A new Chicago-based meditation app is taking on Calm and Headspace with a B2B approach that aims to help companies give more mental health resources to their employees.
Chill Anywhere is a new meditation app that provides on-demand meditation videos, live-streamed sessions and mood tracking to help managers get better insights into their employees' mental well-being.
The app was launched this year by CEO Laura Sage, who also owns a brick-and-mortar meditation studio in River North called Chill. Sage said companies throughout Chicago would regularly bring their employees to Chill, and were requesting additional resources to provide mental health care to their workforce. Rather than scale Chill by opening additional studios, Sage decided to launch an app to help companies around the world offer meditation classes to their employees.
Sage said that even before the coronavirus crisis, companies were thinking more about ways to support the mental health of their employees. But in light of a once-in-a-generation pandemic, it's an even higher priority for many companies.
"It's a subject that's no longer taboo," Sage said.
Chill Anywhere joins a crowded field of meditation apps on the market, including heavily venture backed startup like Calm and Headspace. Calm has raised more than $140 million in total funding, while Headspace has raised more than $215 million.
But Chill Anywhere believes it can carve out a niche by focusing specifically on businesses. Companies that have used the app include Caterpillar, law firm McDermott Will & Emery and advertising agency FCB.
A key piece of Chill Anywhere's app is the ability for companies to track data on the moods of their employees. The app asks users how they're feeling before and after each meditation session, and it monitors their progress over time. Managers can then use those insights to create initiatives to keep teams engaged. A company can also measure how the moods of its Chicago branch compare to its New York team, for example, or see how the HR department is doing relative to the finance team, Sage explained.
"I think that's a pretty key differentiator relative to the other apps out in the marketplace. Most of the meditation apps out there are giving businesses the B2C product," Sage said. "This is a product that was really built for businesses."
Sage said she raised $1.25 million late last year in a friends and family round, and plans to raise additional funding in the coming months.
The app also allows companies to create a custom wellness program, including a video message from its CEO within the app. Sage said future features of Chill Anywhere could include two-way communication with a "meditation buddy," as well as the ability to message with the meditation teacher.
