Athena: The Health & Wellness Social Discovery Platform
Co-founded by two former high-level athletes, Athena looks to create an online community for people interested in health & wellness. As loneliness becomes a major issue for modern society, Athena wants to address the problem by creating meaningful friendships in the fitness space.
Co-founders AJ Wolf and Max Roche both experienced loneliness after leaving high-level sports, and missed the social experiences that came from being active.
They identified that during the pandemic many people were interested in health & fitness, but had nowhere to go to connect. Like Twitch is the hub for gamers, or Peanut the digital meeting place for mothers, Athena looks to be the go-to digital product for fitness fans.
The platform gives this community the opportunity to share progress pictures, discuss workouts, compare fitness clothing, and discover like-minded people. This can be done through live-streaming features, a busy newsfeed, and themed community groups.
Athena has had a strong start after soft launching in January 2023, with 30,000 sign ups so far.
Not only that, but the platonic social discovery market is estimated to be double the size of the dating app market. Additionally, the digital wellness industry is also expected to reach a value of $42 billion by 2027, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The platform has seen initial investments from Steven Galanis (Founder & CEO of Cameo) and Ross Cockrell (NFL cornerback), among others so far. Athena is now planning to raise a $2 million + seed round this year to continue growing its team and userbase.
Find out more about Athena by listening to the recent GDI Podcast episode with co-founder AJ Wolf.
