Nestre Health & Performance Inc. was founded in 2018, but it really started 22 years ago when head injuries forced founder Tommy Shavers to quit playing football at the University of Central Florida.
Two decades later, Shavers and his startup are ready to go to market with a series of solutions meant to provide customized cognitive training and open up a new world of fitness, he told Orlando Inno. “We’re branding and scaling the future of fitness.”
Shavers said 2022 is a “foundational year” for Nestre because the Orlando-based company will launch its mobile app, debut its “mindset profile” and open two neuro-strength training rooms at the Lake Nona Performance Club. These products and solutions are meant to offer a new way for people to train “from the neck up” and destigmatize mental health, Shavers said.
Nestre does not claim to cure any medical conditions, but its proprietary training methodology is built on the concept of neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to change and adapt over a person’s lifetime.
Nestre developed a 10-minute survey to determine a user’s “mindset profile,” which is used to create personalized cognitive training. The Nestre app, expected to launch in the first quarter of this year, will give users the ability to discover their mindset profile and get personalized training recommendations.
Also in the first quarter, Nestre will open two neuro-strength training rooms at the Lake Nona Performance Club fitness center. While the training rooms still are under development, they’ll offer club members ways to “train their brain” that can help on a sports field or in a corporate boardroom, Lake Nona Performance Club Executive Director Jay Groves told Orlando Inno.
These launch efforts will be fueled by a $1.6 million pre-seed investment round Nestre announced Jan. 4. The round included investments from big names in sports and technology, including retired NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Calvin Johnson Jr., former Detroit Lions player Rob Sims, former Verizon 5G vice president Toby Redshaw, private investment firm Tavistock Group, the Minority Entrepreneur Institute — which is backed by former NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks and current NFL linebacker Jaylon Smith — and others.
“With Nestre, I believe we can truly change the game and get on the leading edge of personalized mental and cognitive solutions,” Johnson said in a prepared statement.
Nestre is an example of the burgeoning sports and health tech startup ecosystem in Lake Nona.
The southeast Orlando community is home to the leAD Lake Nona Sports and Health Tech Accelerator, in which Nestre participated two years ago, attracting startups from around the world to Lake Nona. In addition, leAD Sports and Tavistock in September launched the Lake Nona Sports & Health Tech Fund, which aims to invest $30 million in startups based in the Lake Nona area or that operate there.
The growth of innovative startups is important for Central Florida’s economy, as those firms can create high-wage jobs and generate economic impact as they scale. Startups also create innovative solutions for other businesses, help develop a community and make it easier for other new companies to form in the future.
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