WHOOP
Backing the future of how we understand the human body.
In April of 2013, I was introduced to a 22-year-old Harvard senior named Will Ahmed who wanted to build a better way to understand the human body. That idea became WHOOP, and we wrote our first check that same year. This week, we led their $575 million Series G at a $10.1 billion valuation — the largest investment in the history of Collaborative Fund.
I wrote about what this moment means, and shared the cover letter I attached to our term sheet:
Dear Will:
From the time Nicholas Negroponte introduced us back in April 2013 and we met at Grey Dog Cafe to talk about Bobo Analytics, I’ve been a true believer in your mission. We invested early, making WHOOP one of the core positions in our second Fund.
Empowering people with meaningful insights into their health is one of the most significant ways to improve human life. WHOOP represents exactly why I started Collaborative Fund: to back founders who push the world forward...
You can read the full letter and the rest of my thoughts on our blog.
On the day of the announcement, Morgan Housel and I sat down with Will to talk about starting WHOOP from his college dorm room, how he thinks about building culture as the team scales, why he chose to keep the company in Boston, and the moment he knew something had to give:
When I was 24 we had raised tens of millions of dollars. We had a team of ~40 people. We had some interesting technology, some interesting early customers, but I was spinning outta control then, and I realized that I was going to be the reason that WHOOP failed.
Listen to the whole conversation here or wherever you get your podcasts.
You can find more about the news at The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, FastCompany, Inc., TBPN, and CNBC.
Thirteen years in, we couldn’t be more proud of Will and the entire WHOOP team. Excited for what comes next!
— Craig Shapiro
Founder, Collaborative Fund