Forbes Media LLC has named South Side-based startup CoPilot Systems Inc. as the makers of the best personal trainer app in 2022.
The Forbes Health editorial team praised the startup's app — which shares the company's name — for its built-in messaging features and for requiring U.S.-based personal training organizations to certify all coaches on the platform. CoPilot also received accolades from Forbes for the ability that allows users to change coaches at any time and for its motion-sense tracking technology that monitors workouts to provide users with instant feedback on their performance.
Forbes gave CoPilot a perfect five-out-of-five star review, the highest out of all five personal trainer apps that made the list. An app called Future ranked as the second-highest on the list with a score of 3.9 stars out of five.
"CoPilot is an all-encompassing coaching platform that’s designed to not only help you achieve your fitness goals, but also create lasting health and wellness habits," Forbes' editorial team wrote. "Every fitness plan is tailored to an individual’s access to equipment, goals and preferences … As a member, you have unlimited, daily access to your coach and the ability to make changes to your routine as necessary."
CoPilot's monthly membership rate starts at $99 after a 14-day free trial.
CEO Matt Spettel — one of Pittsburgh Inno's Five Founders Under 25 in 2022 — launched CoPilot along with Co-founder Gabe Madonna in 2018. It has gone on to raise millions of dollars in venture capital funding, the most recent being a $5.9 million Series A round in January.
"Since our founding, we've been head-to-head with copycats and competitors with substantially more funding than us," Spettel said in a statement to Pittsburgh Inno. "This recognition and perfect 5-star rating is the result of three years of obsessing over every detail of the product and coaching experience — aspiring to always deliver more value to the customer for a lower price. I couldn't be more proud of the amazing CoPilot team and assure you that this is just the very beginning of CoPilot's impact on the world."
Spettel said CoPilot currently employs 60 workers, with 34 of those employees being personal trainers who receive full-time benefits given that they are not contractors, which is a more common form of hiring for personal training platforms.
