Ivy helps you put yourself at the top of your list

Interview with Bellabeat’s co-founder Urška Sršen

Last week, Bellabeat launched Ivy – the latest addition to its family of health and wellness trackers. We had a chance to sit down with Bellabeat’s co-founder, Urška Sršen, and discuss the newest features that Ivy brings into the wearables market.

Q: Can you briefly describe Ivy’s key features?

Urška: Ivy helps women understand their habits and their body’s response to their self-care efforts. It’s a wellness companion that helps you get to know yourself, adjust your lifestyle to become healthier, and motivates you on that path every day.

The device tracks vital health data, lifestyle habits, and cycles, providing tips that guide women to know their bodies better and realize optimal wellness.

Q: You say it helps women; does that mean it’s tailored for women only?

Urška: Yes. As the first of its kind, Ivy is a health tracker engineered specifically for the female body. Its proprietary app algorithms take all elements into account: anatomic, mental, and physiological.

Ivy is made for all women interested in improving their wellness in a way that is made, if not effortless, at least much easier and less stressful. The intelligent wristband seamlessly syncs to the Bellabeat app, which reads information from the Ivy device and translates it into useful data that aims to help women improve specific aspects of their daily routines. It’s basically having your personal wellness coach dressed in a piece of jewelry – what more can you wish for? 

Q: How does Ivy help you upgrade your self-care?

Urška: Ivy helps me maximize all my health and wellness efforts. It reports on my sleep patterns, helps me to keep up with my meditation practice, reminds me of my water intake, gives insights into my menstrual cycle, and more. What I like most is its ability to provide data about my current state of body and mind, measured through my biometrics, such as heartbeats and breathing patterns.

Thanks to that specific information, shown in the app as the “Readiness score”, I can see if I will be energetic that day, or if it’s better to slow down a bit. That is a game changer for me, compared to other health and fitness trackers on the market.

Then there is the “Wellness score” which we developed as a tool to keep you invested in your well-being. I have friends, family, and co-workers that constantly tell me how they are “hooked” on the wellness score in the best possible way. For example, when they see their wellness score going down,  they immediately take action – drink some water, meditate, take a walk, or else.

We, humans, love to maintain any kind of score, and this score is definitely working in your best interest.

Q: Can you single out a specific part of your life in which Ivy helps you the most?

Urška: All of them! Seriously, I cannot think of any part of my life where Ivy doesn’t help in some manner, because it all comes down to health and balance. We all tend to forget that every aspect of our life is important, our sleep, our work, our free time. Ivy just blends into your daily routine and silently reminds you to take more rest, more exercise, more water, more meditation. It gently reminds you what you need to do to upgrade yourself to become healthier and stronger.

Q: In other words, Ivy helps women to take control of their lives.

Urška: That’s exactly it.

Q: Why did you decide to shape Ivy as jewelry and not give it a more familiar look that includes a display?

Urška: Because we thought that a health tracker made for women should be elegant and non-intrusive, and provide data without unnecessary distractions. Most women appreciate that and find mini screens on their wrists slightly annoying, sending continuous notifications about not doing something. Ivy is made to respect its owner in full, providing health and wellness data only when synced with the app – when and where our customers choose.

Q: Being busy all the time, as many of us are, often means a lack of time for self-care. To some, it even seems impossible. Being a  business woman yourself, I’m sure it’s a challenge for you too, so please tell us how you manage to implement wellness into your day.

Urška: Today’s women are beyond busy, juggling multiple responsibilities and trying to meet different expectations, both at home and at work. However, implementing wellness is essential not just to keep you healthy, but also productive. 

The only way we can achieve our goals is by prioritizing our mental and physical well-being. How to do that? Put yourself at the top of your list. Yes, it can be hard at first and it’s easy to give up. To help you move forward, we designed Ivy to help you stay focused on your goals.

Q: What does wellness mean to you personally?

Urška: For me, wellness means feeling good in my own body and counting as many happy moments in life as I possibly can. Each person has their own idea of wellness, adjusted to their goals, needs, and wants, and Ivy is here to help you bring those ideas to life. 

Q: Do you think wellness can lead to success?

Urška: It’s definitely an essential component of it. When you set up your goals, the key is to find good guidance and a balanced path to reach them. Nobody can work 24/7 without consequences and Ivy is here to remind us to slow down sometimes, listen to our bodies, and give it what it requires. Then, when we recharge our batteries, we can be ready for that next big thing, for that opportunity that lies in front of us. For the success that awaits us. Health and wellness are not everything, but what do you really have without them?

Q: How do you think Ivy will motivate women to focus more on self-care?

Urška: I believe that it will be love at first sight. Just think of having something that takes all your actions into account and provides you with the best, personalized advice on how to be better, feel better, and live better. With a cheerleader like that at your side, the only way you can go is up.