Misfit Wearables Files IPO Prospectus: Merging Fashion and Health Tech Innovation
With the improvement of living standards, people are paying increasing attention to their health, and moderate exercise along with high-quality sleep are two major ways to enhance health status. In response to this demand, smart wearable devices capable of tracking and recording physical activity and sleep quality have successively emerged, beginning to enter the public eye.
Among these products, some have already become familiar to us and captured a large following, such as the Nike+ Fuelband and Fitbit Flex, as well as Apple’s new product, the iWatch, which was just released this March.
As a wearable smart device, Misfit stands out by prioritizing not only product quality and practicality but also the aesthetic design of its wearables. Misfit treats these devices as jewelry-like accessories and adheres to this philosophy in its product design, allowing customers to enjoy the proud satisfaction of wearing luxury items like jewelry while leveraging high-tech devices to improve their health and enhance their quality of life.
Company Profile
Misfit Wearables (also known as Misfit) is a computer hardware development company co-founded in October 2011 by Sonny Vu, Sridhar Iyengar, and former Apple CEO John Sculley. Headquartered in San Francisco, United States, the company specializes in designing and manufacturing sensor-based wearable devices.
The company’s Shine and Flash product lines function as combined fitness and sleep trackers. They monitor users’ physical activity and exercise intensity, providing data in metric units—including step count, calories burned, activity distance, and durations of light and deep sleep—which are then relayed to users via iOS or Android systems.
Founder Profile
Sonny Vu is the CEO and co-founder of Misfit Wearables. Born in Vietnam and raised in the United States, Vu studied mathematics as an undergraduate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). He later pursued his doctoral studies in linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) under the mentorship of the renowned linguist Noam Chomsky, earning a Ph.D. in Linguistics.
(Figure: Sonny Vu, CEO of Misfit Wearables)
Misfit was not the first company founded by Vu. As early as 1999, Vu worked for Kai-Fu Lee at Microsoft Research in Beijing. Later, Sonny Vu left the research institute to found his first company, FireSpout, where he served as CTO. This language processing software company was subsequently acquired by a major search engine.
In 2001, Sonny Vu and Sridhar Iyengar co-founded the medical device company Agamatrix in Salem, New Hampshire, serving successively as CEO, Chairman, and in other leadership roles. For over a decade, their company has specialized in blood glucose meters, biosensors (test strips), and diabetes management software. Starting as a two-person startup, it has since launched more than 15 FDA-approved products, produced over one billion biosensor test strips and more than 3 million blood glucose meters for people with diabetes, and grown its annual revenue from zero to $100 million.
He is also a co-founder of AgaMatrix, which created the world’s first medical accessory compatible with the iPhone (winner of the Red Dot and GOOD Design awards), currently available in the Apple Store.
The Origin of the Name "Misfit"
In 2011, Vu met John Sculley and asked him if he would like to co-found a company, to which John Sculley agreed. Consequently, Vu, Sculley, and Sridhar Iyengar, who had co-founded Agamatrix with Vu, decided to establish a new company together in 2011.
After racking their brains for a company name and struggling for quite some time with a slew of terrible options akin to “Ether Software,” the three of them were sitting at a table in the Rosewood Hotel on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, still at a loss for what to call their venture, when they suddenly heard the news of Steve Jobs’ passing.
“Since John left Apple, we’ve never gotten together again, which is a real pity. So we decided to use the company name to honor Steve,” said Vu. The inspiration for naming it “Misfit Wearables” came from the tagline in Apple’s 1997 “Think Different” advertising campaign, paying tribute to those who are “crazy”—including misfits, rebels, and troublemakers, all of whom are “round pegs in square holes.”
Featured Product Introduction
Shine
Product Features: Stylish and elegant activity tracker; metal waterproof design; multiple wearing options; monitors activity and sleep; water-resistant up to 50 meters; no charging required; watch functions; available in 10 colors; priced at $99.99
(Figure: Enables versatile wearing options)
Shine is fundamentally different from all similar products currently on the market. It eschews rubber and plastic materials as well as the traditional wristband design, instead featuring a small button crafted through high-precision machining of aerospace-grade aluminum. Comparable in size to a 1-yuan coin, it weighs only 6 grams.
Vu describes their design as crafting a beautiful piece of jewelry rather than creating a smart wearable device. It features no buttons or screens, utilizing only 12 LED lights as an information output and 1,560 laser-etched micro-perforations. The interaction method is simple: double-tap to display the time and activity levels, and triple-tap to enter exercise mode.
Shine uses standard coin-cell batteries commonly available on the market, with each battery lasting four to six months. Users can replace the battery with the included tool in under two minutes.
Shine also emphasizes interactive features, allowing users to share daily achievements with friends and engage in mutual monitoring and motivation. It also includes an interactive mode that periodically displays user statistics from around the world, making it a highly engaging accessory.
Shine’s design won the 2013 Red Dot Design Award, but design is not Shine’s only highlight. In terms of activity-tracking functionality, the Misfit Shine is largely similar to competing products on the market. However, Shine employs a synchronization method using Bluetooth and sensors: users simply place the Shine device on their iPhone screen, where the phone detects the small button-like tracker and proceeds with data synchronization.
Flash
Product Features: Youthful and dynamic fitness tracker; multiple wearing styles; monitors activity and sleep; 30-meter water resistance; no charging required; available in 7 colors; priced at $49.99
Beddit
Product Features: Sleep tracker; exquisite and accurate; no wearables required; plays a variety of customized, soothing sleep sounds; smart alarm; available in black and white; priced at $149.99
BEDDIT tracks:
• Total Sleep Time
• Sleep cycles; duration of deep and light sleep
• Number of awakenings
• Heart Rate
• Ambient sound, snoring
(Figure: Beddit. This product is as thin as paper and causes no discomfort.)
Bolt
This is a color-changing light bulb with wireless connectivity. Its warm white brightness meets the basic lighting needs of home living spaces, and users can customize the color to create suitable lighting effects in any room.
In terms of personalization, users can select their preferred colors from Bolt’s millions of color combinations, create color schemes based on preset scenarios, or choose a photo and have Bolt replicate the colors within it. Additionally, Bolt can be paired with Misfit’s existing sleep-tracking products; when it detects that the user is in light sleep, it simulates sunrise lighting to naturally wake them up.
In terms of appearance, Bolt features a dome-shaped glass lampshade with a surface diffuser coating that evenly distributes light in all directions, while its aluminum alloy housing ensures efficient heat dissipation. Unlike other smart lighting products on the market, Bolt does not require a hub (control center) for adjustment. The product is priced at $49.99 for a single unit and $129.99 for a three-pack.
Partners
Swarovski
In 2015, Swarovski announced a partnership with Misfit and launched the Shine jewelry collection. This collection integrated Swarovski’s jewelry designs with Misfit’s Shine device, introducing two wearable products. Both were waterproof, and one of them was Misfit’s first solar-powered activity tracker.
The Shine series of jewelry is a “crystal-encrusted activity tracker” equipped with Misfit’s professional tracking technology. It can count steps, calories burned, distance traveled, and even monitor sleep quality, wirelessly syncing with the wearer’s smartphone. With a simple tap, the Shine lights up to display the time and progress toward daily activity goals.
(Figure: Swarovski's Shine collection jewelry)
The Coca-Cola Company
Misfit has collaborated with The Coca-Cola Company on multiple occasions:
In 2014, to demonstrate support for the Olympic Games, Misfit partnered with The Coca-Cola Company to distribute Shine devices to select Olympic athletes, VIP guests, and fans along the torch relay route.
On June 11, 2015, the Global Mobile Internet Conference (GMIC), making its New York debut, is set to take place at Chelsea Pier in New York City. At this conference, The Coca-Cola Company and Misfit Wearables will jointly release a case study.
In the second half of 2014, The Coca-Cola Company launched a global initiative designed to provide personalized support, social connectivity, and access to resources for more than 60,000 employees. As part of this initiative, The Coca-Cola Company established a special partnership with Misfit Wearables.
The company distributes Shine devices to every employee to track and record their activities, synchronizing the collected data with the technology platform. At this year’s Global Mobile Internet Conference, the speaker will share how the collaboration between The Coca-Cola Company and Misfit has promoted the concept and practice of healthy living.
Connect these users through globally renowned brands that are widely popular and beloved by consumers, and then leverage innovative technologies to educate the public on the importance of tracking personal exercise and sleep data.
The Color Run
Media reports indicate that The Color Run, a global phenomenon, will make its debut at the Beijing Garden Expo Park in Fengtai District on June 20, 2015. As one of the partners for The Color Run Beijing 2015, Misfit will participate throughout the event with its best-selling products such as Shine and Flash, and will extend invitations to runners from diverse countries, regions, and backgrounds.
At The Color Run event, Misfit will also carefully assemble three “Cosplay Fantasy Run Teams,” allowing runners to join their preferred teams and fully enjoy the fun of running. Additionally, five giant Misfit Flash mascots will appear on the course for “up-close” interactions with participants. Attendees wearing Shine or Flash devices can not only pick up a mysterious runner’s kit at the Misfit brand zone but also take commemorative photos with the mascots in front of an exclusive photo wall.
Victoria’s Secret
Following Victoria’s Secret’s launch of its sports line, the women’s apparel and lingerie manufacturer partnered with Misfit to design and produce a pink-hued Shine device inspired by the VS brand.
Funding Status
To date, Misfit has undergone three rounds of financing.
In April 2012, Misfit secured $7.6 million in financing, with major investors including Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, Norwest, OATV, Max Levchin, and incTANK. With this Series A funding, Vu primarily allocated the capital to marketing efforts aimed at reaching consumers and building the brand.
In November 2012, Misfit’s inaugural product, the Misfit Shine, launched on Indiegogo for crowdfunding. Owing to its exceptional design, it achieved its $100,000 fundraising goal within just 10 hours.
In 2013, Li Ka-shing’s Horizons Ventures led the company’s Series B financing round, with Misfit raising $15.2 million. The specific investors were Horizons Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, and Founders Fund.
In December 2014, Misfit secured $40 million in financing. The investors included GGV Capital, JD.com, Norwest Venture Partners, Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, Horizons Ventures, Shunwei Capital, and Xiaomi. Notably, the investor lineup featured Xiaomi, JD.com, Shunwei Capital (affiliated with Lei Jun), and GGV Capital, which had previously invested in Xiaomi. Hans Tung, a partner at GGV Capital, joined Misfit’s board of directors, while Tal Xu, a partner at Shunwei Capital, assumed the role of board observer.
During the entrepreneurial journey, Vu named Founder and Horizon as his favorite investors because they do not interfere with Vu’s specific business operations. As wise investors who truly understand the teams they back, they can provide significant support—refraining from intervention when it is unnecessary, but offering candid advice when help is needed.
Responsible Editor: Zhang Nan
To learn more about VCBeat’s “Series Reports on the 30 Most Promising Healthcare Startups to Watch in 2015,” please click the link “Table of Contents for the Series”