Next-generation wearable that helps runners improve their technique to run faster and safer.
Business overview
Location | Eindhoven, Netherlands |
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Social media | |
Website | www.arion.run |
Sectors | Travel, Leisure & Sport Mixed Digital/Non-Digital Mixed B2B/B2C |
Company number | 62760424 |
Incorporation date | 27 Feb 2015 |
Idea
Tax Relief Notice
Please note that whilst the campaign is labelled as EIS eligible, the company has its SEIS allowance remaining. We will therefore be looking to seek SEIS relief on the first £150,000 invested into the campaign and EIS relief on the balance. Any tax relief is dependent on personal circumstances and may be subject to change in the future.
Introduction
ARION is a next-generation AI wearable that helps runners improve their technique to run faster, longer and safer.
Ultra-thin pressure-sensitive insoles slip unnoticed into almost any running shoe, and transforms it into a running lab.
ARION’s AI coach analyses technique and identifies strengths, weaknesses, and injury risks. Easy to understand real-time feedback guides runners to improve their technique, which can help optimise performance and reduce risk of injury.
Our dedicated team includes 2 PhDs and former high-performance athletes, who have successfully translated 7+ years of scientific research and 7 patents into our first product, ARION.
Within 1 year of launching our online store we have sold more than 1,000 units and received overwhelmingly positive feedback from users, strong reviews, and consistently high customer care ratings.
We are now preparing to scale sales and our business. Having almost sold out of our current stock, we’re seeking funding to initiate new production and continue to drive sales internationally.
Intended impact
It is estimated that 37% to 56% of recreational distance runners become injured in any year, preventing them from doing what they love, and causing many to drop out of the sport.
Over 75% of runners aim to achieve personal goals of conditioning and fitness, but many experience plateaus they are unable to push past. This can be frustrating and demotivating, leaving many runners searching for a solution.
A coach can help with these challenges, but over 70% of runners who run weekly have no access to a coach. Millions of people are turning to the wearable electronics market for help.
ARION helps you understand *how* you run, bringing the coaching experience to the world of wearables. By breaking down technique into simple, easy to understand exercises, runners can master one piece at a time before moving onto the next. In this way users can gradually change their running technique to help reduce injury risks and improve performance, push past plateaus, and achieve their goals.
Substantial accomplishments to date
ARION is created by a team of highly skilled and experienced scientists, engineers and health & fitness enthusiasts; including 2 PhDs and former high-performance athletes. Every facet is developed, designed, and in some cases produced, in-house from the electronics and plastics, to the apps, algorithms and cloud.
To date we have sold more than 1,000 units. We have produced and delivered ARION to our customers and engaged community of coaches, retailers and health professionals, and won numerous international awards.
Our company was founded in 2015 on the basis of research that began in 2007, co-ordinated at the Dutch National Research Institute, TNO.
Since that time we have achieved a huge amount:
Monetisation strategy
ARION products generate revenue by selling direct to consumers, via coaches and via retailers & distributors.
We aim to add recurring revenues through:
• Additional insole sales. ARION insoles are low cost and replaceable when they wear. Additionally, runners often have several shoes and buy extra insoles for each.
• Implementing B2C & B2B SaaS. Premium software services, coaching tools, & value-added in-app purchases for consumers. Marketing, advertising, & big data analytics for businesses, retailers and shoe manufacturers.
• New applications. ARION software adapted for new sports, such as cycling and home fitness programmes.
• Health professionals & clinics. Expanding health product lines helps realise higher margins through service fees and higher insole volumes.
A new ‘ARION Lite’ product will have a lower price point. The influence of the experienced runners in our current niche coupled with a lower price is expected to help us engage a larger total market. Sales of the beta version are planned for September 3rd 2018.
Use of proceeds
In May 2017 we launched our online store for pre-ordering ahead of our first volume production. To date we have sold more than 1,000 units and have an order book exceeding our current stock levels. We’re now seeking funding to initiate our next production batch and to continue to drive sales.
Beyond this short-term funding requirement, (ideally through over funding of our Seedrs campaign) we plan to invest in expanding our marketing focus into the US and opening the health & rehabilitation markets.
The following breakdown shows how we intend to allocate the new funds:
• 35% Production (initiate next production and scale supply chain).
• 40% Marketing (continue to drive sales and open new markets).
• 15% Development (product upgrades, continue research, feature development and new product introduction).
• 10% Overhead.
Please note, ARION has 2 share classes, ordinary shares and preference shares. Investors subscribing in this round via Seedrs will be receiving ordinary shares.
Preference shares have a liquidation preference, which is equal to the amount paid for the preference shares plus 6% per annum, which accrues if not paid out. Preference shares also benefit from anti-dilution rights if shares are issued at a valuation lower than €1.5m. This would dilute ordinary shareholders.
If ARION accepts direct investment in Euros, this will be reflected in the campaign at an agreed fixed exchange rate of €1 = £0.90.
Advance Assurance for SEIS and EIS was applied for on the 27th of June 2018.
Market
Target market
ARION has potential in a wide variety of markets. To ensure focus we initially targeted more dedicated and experienced runners, establishing common touch points through which we can efficiently reach them, e.g. presence at marathon expos, running clubs and in running focused press, media, and distribution channels.
We expect this niche to be the influencers of the running community, thereby creating a gateway to the broader consumer running market. To leverage this opportunity we are introducing a lower price point product, ARION Lite, a more affordable option intended to appeal to this broader segment. To validate this approach, we plan to launch ARION Lite in September 2018. We feel this will create 3 product price points for the various market segments;
Geographically, our marketing efforts are currently focused on Europe, especially in the UK and the Netherlands. We aim to grow more internationally through engaging distributors and strategic partners, including US and Asian markets.
From the earliest product design stages we worked closely with the running community to ensure ARION meets our customers’ needs. This co-creation process continues today, with regular upgrades delivered via remote software and firmware updates. Via these remote updates ARION’s hardware platform can also be quickly adapted for other applications such as cycling, fitness, other sports and towards new markets such as health and medical. This flexibility means we can respond quickly to changes in the market and provide potential for future expansion and scaling.
We see the consumer running market as a viable business proposition on its own, as well as a stepping stone towards other markets. E.g. injured runners visit physiotherapists & podiatrists, a natural interface through which to introduce ARION. We are currently working with clinics to demonstrate the utility of ARION as a rehabilitation tool.
Characteristics of target market
Market reports consistently project strong growth in the international wearable electronics segment with an estimated CAGR of 35% and the total market expected to grow to $70 Billion by 2022.
Sports, health, fitness & lifestyle applications represent some of the fastest growing sectors, fitting our current focus and future ambitions. More specifically there are an estimated 100 million runners in Europe and USA. This market is broad & diverse with different ages, gender, income, etc. To ensure focus we initially target more dedicated & experienced runners who are typically:. highly educated with above average income, run more than once a week, use running wearables, read running magazines, visit specialist running stores and attend events.
Based on our own market research, runners in this group identify technique advice/tracking as the most missed feature of existing wearables.
We see this focus helps us efficiently target marketing and product development efforts. We think runners in this niche are influencers in the broader recreational market, helping us access a larger market as we scale.
Marketing strategy
We are building a brand associated with high quality & expertise with a vision to make latest exercise sciences accessible to runners through our products & services. With valuable original content and personal interaction we have already begun expanding an engaged community.
To attract leads at scale we use a push strategy driven by powerful marketing automation, tuned towards the appropriate phase of the customer journey:.
1. AWARENESS.
ARION actively generates awareness via touch points common to our target customers at events such as marathon expos, through press & media, and tactics like targeted video ads on social media.
2. CONSIDERATION.
We retarget customers to direct them to valuable content. We attract them to our email list through our newsletter, or encouraging them to try the free ARION app & online dashboard.
3. PURCHASE.
A combination of targeted direct email and advertising with testimonials and product content to encourage conversion.
4. LOYALTY.
We track product usage, provide users with appropriate content, and achieve consistently high customer care ratings. This helps customers remain active, become brand ambassadors and recommend ARION.
Competition strategy
Existing running devices track metrics (e.g. speed, distance, heartrate, etc.) that tell you *what* you do but there are few options that help you understand *how* you run. We believe we address this need with a unique & innovative solution, positioning ARION in a relatively un-competed niche of the running market.
Scientific research and our co-creation strategy means ARION is a product developed by runners, for runners. Our patents, ongoing user engagement and ever-growing database, ensure we continually optimise our product & services and stay ahead of emerging competition.
Key differentiators include:.
• 7+ years of research and 7 patents.
• Ultra-thin printed electronic insoles so ARION fits in any shoe, under a runner’s own insole.
• Real-time feedback and AI coaching engine that helps address *how* you run, guiding technique and adapting training every session.
• The freedom to run without your phone and sync data after each session.
• Comprehensive, ever-growing database creating a platform for future algorithm, service and product development.
• Future proofed, feature-rich hardware, upgradeable remotely, which can be adapted towards multiple applications.
Please note that any discounts, rewards and/or offers listed by a company in its campaign are subject to the terms and conditions applied by that company and listed above. It is the company’s responsibility to honour such discounts, rewards and/or offers and Seedrs does not take any responsibility for them.
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