Bringing social wellness into the mainstream

Innovation is at the core of ShapeUp Inc., an 8-year-old Providence-based global provider of social networking and incentives-based employee-wellness solutions.
In fact, ShapeUp founder and CEO Dr. Rajiv Kumar says his company’s entire business proposition – that social wellness could connect employees to improve individual and overall corporate health – was an innovation in its own right.
“We are constantly striving to honor our innovative foundation,” Kumar said. “Every single employee at ShapeUp is tied into our commitment to innovation through internal business objectives, and we even have an internal team that is solely dedicated to conceptualizing a long-term innovation roadmap.”
And often, Kumar says, ShapeUp’s best partners come from outside the company, ones who see what is going on in the field of wellness across the globe each day. These partners, he said, offer a valued perspective.
“In order to remain at the forefront of wellness,” Kumar said, “we need to have the audacity to try new things, as well as the humility to learn from those around us, and I think we walk that line very well.”
The concept of corporate wellness has become much more of a business imperative these days, and less of just a “nice thing to have.” In the past couple of years, Kumar said, corporate America has moved beyond the basic arguments for wellness to a clearer understanding that it is critical for employee productivity and enhancing company culture.
“Employers are looking to engage their employees,” Kumar said. “It’s not an easy feat. ShapeUp is successful because we have developed an expertise around engagement. We reach each employee where they are, leveraging their existing relationships … for the sake of better health and corporate culture.”
In response to this corporate shift, ShapeUp pioneered an approach to healthy behavior change that draws in others and emphasizes the support and accountability of friends, family and colleagues. Kumar says health is social and that helping people support each other to exercise more, eat better and lose weight will lead them to success.
ShapeUp named its approach Social Wellness, which it says combines the power of social networking, the engagement of gaming and the motivation of financial rewards to improve the health of large populations. A partnership with Amazon.com offers real-time rewards fulfillment, sending participants a redeemable email code once they’ve completed a desired behavior or task.
ShapeUp offers eight separate team challenges along with a new framework called Destinations, which allows companies to craft their own custom challenges. But, Kumar says, while team challenges are a huge part of ShapeUp’s history and platform, the company also has expanded into a more comprehensive approach to health and wellness, including stress management, weight-loss programs, biometric integration, well-being assessments and online coaching.
Meghan Oates-Zalesky, vice president of marketing, said ShapeUp is one of the only products she has ever supported – promoting it in the market, driving user engagement and creating platform content – that users really love.
“It actually changes people’s lives, creating just the right environment to help them adopt healthy habits,” Oates-Zalesky said. “You get to deal with people who truly believe in it – real evangelists. And getting them to tell their stories is a wonderful job that benefits everyone.
And it is in that storytelling – through working with customers on their testimonials – that Oates-Zalesky finds the most reward and fulfillment.
“The most elating thing I can hear is that someone’s life has been dramatically improved by what we do,” she said. “And, fortunately, it happens a lot. … We often hear from our participants that they are dealing with the threat of diabetes, they might have limited mobility due to their weight, or that they’re unclear of what the future might hold for them and their families due to their health issues. That our program can make such a profound impact on so many and change the way they live is easily the most enjoyable part of my job.”
In the past two years, ShapeUp has made some substantial business moves to strengthen the company, including:
• Launching ShapeUp Complete, an automated, self-service wellness platform for small and medium-sized businesses that now represents the largest portion of the company’s 500-plus client base in terms of number of customers.
• Raising $7.5 million in late 2013 to fund strategic investments in mobile technology and global capabilities, to drive member engagement and expand its platform accessibility.
• Commercializing years of research conducted in partnership with Dr. Rena Wing of Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School to create an evidence-based, weight-loss and diabetes-prevention program called Empower, a 52-week program leveraging video-based online behavioral weight-loss content, self-monitoring strategies, automated and personalized feedback, game mechanics and social support to drive lasting weight-loss outcomes.
In his spare time, Kumar remains very involved in ShapeUp Rhode Island, a nonprofit organization that encourages people in the community to pursue healthy lifestyles through increased physical activity and better nutrition. In nearly 10 years, more than 70,000 Rhode Islanders have participated in the program.
Being recognized with an award for business excellence is not only a testament to the hard work of the entire ShapeUp team, Kumar says, but it’s also a strong motivator.
“It’s great that our collective effort to promote health and well-being is being recognized,” Kumar said. “I think this award is motivation to keep moving forward and reinforces that we’re really making a difference, both in Rhode Island and around the world. We always cherish our Rhode Island roots … so this local recognition is especially meaningful to us.” •

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