Meet the Asheville startup that built an app to track wellness

ASHEVILLE — An Asheville-based startup that created a smartphone app to measure heart rate variability is a finalist for a $50,000 grant that could see it expand to more users and potentially into hospital systems nationwide.

The company, Elite HRV, is one of 12 finalists for funding through the NC IDEA SEED grant program, which provides grants to expand entrepreneurship in North Carolina. It would be a significant boost for the 4-year-old company founded by Asheville residents Jason and Alyssa Moore, who manage it along with Chief Commercial Officer Vivek Menon.

Reasons for creating the app 

Menon said the app was created to provide HRV data analytics geared toward assisting high-level athletes and health professionals.It since has expanded its scope to more than 200,000 users worldwide, split between athletes training for events and commoners looking to lose weight or monitor chronic health conditions.Asheville's historic Flatiron Building up for sale for $16 million

"One of the things we’re passionate about is giving people objective feedback quickly if they do spend time on something," Menon said in a phone interview this week. "And it’s numbers-based, not a subjective measurement."

He added that the grant could bridge the stage between "scrappy, small startup" to something that is larger and more effective for users.

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Dr. Marcelo Campos wrote in a 2017 article for the Harvard Medical School health blog that the variation in a person's heartbeat is controlled by the body's autonomic nervous system. In the past, it required an electrocardiogram to accurately measure heart rate variability, or the variation of time between each heartbeat.

Factors like stress or an unhealthy diet may cause a low HRV reading which could lead over time to depression, anxiety, cardiovascular disease and death.

Campos wrote that the accuracy of some apps and heart rate monitors "is still under scrutiny." However, he said the technology has improved "substantially" to provide accurate readings at a lower cost, singling out Elite HRV as "a good one."

'We were surprised how quickly it took off'

Elite HRV has a 4.5-star rating with more than 160 reviews in the Apple app store with many users singling out its simplicity, its ability to connect between devices and its value. The app is free to download with in-app purchases for themes and third-party integrations, typically costing users less than $5 a month.

"We were surprised how quickly it took off," Menon said. "Because it’s grown so fast, we said we need to invest and build some new capability here, hopefully with some of the things NC IDEA presents as an opportunity and really make this mainstream."

Of the 125 companies to be awarded NC IDEA SEED grants since the twice-annual program began in 2006, five have been based in Western North Carolina. They include No Evil Foods, Adoratherapy, Twistek, Vdex and the now-closed Jute Networks

Other finalists in this year's class come from Charlotte, Raleigh, Winston-Salem and Wilmington, among other cities.

Thom Ruhe, president and CEO of NC IDEA, said this year's grant cycle drew 185 applications, noting making it to the final 12 "is no insignificant thing." About half of the 12 finalists are expected to take home a $50,000 grant, determined after the remaining companies make their final pitches to the foundation later this week. 

He said the foundation usually receives about six health care IT apps per cycle.

However, he said Elite HRV appears to be on "the leading edge" of where technology and the health care world is headed.

"As those go, this one stood out," he said. "Adequately to the point they are a finalist."

Results of the grant cycle are expected to be announced early next month.

Different goal than Fitbit, Apple Watch

Menon said Elite HRV won't be a replacement for a device such as a Fitbit or an Apple Watch, both widely worn by athletes and everyday people alike.

It ultimately has a different goal than those other products, he said.

"We want to be a GPS for someone's health and wellness journey," he said. "We can’t tell them how to get there. You would need to use some sort of mapping software. In our analogy, that might be a doctor, a wellness coach or an athletic coach.

"We want to provide that very clear, almost instantaneous picture of where that person is."