Last September, Hypepotamus spoke with Vedant Pradeep and Ziyi Gao, the two Georgia Tech graduates building Digital Sponsor.
Since then, they have not only raised its first seed round, they also started to reframe the conversation around alcohol recovery programs.
Under the new name Reframe, Pradeep told Hypepotamus that “all of our design choices and all of our development choices have been about how do we get to a point where this is more than just a product to help you survive or quit…but where this game helps you thrive.”
Recognizing that stages of recovery look different for individuals, the app is designed to bring daily, interactive activities to those recovering from alcohol addiction or those trying to scale back on their alcohol consumption. The platform now integrates fitness, nutrition, and additional self-care work for those working through its recovery steps.
The team has seen over 2,500 paying subscribers to date and has an impressive three-month retention rate.
The team has attracted local investors as well.
Atlanta Ventures led Reframe’s $1.4 million seed round, with additional participation from Chris Klaus, Kyle Porter, and Dave Harrington.
For Pradeep, Atlanta Ventures “moved super fast, they were super excited, and they were the right kind of partners.”
The team behind Atlanta Ventures said that the growing focus on digital health and mental health — along with Pradeep and Goa’s ability to pivot — drew them to Reframe.
“From a market perspective, studies show 25% of Americans are excessive alcohol users, yet <5% of people actually seek any help,” said Atlanta Ventures. “Formal programs like AA and recovery centers can be helpful, but are either too stigmatized or too expensive for most people. By making a solution that is more affordable, accessible, and accountable to change beliefs, build habits, and manage cravings we believe this can open up a large and underserved market (alcohol support) with additional broader underserved markets (drug abuse, mental health) to come in the future.”
Reframe’s team says they are looking to grow the team over the course of 2021.
