Startup Spotlight: Plantiga

Startup Spotlight is an interview series where we ask health, fitness, and wellness startups that use Terra, to share their wisdom from their own journey to success and also where they see fitness data going in the future.

In this Spotlight, we connected with Quin Sandler, Co-founder & CEO of Plantiga, the wearable technology company that helps people move better by combining personalized movement data (gait and biomechanics) with human coaching and feedback. Its mission is to keep people moving and doing what they love so that they can live longer, healthier, and happier lives.

How did you come up with the idea?

I founded the company with my late father, Norman, who had a background in product design and biomechanics. Together we developed the insight that human movement offered a rich, and largely untapped, dataset that could be used in a variety of applications - biometric security, sports performance, health monitoring, and injury prevention.

The feet are the foundation of our movement and they're our connection points to the ground. So, we set off to build a product that analyzes motion directly from the feet.

How did you turn your idea into a company?

The goal was always the democratization of gait data. We knew that to start, we needed to work with elite athletes to both build validation, but also the database, insights, research, and validation. So that's what we did. We began building relationships with the performance staff from teams like the Lakers, Dodgers, and Rockets. From there, we knew it would be much easier to move down the market to more general fitness and health enthusiasts.

What have been some of the biggest challenges you've faced so far?

The biggest challenge has been building the entire product tech stack, which spans hardware, signal processing, and algorithm development, mobile and web development, sport science, and remote human coaching. We're fortunate to have an amazing team of hardware engineers, software developers, data scientists, and machine learning experts, researchers, and movement specialists that bring all of these components together.

How are you using health data?

We use health data, specifically biomechanical and gait parameters, to help our members perform better, reduce injury risk, and recover faster. For us, it's all about being proactive. Our system captures things that the eye can't see, allowing us to identify changes in movement patterns and intervene before these changes become problematic. For example, if you're a runner, we can detect fatigue-related imbalances in your stride and give you a plan to manage your running load to reduce the risk of future injury.

What do you think are the current gaps in health data today?

I'd say there are three:

- Individualised data that is captured in the real world. Population norms can be useful guideposts, but ultimately we need data that is specific to the individual. At Plantiga, we say "You vs. You." We also need the data to be ecologically valid, or measured in an environment as close to the real world as possible. Wearable tech is fundamental to addressing this.

- Application and behavior change. We have a lot of data, but most people don't know what to do with it or how to apply it within their own lives. That's why we have a team of coaches - to bridge the gap between data and application.

- Movement data. We have technologies that measure our blood glucose, our heart rate, our activity, our nutritional status, and our sleep. But there's an empty space when it comes to our movement - the quality of our steps, how our bodies interact with the ground, our ability to walk, run, jump, and change direction. We're on a mission to change that.

The future is bright - you're seeing all sorts of amazing companies and founders emerging to fill these gaps, and I know TERRA is supporting many of them.

What do you think is the future of this space?

I'll just speak to our space - the intersection of human movement with health and performance. The future is a proactive health solution, driven by instrumented footwear or apparel, that passively monitors your day-to-day movement and alerts you when something moves outside your norm and needs attention. Imagine smart sneakers that can detect if you're at risk of osteoarthritis and that send you a message to see a physical therapist so you can get ahead of the issue. That's the future we're building toward.

Last but not least

We recently launched a membership for goal-driven athletes looking to improve performance, recover from an injury, or stay healthy and active. The membership combines our sensor insole technology with feedback and support from our team of movement coaches. Anyone who's interested can request access at plantiga.com/membership.