Atlanta-based BWHealth, a sports injury prevention and treatment technology company, has closed a strategic bridge round of funding of about $600,000 that will help it scale its latest line of injury prevention products. Included in the round was investor and former 15-season NFL cornerback Champ Bailey, who will join the company as its Head of Athlete Relations.
“I’m excited to be involved with BWHealth,” said Bailey. “I tell everybody that it starts with the basics: Build your game and life from the feet up. Lasso gives people support when and where they need it. It’s great that I can help people get the most out of their performance.”
The Lasso product line builds BWHealth’s patent-pending TrueCompression technology, which prevents sports injuries by mimicking the compression of muscle or ligament taping, into clothing. The company says that its first Lasso product, Lasso Compression Socks, is already being used by hundreds of professional athletes across the NFL, NBA, MLS and MLB, and have been shown to reduce ankle rolling by 75 percent.
As a board member and part of the team, Bailey will be charged with developing relationships and targeting marketing efforts toward current and retired professional athletes, as well as youth athletic organizations.
BWHealth was founded in 2013 by then-Georgia Tech student Partha Unnava to develop injury treatment products. Their first product, an innovative crutch designed for user comfort, was recognized by President Barack Obama at the White House.
Unnava, who left school to grow the company as CEO, indicates that their recent moves shows their deepened commitment to injury prevention, not just treatment.
“We believe that there isn’t enough preventative thinking in medicine, and we wanted to create a product that would help patients before an injury,” Unnava told Hypepotamus in an interview last year.
“The goal is to lead the world in new medical technologies that improve access to motion.” BWHealth plans to release two new Lasso products later this year.
The new capital will also go towards marketing efforts as well as hiring a few more operations and marketing team members, though Unnava says he prefers to run a lean operation. They will continue to be based in Atlanta.
Champ Bailey photo by Jeffrey Beall
