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Navigating an acquisition: Meet the computer scientist who just sold her startup

Image Credit: Dayo Akinrinade Noom Vibe Founder and General Manager

Wisdom, a VC-funded, audio-first social discovery app powered by AI, has announced its acquisition.

Founded by Dayo Akinrinade in 2021, Wisdom initially connected people from all walks of life by democratising mentorship and was described as a blend between Clubhouse and MasterClass.

The app allowed users to log on and find live conversations they could join, ask questions, or listen to on-demand.

The startup developed a TikTok-style algorithm to recommend talks to users based on topic hashtags and behavioural data-mining, factoring what users were clicking on and the level of sustained engagement a talk receives.

Early contributors included musician Kenny G, baseball Hall of Famer Andre Dawson, and James Marsters, known for his role as “Spike” in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

While the startup is not disclosing how many users its first version of social audio attracted, its founder reported that mentors on the platform generated 2.3 million minutes of listening in the eight weeks following the app’s official launch.

However, it didn’t take long for Akinrinade to recognise that wellness was the most popular topic among users. This insight prompted her to refocus the platform’s mission, ultimately transforming it into a wellness-focused audio app.

After raising a total of $2m (£1.5m) in seed funding, Wisdom has now been acquired and rebranded by Noom Vibes, a US-based platform for building healthy habits, for an undisclosed amount.

UKTN spoke with Akinrinade about her funding journey, exploring both the challenges and successes, and the advice she offers to founders seeking to raise capital or secure an acquisition.

Lessons learnt?

One of my learnings with social technology is that, as a founder you can build a platform, but ultimately, your early cohort of members will use it for their own purposes. When I created Wisdom, I envisioned it as a platform for sharing knowledge and social capital, fostering mentoring, and helping people connect across diversity. Many of us, especially within the UK community, don’t have generations of successful families here to rely on for support.

However, when we surveyed our users, we found that the top two topics they were interested in were mindfulness and personal development. It wasn’t being used for business networking as I had anticipated. Instead, people were using it for personal development, wellness, mindfulness, and mental health. I had to pivot and embrace these interests, redesigning the platform to align with what our users wanted. This was one of the key challenges I faced and something I would tell startup founders to be mindful of.

Funding challenges?

Traditionally, tech founders are expected to start out with a friends and family round, however this was a challenging route for me to pursue. This is because of the known racial wealth gap which is well documented in both America and Great Britain.

Being a Black woman in UK tech also presented its own set of challenges, particularly in dealing with bias. It’s often subtle and manifests in various ways. For example, when speaking to tech ecosystem leaders, I would frequently be questioned about my qualifications, despite having studied computer science at the University of Manchester. The surprise and scepticism I encountered suggested that these conversations were more about me proving my credibility rather than discussing my idea.

This phenomenon of “double convincing” is common. Typically, an entrepreneur who fits the expected archetype (usually male and white) only needs to prove that their idea is good.

However, I had to first convince people that I belonged in the space before even discussing my concept. This additional layer of validation is exhausting and unfair, as it prevents the conversation from starting on an equal footing.

How would you describe your experience throughout the acquisition process?

The acquisition process was several months long and very rigorous. It was a thorough experience, involving extensive due diligence and verification from external experts.

As a founder, if you’re building with the intention of being acquired, it’s important to build your company with integrity. Ensure your tech is developed to be modular and scalable, with well-written and well-maintained code, because independent experts will be brought in to inspect it during the acquisition process.”

It’s important to ensure that every aspect of your company, from your codebase to your mailing list, is managed with integrity. For example, if you have a mailing list, make sure everyone on it has opted in, and if someone asks to be removed, you’ve done so promptly.

Were you happy with the end result?

What was great about this acquisition, which could also be described as an acqui-hire, is that my team of 15 and I have stayed intact. We’re now under the umbrella of Noom Vibe, which is what they wanted. So, where I was the founder and CEO of Wisdom, I am now the founder and general manager of Noom Vibe. We operate almost like an internal startup, a startup within a wider, established company.

Everyone asks about the acquisition number but that’s the one number I’m not allowed to share, not even with other journalists. All I can say is that the early investors were really pleased, which was important to me. They believed in Wisdom and in me from the onset, so being able to bring them this good news was significant. But yes, I’m not allowed to disclose the exact figure, though we were all happy with it.

What has the acquisition meant for Wisdom?

Since the acquisition, the team has added a step tracker and habit tracker. Users can now earn rewards from steps, track healthy habits, and participate in supportive conversations with Noom coaches and doctors. The rewards can be donated to charity.

Through these activities, our users have donated over $14,000 to various charitable causes, collectively tracked over a billion steps per month, and monitored over a million healthy habits per month.

Noom Vibes’ mission is to help everyone, everywhere live better, longer. Chronic diseases, such as heart disease, are the leading cause of death in the USA, accounting for over 15% of deaths. Experts say that individual behaviours and healthy habits are the most significant drivers of health. Noom Vibes aims to help users build these healthy habits.

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