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Fitbit Files IPO

sec.gov

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Re: Fitbit Files IPO

#11

Post by hbhakhra »

eroo wrote: post #2

Devices in millions [2011,2014]: 0.2, 1.3, 4.5, 10.9 Revenue in millions [2011,2014[: 14.5, 76.4, 271.1, 745.4 Paid active users in millions [2011,2014]: NULL, 0.6, 2.6, 6.7 I realize they sell more than just pedometers, but their core product is a 3-axis accelerometer that calculates a dubious step count w/o really actionable insights. Imagine what this can be once there start to be useful applications/more of the d…

Believe me, I thought the FitBit was a stupid device when I heard about it, but then I got one for free from work. Having it on your wrist all day and tracking all your activity really did make a difference for me and for my friends that have it - to the point where I convinced friends to get the FitBit.

The effectiveness of the FitBit, just by my anecdote, is that it tracks all your steps, even for little things such as walking to the bathroom, and shows you your total activity. Second, is when at the end of the day your are close to your target, its easy to convince yourself to go for a little walk to reach the target. Without tracking, you wouldn't have done that extra walk at night.

I do agree with sentiments of others that the lock-in of data is pretty annoying, but the device and app work great for what they do.

Re: Fitbit Files IPO

#12

Post by walterobm »

Reading the "Risk Factors" in the From S-1 always proves to be educational. Thanks to the SEC the disclosures tend to be very candid (if not partially shrouded by legalese) and a good indicator of the structural weaknesses of a company.

For FitBit the lack of subscription revenue (1% of total), the litigation following product recalls, and the uncertainty from complying with FDA regulations seem particularly noteworthy.

Re: Fitbit Files IPO

#13

Post by [deleted] »

jbrooksuk wrote: post #7
epmatsw wrote: post #3

I used to be pretty on the FitBit train, but I don't think that I'm in their camp any more. Refusing to integrate with Healthkit, purposefully building their challenges feature to reject data input through their APIs, and charging for access to raw data are enough to ensure that I'll never buy one of their products again. Kind of a shame, their hardware, dashboard, and app are all pretty great :(

That's exactly why I stopped using mine. My iPhone tracks everything else really well and integrates with a fair few devices. FitBit refusing to do this means my data isn't where I want it. It's within their app and I can't get it back.

[deleted]

Re: Fitbit Files IPO

#14

Post by jelder »

epmatsw wrote: post #3

I used to be pretty on the FitBit train, but I don't think that I'm in their camp any more. Refusing to integrate with Healthkit, purposefully building their challenges feature to reject data input through their APIs, and charging for access to raw data are enough to ensure that I'll never buy one of their products again. Kind of a shame, their hardware, dashboard, and app are all pretty great :(

Completely agree. They are fighting a losing battle against multipurpose devices, and about computing in general getting smaller, cheaper, and more mobile.

Re: Fitbit Files IPO

#15

Post by bgilroy26 »

walterobm wrote: post #12

Reading the "Risk Factors" in the From S-1 always proves to be educational. Thanks to the SEC the disclosures tend to be very candid (if not partially shrouded by legalese) and a good indicator of the structural weaknesses of a company. For FitBit the lack of subscription revenue (1% of total), the litigation following product recalls, and the uncertainty from complying with FDA regulations seem particularly notewort…

+ Apple just released a product with similar features

https://www.apple.com/watch/technology/

Ctrl-f 'Accelerometer'

Re: Fitbit Files IPO

#16

Post by MBCook »

hbhakhra wrote: post #11
eroo wrote: post #2

Devices in millions [2011,2014]: 0.2, 1.3, 4.5, 10.9 Revenue in millions [2011,2014[: 14.5, 76.4, 271.1, 745.4 Paid active users in millions [2011,2014]: NULL, 0.6, 2.6, 6.7 I realize they sell more than just pedometers, but their core product is a 3-axis accelerometer that calculates a dubious step count w/o really actionable insights. Imagine what this can be once there start to be useful applications/more of the d…

Believe me, I thought the FitBit was a stupid device when I heard about it, but then I got one for free from work. Having it on your wrist all day and tracking all your activity really did make a difference for me and for my friends that have it - to the point where I convinced friends to get the FitBit. The effectiveness of the FitBit, just by my anecdote, is that it tracks all your steps, even for little things suc…

> Second, is when at the end of the day your are close to your target, its easy to convince yourself to go for a little walk to reach the target.

Having an external locus of control can make a huge difference for some people when it comes to exercising more or eating better. It helped for me.

> ...but the device and app work great for what they do.

That was NOT my experience with the app. I think it's pathetic they decided to try to be their own ecosystem instead of being part of HealthKit, but that's not their big sin.

In the two or so years I used a Fitbit the app only got worse. Food logging was repeatedly changed, losing features, and getting harder and harder to use. They later changed exercise entry to make it work better for runners and harder for everything else. They took FOREVER to update from iOS 6 style interfaces to iOS 7.

But the big thing, the KILLER thing, was that all my data was corrupted by a bug they knew about and refused to fix. There was an option to adjust your daily calorie goals based on activity (or something like that). Having that on used to be the default, but it caused all sorts of problems. I only found that out after noticing tons of my old data had almost exactly the same calorie count each day. Like within 10 calories.

After numerous support emails (their support system was terrible) I was finally told to turn that option off. They knew it caused issues, that's why they started turning it off by default. But they didn't tell people who had it on about the issues it caused or detect if they were hitting the bug. They fixed it for new users and left older users screwed.

So I have 2+ years of useless fitness data in FitBit. It doesn't matter if it can be exported for free or put in HealthKit, the data is junk.

I don't remember having a single positive interaction with FitBit over support or other problems. They were at best neutral. My opinion of them went lower and lower and lower over time.

Re: Fitbit Files IPO

#17

Post by misteredison12 »

jelder wrote: post #14
epmatsw wrote: post #3

I used to be pretty on the FitBit train, but I don't think that I'm in their camp any more. Refusing to integrate with Healthkit, purposefully building their challenges feature to reject data input through their APIs, and charging for access to raw data are enough to ensure that I'll never buy one of their products again. Kind of a shame, their hardware, dashboard, and app are all pretty great :(

Completely agree. They are fighting a losing battle against multipurpose devices, and about computing in general getting smaller, cheaper, and more mobile.

This. The only way I see FitBit surviving is through acquisition by a company wanting to get into the space. Failing that, FitBit = Blackberry.

Re: Fitbit Files IPO

#18

Post by misteredison12 »

walterobm wrote: post #12

Reading the "Risk Factors" in the From S-1 always proves to be educational. Thanks to the SEC the disclosures tend to be very candid (if not partially shrouded by legalese) and a good indicator of the structural weaknesses of a company. For FitBit the lack of subscription revenue (1% of total), the litigation following product recalls, and the uncertainty from complying with FDA regulations seem particularly notewort…

The problem is competition. FitBit's only hope, in my opinion, is to create an Android-based/compatible multifunction device that becomes the competitor to the Apple Watch.

Re: Fitbit Files IPO

#19

Post by jkestner »

eroo wrote: post #2

Devices in millions [2011,2014]: 0.2, 1.3, 4.5, 10.9 Revenue in millions [2011,2014[: 14.5, 76.4, 271.1, 745.4 Paid active users in millions [2011,2014]: NULL, 0.6, 2.6, 6.7 I realize they sell more than just pedometers, but their core product is a 3-axis accelerometer that calculates a dubious step count w/o really actionable insights. Imagine what this can be once there start to be useful applications/more of the d…

As a response to both you and epmatsw, their core product could be their store of data. That's why they're not opening up to HealthKit integration. Granted, they're making their money from hardware as part of a really polished complete experience, and the data is only a moat against customers leaving.

But I'd be interested to know how they plan to leverage the data as watches and phones cut off their hardware sales. They could go more pro with sport-specific solutions, or the data could inform a next-generation leap in UI.

Re: Fitbit Files IPO

#20

Post by jkestner »

misteredison12 wrote: post #18
walterobm wrote: post #12

Reading the "Risk Factors" in the From S-1 always proves to be educational. Thanks to the SEC the disclosures tend to be very candid (if not partially shrouded by legalese) and a good indicator of the structural weaknesses of a company. For FitBit the lack of subscription revenue (1% of total), the litigation following product recalls, and the uncertainty from complying with FDA regulations seem particularly notewort…

The problem is competition. FitBit's only hope, in my opinion, is to create an Android-based/compatible multifunction device that becomes the competitor to the Apple Watch.

On the other hand, they present a cross-platform alternative. I bought Fitbit's scale because it had a Windows Phone app, something that Apple or Samsung won't give me.
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