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Bridget Pujals

co-founder @saelo — we’re hiring! 💉| ex-instagram PM

Brie Pujals is the Co-Founder and CEO of Saelo, a consumer wellness company based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has a notable background in product management, having previously worked at major tech companies such as Facebook (Meta) and Postmates. Pujals is currently pursuing an MBA at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, where she has been actively developing her venture, Saelo, which aims to innovate in the wellness space.

Background and Career

  • Education: Brie Pujals chose the Haas School of Business for its entrepreneurial culture and proximity to Silicon Valley. She is a Merit Scholar and is expected to complete her MBA in early 2024.1
  • Professional Experience: Before founding Saelo, Pujals served as a Product Manager at Instagram and was an early employee at Postmates. Her experiences in these roles have significantly shaped her approach to entrepreneurship.2

Saelo

Saelo is positioned to launch in the wellness sector, with plans to introduce a unique wellness experience in Summer 2024. The concept emerged from Pujals' discussions with her co-founder Joyce, who drew inspiration from spa experiences in Korea. Together, they are focused on creating a multi-location business that addresses consumer needs in this growing market.23

Personal Insights

Pujals has expressed her commitment to leveraging her MBA as a launchpad for Saelo, emphasizing the importance of aligning her passions with market demands. She has actively engaged with various entrepreneurial communities to refine her business model and explore potential growth avenues.25

Brie Pujals continues to share updates about her entrepreneurial journey on platforms like LinkedIn, where she engages with fellow professionals and potential customers about her vision for Saelo.14

Highlights

Jan 23 · linkedin

Today, health startup WHOOP is a $3.6bn wearables company. 3 students started the company at Harvard Innovation Labs. Here's their story:

It all started on Varsity Squash at Harvard with Will Ahmed. He wanted to build something for himself to optimize his training. This gave them two major advantages from the start:

  1. Ties to an elite university to attract talent and raise funds
  2. The founder was his own customer

Quick timeline: 2014: raised $6 million seed. 2015: raised another $12 million 2018: valued at $125 million 2020: valued at $1.2bn By 2021, Whoop is worth a whopping $3.6bn.

What changed from 2018 to 2021?

Pricing.

In 2019, they decided to make their wearable device FREE.

Customers would pay an ongoing membership fee, starting at $30/mo.

They also stripped away features to simplify the experience.

They've been vocal about not adding in a screen, like the Apple Watch.

Lessons I learned from their story:

  1. To succeed, startups need an advantage from the start.
  2. Less is more. Strip away features to add value.
  3. Build for a niche customer (Whoop builds for elite athletes).
  4. Lower the barriers to adopting your product, but still collect a credit card.

#consumerhealth #startup #wearables #wellness __ I’m Bridget, formerly Product Manager at Instagram/Meta. Follow for weekly lessons as I bootstrap my wellness startup and unpack trends in consumer health and wellness.

Related Questions

What inspired Brie Pujals to transition from tech to consumer wellness?
How did her experience at Instagram influence her startup journey?
What are the key features of Saelo's wellness services?
Who is Joyce, Brie Pujals' co-founder at Saelo?
What challenges did Brie face while building Saelo?
Bridget Pujals
Bridget Pujals, photo 1
Bridget Pujals, photo 2
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Location

San Francisco, California, United States