Chris Muldoon knows first-hand the mental health benefits of movement.
He’s been a runner since middle school and ran competitively in high school, on Syracuse University’s track and field team and post-collegiately.
But he’s also experienced the mental health impacts of not exercising regularly. In spring 2022, he ran his first marathon and qualified for the Boston Marathon. But before the Massachusetts race, he experienced a string of injuries and illness.
“The contrast of being in that mode and being active made it very clear how big a role that played,” Muldoon said.
He started thinking about what people would do if they wanted to start walking or running for mental health benefits, but they didn’t ever have instructors or coaches. That led him and college roommate, friend and fellow runner Matt Werder to start Strideful, which offers walking and running plans to enhance people’s moods, manage stress and be their best selves.
The Buffalo business, which officially started in January, recently got resources to hit the ground running: A $100,000 investment from the UB Cultivator, an early stage startup program at the University at Buffalo that can lead to pre-seed funding for participating companies.
Why it matters: Regular physical activity helps people’s mental health, as well as their physical health. Yet 31% of adults and 80% of adolescents don’t meet the recommended levels of physical activity, based on a recent World Health Organization report.
The business is marketing both directly to consumers, as well as working with mental health professionals who can refer the app to their clients.
The Strideful team of two is working with local digital product studio Helm Experience and Design to create a Strideful app, which will use a subscription model to offer running and walking programs that focus on habit formation and tracking moods relating to exercise and are also supported with psychology tips.
The startup currently has an email-based product, Strideful Inbox, which uses a one-time cost model to offer the business’ components in a leaner way while the app is in development. The email product has a few dozen users.
Muldoon expects to launch the app in fall 2024.
“When I think about the impact that something like this could make, I think it goes beyond helping people reduce stress,” he said. “I think it has a broader implication.”
Strideful is the eighth local company to acknowledge a private, growth-oriented round of funding this year. The list includes Strideful ($100,000), Circular.eco ($100,000), Edenesque ($175,000), TeleSafety ($230,000), SelectFI ($750,000), Top Seedz ($750,000), MimiVax ($5.8 million) and CleanFiber ($28 million).
