WHOOP CEO, Will Ahmed: 50B Hours of Health Data, a 4 Million Member Data Moat, & the FDA Fight

Will Ahmed · WHOOP

Secondary share brokers often claim shares they don't have and are mainly trying to create a market.

Ahmed says secondary brokers claim to hold shares from a specific holder at a stated price. In his view, they go around making those claims, but their real aim is to create a market for the shares rather than to complete a verified transaction. The point is based on his experience with such brokers, not on hard data.

“They claim they've got shares from someone at a price... And they go around saying that, but they're really just trying to create a market.”at 53:52

Jason Calacanis · LAUNCH

Secondary brokers pitching shares in private companies are mostly fishing, since they rarely follow through.

Calacanis, who says he sits on the board of a company worth a couple of billion dollars, describes brokers who approach him claiming to have shares. When he asks who is selling so he can coordinate with the CFO, they go quiet. He concludes that these approaches are fishing expeditions. He adds that this kind of secondary trading barely existed 10 to 15 years ago. His evidence is his own repeated experience rather than market data.

“I'm on the board of a company that's worth a couple billion dollars, and they come to me and I say, okay. Great. Who who is it with? ... And then crickets. And I'm like, they're fishing. It's always a fishing expedition.”at 54:07

Will Ahmed · WHOOP

GLP-1 users lose muscle as well as fat, so they need activity, strength training and protein to avoid frailty.

Ahmed says that typically about 50% of the weight a GLP-1 user loses is fat and 50% is muscle, which can leave people frail even after a large weight loss. He argues that WHOOP knowing a member is on a GLP-1 lets it push activity and some strength training, even bodyweight work, to preserve muscle. He points to a proper diet with protein and anecdotal success with creatine as important. This is why WHOOP built a GLP-1 tracker that sets protein, strength and step targets.

“is that typically speaking about 50% of the weight that someone loses is fat and 50% is muscle.”at 33:07