The Exchanges

Q And you use, like, a spare room in the house to start putting together a website. 1997, 98, like, this was a really hard challenge. First of all, most people didn't have access to the internet yet, and if they did, it was dial-up. Secondly, building a website, it's complicated. It was really hard to do. He knew how to do this?

A He figured it out. We'd been in this bookshop in Cardiff, and we saw this book called Doing Business on the Internet, and it was massive, and we bought it, we clubbed our money together, and we both just absolutely devoured it as if it was a holy script, and then were able to build the first version of the site, and it was still really, really clunky. We couldn't quite figure out how to get people to Input their credit cards, so if you wanted to order anything, you'd print off a sheet of paper and fill in your credit card details, and then fax it to us. Fortunately, we only got about one order every few days, and so.

AI assessment note: “He figured it out. We'd been in this bookshop in Cardiff”

Q All right. You have a big break, big break. It's a first break, which is you guys start to sell something called the shot glass chess set. So basically I'm imagining it's a chess set, but each piece is a shot glass. And this is something you guys came up with. You created this product, right?

A Yes. Yeah. We were dreaming up all sorts of weird and Wild ideas for new products. And, um, we were in a bar one night in Cardiff, and saw some tequilas lined up across the bar, tequila shots. And I think in our slightly drunken state, you know, I think I mentioned they look like pawns on a chessboard. And then it got into a conversation of how you could make chess more exciting, um, by making it a party game. So we called it the thinking person's drinking game. And, um, you could play with red wine against white wine. Whiskey against vodka if you're a little more hardcore, but every time you capture an opponent's piece, you have to drink their shot, and, uh, usually you don't remember who wins by the end of the game.

AI assessment note: “Yes. Yeah. We were dreaming up all sorts of weird and Wild ideas”

Q And again, it was a, a website that, where what, kids would like, create a pet, and then they would care for the pet? Like, just briefly explain how it worked.

A Yeah, so you would adopt your own pet monster, you'd give it a name, you'd customize it, it lived in its own room, so you could design what its environment was, and kids don't have an awful lot of, uh, Control over their, their world. They're told, you know, what to eat and when to go to school, and so to have their own space, their own online environment where they are in control was really exciting. And one of the key things we did in this world, ah, we talk about this idea of stealth education. So the core loop of the game was to look after your monster, but then you would go to the puzzle palace and do puzzles every day, learning maths of the world, how to tell the time. So parents liked it, and um, Definitely not overnight, but after a lot of tweaking and iterating, we, we got product market fit, and it just took off like a rocket.

AI assessment note: “Yeah, so you would adopt your own pet monster, you'd give it a name”

Q That voice, right, that calm, and that, that voice is so, it's like Andy Puttycomb's voice, but she was somebody who contacted you guys, right? She was, she got in touch with you in 2014 to say, hey, you need a community manager, right? Like, well, tell me the story, because she would become a turning point for you.

A Yeah, she, um, she applied for our community manager role, and Alex and I got on a, I think it was a Skype call with her, and, um, really liked her, and really liked her voice, and I think she offered to do some meditations, didn't she? She'd been a meditation teacher, and we felt her voice and her experience as a meditation teacher was going to be much more valuable than, than joining on the community team, and Tamara recorded these, and it suddenly made Meditation and developing a habit easier for people. You'd come back every day and hear a new story, a new lesson. There'd be an inspiring quote at the end. And, um, even though it was a huge amount of work to create all this unique content, it was a step change for the business.

AI assessment note: “she applied for our community manager role, and Alex and I got on”

Q And, and you guys have also done, uh, some, some partnerships and acquisitions. I mean, you, you acquired, uh, a company called Ripple Health Group. Um, tell me about what, uh, what that means. I mean, does, does Calm want to start, like, tapping into the healthcare system somehow?

A Yeah, we want to bring calm to as many people as possible. We launched a B to B division where companies pay for calm for their employees, and that's been a, a hugely successful part of the business, particularly, uh, at the start of COVID. And the next phase is, can we work, uh, in the healthcare system in, in the US? Could calm be provided to, um, insured patients to ensure that they live a more mindful life, that they get good sleep, That they're conscious of the, the food they eat, and the exercise they take, which the theory is, downstream will prevent more physical health issues, such as obesity, obesity, and diabetes, and others. So, um, last, uh, this is why we acquired Ripple, and, and the team that have such deep healthcare experience, and last year we signed a big deal with United Healthcare, um, to bring calm to, to many of Their population. So, this is a, a big part of, um, CALM's growth over the next few years.

AI assessment note: “this is why we acquired Ripple, and, and the team that have such deep healthcare”

Q And you decide that you need, this is the summer of 2014, you need a break. And I guess you just got like a A room in a hotel in a, in the mountains of Austria, and you just brought some books, and you just, like, got away from it all. But this was kind of an important turning point. What, what happened there?

A I was just, yeah, really struggling, um, with the business, and burnout, and lack of sleep, and I think sometimes, as entrepreneurs, you, you've just got to step away from that Cold face. You've just got to get perspective, and realize you are not your business, and get into nature, and fresh air, and just kind of calm your nervous system. So that was a really important trip for me, and it was unusual as well, because it was on my own. I just was alone with my thoughts, and um, as you mentioned, I was reading books, and research papers, and just so fascinated by what we were doing with, with calm, and it really was the, the really bright light bulb moment, going, what am I doing? I need to be I need to be working on this full time with Alex. I've got to find a way to make this. This can change the world. I just realized that it was, uh, it's a way of rewiring the human brain. It's, it's been around for thousands of years for good reason. And so I started practicing myself and realized the value. And the, if we could make this ancient practice accessible and relatable and simple, um, We could connect with millions, maybe tens, maybe even hundreds of millions of people.

AI assessment note: “it really was the, the really bright light bulb moment”

Q How important were the celebrities in increasing your market share?

A I think it was, it was really important. Um, not only did it lead to a lot of additional downloads, um, but it gave us press moments. We were able to talk about calm in new ways, and people started to see calm as more than just a meditation or a mindfulness app. We opened up the market potential massively. When someone like LeBron James comes and says, you know, mental health is important, as important as physical health, That, that, that appeals to, you know, hundreds of millions of people. So it was crucial. I think we did a better job than a lot of the other, um, apps in our space at connecting with the, the celebrity talent. And, uh, yeah, it's been part of our secret sauce.

AI assessment note: “I think it was, it was really important. Um, not only did it lead”