startup’s smart plate to provide nutritional info on food choices goes over with the sharks.
Fitly CEO and Founder Anthony Ortiz said the company’s Kickstarter campaign for its Smart Plate caught the interest of Shark Tank producers. The campaign and appearance on Good Morning America last month, along with other media exposure, have helped boost pre-orders to more than 2,000 and adding up to more than $200,000, Ortiz said. The plates are not expected to be available until summer/fall 2016, according to Ortiz.
The plate is designed to be sophisticated substitute for manually tracking food choices. It uses embedded sensors, cameras and machine learning to inform users of the nutritional content of their food choices by transmitting that information to an app. It is intended to help people get a better understanding of hidden calories and sugars in their meals that they might otherwise overlook.
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Fitly took part in a couple of health tech accelerators in recent years including DreamIt Health and the University City Science Center’s Digital Health Accelerator.
In another development with the business, Ortiz said it had secured a deal with industrial designer Tandem Design, led by Michael Hong.
Ortiz said the deal guarantees Smartplate purchasers their money back if the company can’t fulfill pre-orders.
Shark Tank investors have demonstrated a mixed view of companies tied to healthcare. RoloDoc and Napwell each failed to net a deal, although PhoneSoap, Squatty Potty and pain reliever Buzzy fared better. Still, Buzzy’s physician-entrepreneur founder walked away from a deal on the show amidst disagreement over the valuation of her company.
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Photo: ABC via Getty Images (Michael Desmond)
