What was the catalyst for launching CORE?
We had been running GreentegAG for a few years, making heat flux sensors that measure energy exchange. Most of the use cases were industrial around engine, building or laser efficiency. Watching Sara True suffering a heat stroke during the 2019 Frankfurt Ironman made me think about the human body as an engine that outputs energy to perform and thermal heat energy. This moment was a catalyst for starting CORE. This was the first time we took our heat flux sensor technology and applied it for performance and safety with athletes.
Tell me about the business - what it is, what it aims to achieve, who you work with, and so on?
CORE was a big success with virtually the entire pro peloton in cycling including teams like Ineos Geradiers, Bora Hansgrohe and Lidl Trek. The same has become true in triathlon and now trail running.
CORE offers the best and only seamless real-time core body temperature monitoring device on the market. This allows athletes to improve performance and safety in the following ways:
- Heat training to increase your haemoglobin and increase your power – even in cool conditions.
- Heat adaptation to be prepared to train and race in hot climates.
- Cooling strategies to keep your core body temp low, and output high.
We are beginning to make the technology more readily available and usable to consumers who want to perform better in endurance sports via product innovation and insight delivered through the app. At the same time, we will continue to add and support connectivity with athletes’ existing devices including Garmin, Wahoo, Hammerhead, Coros, Suunto and more.
Because we make our own heat flux sensors at GreentegAG in Switzerland, we are also beginning to integrate our technology into wearables like Withings watches, making core body temperature data more readily available to the market.
How has the business evolved since its launch?
CORE was launched in 2019, and quickly evolved to be a standard tool for the most elite endurance athletes in the world.
How are you funded?
CORE is a business unit of Greenteg AG. Greenteg AG operates as a Swiss-based startup with both profitable business units and private investment to fund new ventures like CORE.
What has been your biggest challenge so far and how have you overcome this?
In October 2019 we decided to start CORE with the ambition to help athletes to succeed in the Olympics. In March 2020 we had the first pilot test with a World Tour Cycling team scheduled. Then Covid struck and those tests were cancelled - as was pretty much any bigger sports event that year, including the Tokyo Olympics. We decided to move on with the project despite the adverse situation but extended the scope of the technology to medical applications. Both paid off as the sports economy rebounded and we’ll soon see the same technology in medical wearables hopefully relieving caregivers and delivering better outcomes for patients globally.
How does CORE answer an unmet need?
CORE helps athletes unlock their peak performance by providing core body temperature-driven insights. There is a lot of discourse about global warming and its impact on sport. The CORE Sensor is a technological innovation that allows athletes to compete at a high level safely in this new world.
What’s in store for the future?
We’ve just begun to unlock the metrics and insights that can be derived from knowing core body temperature and heat flux. It’s too early to disclose but we are working with world-class athletes and coaches on further features to optimise the athlete’s conversion of energy from nutrition to ultimately speed.
What one piece of advice would you give other founders or future founders?
Pick your co-founder, team and your investors wisely, because building a company is more of a marathon than a sprint.
And finally, a more personal question! What’s your daily routine and the rules you’re living by at the moment?
There’s nothing particularly special about my routine, it’s very similar to most! I wake up, have breakfast and send the kids off to school. I ride my bike to work, and always try to be productive and positive at work, before riding back home. I try to reserve weekends and holidays as much as possible for my wife and family.
Wulf Glatz is the founder of CORE.
