Side hustles are common in the business world these days, but IncludeHealth CEO Ryan Eder was a dedicated moonlighter before it was cool. In fact, Eder side-hustled for seven years before getting IncludeHealth off the ground. Now, he’s the founder of a company that’s gaining momentum quickly.
The IncludeHealth platform provides musculoskeletal care and training through a digital suite that integrates HIPAA-compliant cloud software with connected equipment and sensors built to measure human performance. Trainers, therapists, and physicians use this software, available via monthly subscription, to develop programs and autonomous instruction for patients. They can access the exercise data and analytics via tablet or computer, and make tweaks and recommendations along the way.
“Include’s focus from the very beginning has always been about lowering the barriers for staying active and healthy,” Eder said. “The company got its start through the lens of physical accessibility.”
Eder stumbled into the idea during his time at the University of Cincinnati. It was 2006, at the gym, when Eder noticed a man in a wheelchair relentlessly struggling to work out. He wanted to help this fellow gym-goer, but didn’t know how. Then he turned accessible fitness equipment into his senior thesis.
After earning positive marks, Eder spontaneously entered his thesis into the Industrial Designers Society of America’s International Design Excellence Awards in 2007. These high-caliber awards — which often receive about 1,700 entries from 35 countries, Eder said — are typically reserved for the likes of Apple, which won the IDEA award for the iPhone in 2008.
But Eder defied the odds. His concept won Gold, Best in Show, and People’s Choice awards.
“It was wild,” he said. “It rocked my world and created the opportunity to push the idea further. I got tremendous support from groups at UC and across Cincinnati. Over the years, the idea just evolved, all in the spirit of lowering barriers and keeping people healthy.”
At the time, Eder was still working full time as a product designer. He used nights and weekends to get this company off the ground, with passion — and that one gym experience — keeping him motivated.
“Seven years of slow traction is very slow, and it’s easy to lose steam,” he said. “But I got motivated by people saying this could help them. That was always the goal.”
Eder officially launched the company, which now has staff in Cincinnati and Columbus, in 2012, when the company received its first funding. The initial product was the IncludeStrength Machine, an inclusive training machine that offers hundreds of accessible and digitized exercises. This machine has dexterity-free handles with an integrated seat and stability pad to make it safe for people of all ages and abilities.
A newer addition, IncludeConnect, digitizes existing equipment (or the IncludeStrength machine) through a small, discrete sensor. Trainers and therapists can provide real-time instruction and feedback for patients based on data gathered through the sensor. This distance-training has become particularly important through the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Our technology can help facilities navigate social-distancing,” Eder said. “They can provide care from a safe distance through auto programming, while also being able to expand bandwidth of teams, since many facilities have to work with smaller teams right now.”
IncludeHealth now works with facilities across the Midwest, everywhere from the Air Force to regional hospitals, not to mention general wellness centers and senior care facilities. Eder has plans to take IncludeHealth national soon. In the meantime, though, IncludeHealth has another exciting business evolution: a major project with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
In late 2019, IncludeHealth announced it’s collaborating with Children’s to commercialize innovative movement correction technology. This invention, called aNMT, pairs real-time, camera-based analysis with corrective feedback for cutting-edge injury prevention and performance enhancement. ANMT will work with the IncludeHealth cloud platform to provide treatment paths for physical therapy patients recovering from musculoskeletal diseases, disorders or injuries.
