We could all use an extra boost in the morning to help us get going and meet the day. Rather than turning to coffee or energy drinks, Yoga is a natural way to fuel the body with natural, spiritual energy. Arise is a mobile app alarm clock that helps you start the day with mindfulness and yoga. It can help those that struggle to get up each morning, wake up and maintain their energy.
Founded:
Emma Pittsley
The Problem Being Solved:
“Waking up and getting out of bed can be the hardest part of the day,” says Emma. “Especially for those who deal with high stress and anxiety, depression, or take medication.” The lack of energy can make it hard to start the day, but by integrating mindfulness and yoga with waking up, the body is fueled with natural, positive energy.
Arise is also a great way to work yoga into a morning routine, which makes it perfect for busy people who want to, but can’t fit yoga into their schedules.
Where the Idea Came From:
Emma, like many others, was having a hard time waking up and getting out of bed. “I knew I had to do something for myself when I was sleeping straight through into the afternoon and evening.” Previous Yoga classes had a positive effect on her physical health, but with college and work it was hard to keep up with it. After searching for a yoga alarm, she was shocked to see that none existed. “So I decided to create one myself.”
Opportunities:
In 2013, 20 million people were practicing yoga. “With how much yoga and healthy living saturates popular culture and social media nowadays, I think that even people who did not previously think they could do yoga will be willing to try and benefit from Arise.”
Target Customer:
Those interested in healthy living, especially the yoga community.
Biggest Challenge:
Emma’s biggest challenge is running the business on her own. “I am completely alone working on this, and have had no one to teach me how to do any of it.”
But, joining The Hatch has helped bring the things she needs to know into sight.
Surprises:
Emma was surprised to find out about a surprising, potential demographic that could benefit from Arise; middle aged men.
“The risk of having a heart attack is most severe right upon waking up, and in the early morning hours,” says Emma. By stimulating the flow of the cardiovascular system and awakening the nervous system, yoga relieves stress and anxiety and improves overall physical health. “If middle aged men practiced yoga each morning, it would be a beneficial measure against the risk of heart attacks.”
Funding:
Emma is currently trying to raise money but has not been successful yet.
To further the process, they are running a Kickstarter campaign. You can support them and donate here.
The Future:
“In one year, I would like for the Arise app to be completed and officially launched.” In 3 years, she would like to see sales steadily increasing and have research under way to improve the app.
“In 5 years, I would like Arise to become more sophisticated, with yoga positions based on measures conditions and needs of the body.”
Advice:
“Just keep pressing on no matter how incompetent you may feel at times.”
This is a really cool idea! I like to do yoga first thing in the morning and I recently got an iPhone – I am definitely in the target audience. 🙂
However, I’m reluctant to back it without a better idea of what it will actually look like. Emma, have you thought about putting together a web-based demo or a video of the experience you’ll get with the app? If you want to chat about what that would look like, I’d be happy to talk over coffee or Google Hangouts.
Katie, thank you for your feedback! I would love to have a video showing what the experience will look like, and am currently working on making that happen. Feel free to email me if you would like to chat further!