2020 Summer Catalyst Startup Profile: Cabana Health
If your data is about you, then shouldn’t you have access to it and be able to use it? Cabana Health Co-founder MacBrennan Peet ‘22 started out with a broad interest in data democratization and quickly found his niche: health. He began to think about the power of health and wellness data and how it truly shows a complete version of yourself. And he started to wonder about the ways you could use this data if you were empowered to do so.
MacBrennan’s interest in health tech took a step further when he connected with his co-founder Tom Liu, who is a Brown College student, in March 2020. They connected via LinkedIn, met over coffee, and clicked. Since then, they’ve been hard at work on Cabana Health.
So what’s a Cabana? On the platform, users can join Cabanas, or groups aligned with any health interest like meditation or nutrition, and create connections. MacBrennan explained this further, “Your goals are Cabana goals.” And, if they wish, they can share their data, monetize it, and get rewarded. In the future, MacBrennan and Tom would also like to build in a feature for brand-sponsored Cabanas.
In Summer Catalyst, the two worked closely with their advisor David Chang, who, in their words, is a “huge plus.” As they’ve received some initial investor interest, David has helped them to think through and understand terms. As well, Summer Catalyst sessions and office hours on legal and fundraising have been great opportunities to learn more.
MacBrennan and Tom just recently launched their beta test. Their goal is to onboard 60 users. They are also engaging beta leaders: 24 people who are enthusiastic about the platform, will bring new users on, and will share crucial feedback with MacBrennan and Tom. These beta leaders are even more valuable now that COVID-19 has made it difficult in some ways to conduct customer discovery. For example, they can’t go to a gym to meet and interview customers.
What’s on the horizon for Cabana Health? The team hopes to do a full rollout of the app by the end of the year. As for the backend, they are currently accessing and leveraging data through Apple’s HealthKit and hope to build integrations with other apps in the future.
What’s important to know about Cabana Health is the emphasis on team. MacBrennan and Tom want to encourage connection, not competition, between users: “Everything we do is in a team setting.”
This too applies to their own team. While MacBrennan and Tom may be building different aspects of the platform, together they are building the Cabana Health business.
To learn more about Cabana Health, visit its website and check out its Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.