On Oct. 5, 2021, New York-based musculoskeletal therapy provider SWORD Health acquired Pittsburgh-based Vigilant Technologies, a workplace injury prevention company founded in 2015, for an undisclosed sum. VIT’s products, which include wearable technology that teaches and reminds users how to prevent soft tissue injury and pain in the workplace via small warning vibrations, are now part of SWORD’s portfolio of similar wearable tech. Andy Chan, VIT’s co-founder and CEO, is now working for SWORD to build out the company’s portfolio across North America.
What opportunities proved beneficial to have an exit in the past year?
In the past when we were fundraising, we had some interests from our partners for acquisition, but the financials never worked out. However, when Covid hit, telehealth really blew up as companies were struggling to find ways to help members without being in the clinic, and a lot of adjacent competitors such as Hinge, SWORD, Kaia, etc. started raising tons of capital. When we were looking at raising our next round, I was concerned with our ability to compete against multiple unicorn companies. … During that time we were crafting a strong partnership with SWORD Health, so the timing worked out well to boost SWORD’s offerings while growing VIT’s mission of preventing injuries.
How has the exit benefited VIT since?
We had a tiny team at VIT with super limited funding, so being part of a fast-growing unicorn gives us way more access to members and resources than we could at VIT. Member data is super powerful as part of an acquisition. … At VIT we had to make a lot of assumptions on populations based on a smaller group of users, but with SWORD you have a solid footing of user personas and what members want.
Is the company currently hiring, and, if so, for which roles?
Yes. We have dozens of open roles.
— Andy Chan, co-founder and CEO, Vigilant Technologies, currently innovator at SWORD Health
