A team of engineers and product developers from life insurance and financial management company Northwestern Mutual have created a software application that allows fitness enthusiasts to digitally view how they’re performing against other competitors during a race or challenge, anywhere in the world, a product that could prove valuable in the $100 billion global fitness industry.
The software application also is designed for race and multi-sport event organizers to help digitally manage competitions, with features like virtual check-ins and an ability to change settings for new goals or objectives within an event.
ProQuo, the name of the product, is the first product to come out of Northwestern Mutual’s new venture studio. The Milwaukee-based company launched the studio this year to turn product ideas into new businesses, and to partner with entrepreneurs and inventors to transform their business ventures into commercialized, scalable products and services.
The venture studio is operated from Cream City Labs on the Northwestern Mutual campus in downtown Milwaukee and is designed to grow ideas within the financial technology and health and wellness industries.
ProQuo, which took two months to develop and went live six weeks ago, operates as a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual, which posted revenue of $32 billion in 2019. Through the software, race event organizers can share the competitors’ progress during challenges and scavenger hunts. The data is generated from wearable devices worn by the athletes, like Apple Watch and Fitbit. Read the full story here.
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