🚴 Peloton pumps the brakes

PLUS: A startup using flies to fight food waste. September 1, 2021 [The Hustle] [The Hustle]( Yesterday, LinkedIn announced it will drop its Stories feature by the end of September. Wait, LinkedIn had a Stories feature? Today’s rundown: - Peloton pulls a groin: Why the company’s feeling the heat. - Cool AF business: Healx identifies existing drugs that can treat rare diseases. - Don’t swat these flies: The Singapore-based startup using flies to manage waste. Let’s do it. The big idea [Peloton commercial snippet]( Peloton was winning the pandemic, but a series of fumbles have slowed its growth While most companies struggled early in the pandemic, Peloton was increasing its forecasts. Now, the connected-fitness pioneer is doing the opposite. In its Q4 earnings call, the company [posted]( a $313.2m loss, and a lower-than-expected forecast for Q1 2022. So what happened? The trouble started with delivery delays After the pandemic forced many gyms and fitness centers to shut their doors, Peloton saw a flurry of orders that they weren’t prepared for. While Peloton has been [called]( a cult for its devoted customers, the shipping delays sparked the 1st crack in its reputation. At the [height]( of the delays: - 10k people joined a Facebook group dedicated to Peloton delivery problems - 1.1k complaints were registered through the Better Business Bureau Customers frequently complained that delivery of their new bikes would be canceled and rescheduled far in the future. Peloton took the issue seriously and [invested]( $100m+ to expedite deliveries. Then came the treadmill recall In May, Peloton [recalled]( its Tread and Tread+ machines after reports of numerous injuries and a child’s death. The company also offered full refunds to any customers who wanted to return their treadmill -- and more customers [took]( advantage than the company expected, doing damage to the balance sheet. Now, the company is cutting prices to drive customer acquisition The company announced plans to lower the price on both its signature bike and treadmill: - The Bike will drop from ~$1.9k to ~$1.5k (though the Bike+ will hold at ~$2.5k) - The Tread will sell for ~$2.5k compared to the original Tread+, (which sold for ~$4.3k) Peloton CEO John Foley believes the Tread will outsell bikes by 2x-3x, and a recent [report]( suggests the company is working on a connected rower as well. If Peloton can keep both products safe, and figure out its delivery woes, we may just be looking at a momentary blip. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Peloton+was+winning+the+pandemic%2C+but+a+series+of+fumbles+have+slowed+its+growth%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F09012021-Peloton-growth%3Futm_campaign%3DPeloton%26utm_content%3D09012021-Peloton-growth%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( SNIPPETS NEW! Introducing our new and improved [Snippets](. You can now get extra snippets on your favorite topics. Follow the button below to get started. (It takes less than 30 seconds!) App store smackdown: South Korea passed a [bill]( that bans app store owners (*cough* Apple, Google *cough*) from forcing developers to use only their payment systems. Apple gets classical: The company [acquired]( Primephonic, a classical music service based in Amsterdam, in an effort to boost its classical music offerings. That’s a lot of Telegrams: Telegram, the security-focused messaging app, [surpassed]( 1B downloads. Battle of the headsets: ByteDance [acquired]( Pico, the 3rd largest VR headset maker globally, pinning the Chinese behemoth against Facebook’s Oculus. Whoop, there it is: Whoop, a performance tracking wearable startup, [raised]( $200m in a recent round led by SoftBank, valuing the company at $3.6B. Join the 93,718 others who are now enjoying extra, personalized snippets. Click the button👇 to choose your favorite topics and see your list grow in tomorrow’s email. [Personalize Your Snippets]( COOL AF [medicine bottle]( Healx is solving a problem for 400m people by repurposing medicine THE BREAKDOWN - Problem: [400m]( people in the world have a rare disease. There are 7k rare diseases -- 95% of which have no FDA approved treatment. - Pitch: [Healx]( uses AI to identify existing, clinically approved drugs that could be repurposed to treat rare diseases. - Timeline: David Brown and Tim Guilliams founded Healx in 2014, and the company raised a [$56m]( Series B in 2019. Healx isn’t David Brown’s 1st foray into drug development. The dude’s a big deal in pharmaceuticals -- he co-invented Viagra in the ‘90s. Viagra, though, was discovered by chance Brown and his team at Pfizer [created]( a drug they thought could be a treatment for cardiac chest pain, but early trials returned disappointing results. Weeks away from getting the axe, an interesting side effect popped up: the participants had all experienced increased erections. Brown pivoted immediately and began a new trial for what would later become Viagra. That happy accident informed the concept behind Healx The UK-based startup doesn’t actually develop new drugs but uses its [AI platform](, Healnet, to match existing drugs with the world’s 7k rare diseases, [95%]( of which don’t have approved treatments. AI that enables the repurposing of current drugs can save time and money: - The cost to develop a prescription drug surged 145% since 2003 to [$2.6B]( - Existing treatments for some rare diseases can cost [millions]( out of pocket It’s hard to beat the legacy of the little blue pill, but we think the potential to cure the millions of people affected by rare diseases -- [50%]( of whom are kids -- is just epic. (Have an idea for a Cool AF Business story? [Tell us about it here](.) [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Healx+is+solving+a+problem+for+400m+people+by+repurposing+medicine%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F09012021-Healx-repurposing-medicine%3Futm_campaign%3DPeloton%26utm_content%3D09012021-Healx-repurposing-medicine%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( Emerging Tech [fly eating food scraps]( Meet the startup using flies to fight food waste Next time you grab for your fly swatter, you may want to reconsider. Insectta is a Singapore-based startup using [fly larvae]( to fight food waste. The company set out to solve a local problem. In 2020, Singapore had 665k metric tons of food waste, and only recycled 19% of it. So how do the flies help? Insectta feeds its flies ~8 tons of food waste per month, creating 2 byproducts: - Flash-drying the bugs creates animal feed - The insects’ waste can be converted into fertilizer The firm isn’t alone: Goterra, Better Origin, and AgriProtein also utilize insects to convert food waste into agricultural products… … but Insectta is looking beyond fertilizer and feed The company developed technology to remove biomaterials from the insects, like chitosan, which can be used in moisturizers and other cosmetic products. It’s all part of the company’s mission of leaving nothing to waste, which seems like a mantra that could grow far beyond Singapore in coming years. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Meet+the+startup+using+flies+to+fight+food+waste%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F09012021-Insectta%3Futm_campaign%3DPeloton%26utm_content%3D09012021-Insectta%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( Podcast What’s a crypto ‘short squeeze’? Shaan explains last month’s [Bitcoin surge]( in plain English. Then why [Ethereum smart contract writers]( (programmers who speak Solidity) could soon be in very high demand. It’s episode No. 204 of My First Million. The future of online courses, newsletters, and [gas stations]( Shaan’s also bringing back his live [Power Writing course](. Round 1 netted 6 figures, so Sam has questions. Show notes in the description. [Crypto and courses →]( AROUND THE WEB 🐣 Wholesome: Need a break? Every click on [this website]( earns you a cute picture. ⛸️ Wow: Limbo staking requires participants to skate under extremely low bars or objects. The [world record holders]( can do it on ice and under cars. It’s pretty impressive. 🌱 Haha: This woman [turned]( her entire car into a Chia Pet by smothering it in seeds and letting it grow. Dare to dream, friends! 💻 Hmm: What would happen if AI tried to [replicate]( New Yorker cartoons? Enter the “Neural Yorker.” 💰 How to: To figure out if a new job offers the same or better pay than your current job, you need to estimate your total compensation -- not just your salary. [Here’s how](. Meme of the day [exercise meme] This is not fitness advice (Source: [Reddit]() SHARE THE HUSTLE [Hustle Cons Greatest Hits ebook]( Over the years, we’ve learned… secrets. 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