- Zero, a health and wellness platform for fasting, announced it raised $2.8 million in additional funding from True Ventures and Trinity Ventures
Zero — a health and wellness platform for fasting — announced it raised $2.8 million in additional funding from True Ventures and Trinity Ventures thus bringing the company’s total seed funding to $4 million. Zero also announced the hires of Dr. Peter Attia and Nicholas Robinson to the executive team, which will further accelerate the company’s growth plans and add valuable expertise to bring new and expanded product offerings to market.
How does Zero work? Zero helps people make long-term lifestyle changes that can improve their overall health. And the company is led by CEO Mike Master (a serial entrepreneur and former founder of Fitstar — which was acquired by Fitbit in 2016). Zero’s advisory team includes leading doctors and researchers, who guide the company’s fasting protocols and oversee the development of science-backed content to help support users with their long-term health goals.
“81% of Zero users say fasting is a lifestyle for them, not just a tool to reach a short-term goal,” said Maser. “As a cancer survivor, I used fasting to aid in my treatment, and can speak to the positive impact that it has had on my health.”
Ever Zero was founded, the app has been downloaded more than 2.5 million times and users have completed more than 35 million fasts to date.
“That’s over 550 million hours of fasting,” added Maser. “The interest and enthusiasm about fasting only continues to grow, and Zero has an exciting opportunity to not only support people in their daily fasting routines, but also in their overall health and wellness on a personal, individualized level.”
Rather than focusing on short-term wins or specific diets, Zero’s fasting protocols are focused on when people eat, not what they eat. And the app connects people who are interested in fasting to the tools, resources, and community to help them find the best fasting routines for their health in addition to tracking progress and milestones over time.
“Wellness is a $4.2 trillion dollar industry* and continues to grow rapidly year over year,” added True Ventures partner Tony Conrad. “People all over the world are looking for ways to improve their health and well-being, from adopting meditation practices, to taking increased control over their nutrition and finding the right fitness routines. The Zero team and Mike are viewing this opportunity through the lens of their own health journeys as they bring this practice of intermittent fasting to the mainstream. We love to support these types of teams – teams on a personal mission to make a meaningful impact in people’s lives.”
“Mike is a brilliant entrepreneur with incredible values, unshakable integrity and a longstanding passion to unleash technology’s potential to improve lives,” explained Ajay Chopra, a general partner at Trinity Ventures. “We proudly backed Mike in the early days of Fitstar and are thrilled to collaborate with him again through our investment in Zero.”
Dr. Attia is one of the leading medical experts on the effects of fasting on health and longevity and has joined the company as co-founder and chief medical officer. And a longtime advisor to Zero, Dr. Attia will continue to advise the development of Zero’s product and education strategy by engaging and educating users on the benefits of fasting and offering them support as they embark on fasting protocols.
Robinson, the former chief marketing officer of Quest Nutrition, joined Zero as chief business officer. And Robinson will accelerate the company’s growth plans by activating the Zero community and driving the company’s marketing and business strategies.
“My work centers around the power that fasting, in all its various forms, can have on improving human health and longevity. Zero created a tool, and more importantly a community, that makes it easy for anyone to learn about and adopt a fasting protocol that best fits their needs and lifestyle. As a longtime advisor and advocate for Zero, I’m excited to deepen my involvement and work with the team to evolve the product offering and drive the evolution of Zero alongside Mike and Nick,” noted Dr. Attia.
Zero was originally founded by Kevin Rose back in 2016. Rose is also known for launching Oak Meditation, Digg, Revision3, and Milk Inc.
