Revolutionizing the Wearable Tech Industry with AIM7’s Erik Korem

Timecoded Guide:

[00:00] Podcast starts - Revolutionizing the Wearable Tech Industry

[01:15] Developing a health & fitness passion with football

[05:46] Analyzing wearable tech in the Australian sports industry

[09:14] Having an impact with as a Presidential Leadership Scholar

[18:35] Making sense of Apple Watch data at AIM7

[26:00] Transforming a startup through the Softeq Venture Studio

In 2019, you were chosen to be a Presidential Leadership Scholar. How did that influence your current work with AIM7?

The Presidential Leadership Program was originally suggested to Erik by a friend of his while he was in the midst of completing his master’s degree. Although Erik was initially skeptical about his ability to be accepted into the program, he now feels that applying and becoming a Scholar opened up the world to him and solidified his future as an entrepreneur. During the program, Erik was inspired to engage with wearable data and felt eager to take his ideas to the next level.

“I started thinking, how can I use my knowledge, skill and abilities to help more people? I started looking at wearable data. You know, over 130 million Americans now have a wearable, but they don't know how to use them.”

How did you arrive at the idea for AIM7? 

Many Americans have adopted devices like the Apple Watch as part of their daily routines, but when Erik began exploring wearable technology, he realized most people were unaware of what to do with the data their watch was collecting. People needed actionable items and advice about their health and wellness. AIM7 connects real data from wearable tech to personalized expert advice from Erik’s knowledgeable team. 

“It's just data, and what I learned in sports is data without actionable insight is completely useless. That’s one of the reasons Fitbit lost so much in their valuation was because they never solved that problem. People are screaming for just actionable recommendations.”

Tell us more about your experience running a startup in Houston. 

Initially starting AIM7 in Virginia, Erik felt an urge to rejoin the Houston community to tackle the hardest parts of creating his startup. Houston offered Erik a network of connections, but also the opportunity to get involved with Softeq in a bigger way and embrace the diversity of ideas in the city's ecosystem. Erik loves the emphasis on tech investment in Houston, and hopes to see that continue as his team forges ahead in the med tech space. 

“What we're doing is medicine 3.0. It's the preventative side. So, why can't we build a preeminent health and wellness company here in Houston? It would be something that fits right into the ecosystem and we can all be very proud of it.”

You just went through the Softeq Venture Studio. What was that experience like for you? 

Recently, Erik’s team at AIM7 was a part of Softeq Venture Studio’s cohort of startups. Erik explains that the venture studio environment offers a lot of positives, but especially shines in terms of connections and access. Having access to experienced operators and technicians taught the AIM7 team so much about business success and allowed for unique learning opportunities throughout their time in their cohort. 

“I think the biggest take home for me as an early stage company, as a founder, is you can't be around enough good operators. The number one thing was my team being able to be around experienced operators who have built successful companies.”