

Genies will accept applications for the debut program until Aug. There, people can buy, sell and trade avatar creations, such as wearable items. By the end of the program, participants will be able to sell digital goods through the company’s NFT marketplace, The Warehouse. Genies will provide creatives with funding to build brands and audiences, though Sturges declined to share how much. They will spend three weeks at the Genies headquarters, participating in workshops and hearing from CEOs, fashion designers, tattoo artists and speakers from other industries, she added. “I think us being able to work hands on with this next era-this next generation of designers and entrepreneurs-not only gets us a chance to understand how people want to use our platform and tools, but also allows us to nurture those types of creators that are going to exist and continue to build within our ecosystem,” said Allison Sturges, Genies’ head of strategic partnerships.ĭIY Collective’s initial cohort will include roughly 15 people, Sturges said. Genies believes avatars will be a crucial part of the internet’s future and is similarly using its program to encourage creators to launch brands using Genies’ platform. For example, social media companies can use accelerator programs not only to support rising stars but to lure those creators-and their audiences-to the company’s platforms. Similar programs are common in the startup world and in the creator economy. But the reality is that everybody has that kind of need to some degree." "You need a very acute need before you can work with them. "It's just crazy - the more you get into it and the more you realize there are actually all these experts in these different areas, just most people don't have access to them," Toh said. The company works with dozens of sleep, nutrition and behavioral health experts to contextualize the data. Huckleberry plans on expanding into new child behavioral verticals with the raise, like helping parents track exposing their children to allergens, and managing tantrums. "As more studies indicate that digital health apps can result in similar outcomes where traditional care may be unavailable, we expect the market for digital alternatives to remain robust," said Pitchbook analyst Kaia Cobain in a 2020 report on telehealth.

Popularity in weight loss apps, exercise apps, sleep and habit-building apps have grown in the pandemic, according to Pitchbook.

Huckleberry is one of several biometric health apps that have grown in the absence of accessible acute care. Now from a well-being side, it's not great." "That's the main concern here from the medical side. "If your child is waking up all the time at night, they're alive," Toh said. But few resources exist for parents juggling a child's unpredictable sleep with work, personal relationships and their own mental health. When parents take their newborns for frequent checkups, doctors are focusing on the growth and health of the child.

Toh says the app fills a gap in pediatric care. "It allows parents to have more peace of mind and to plan better," said Toh, whose own baby woke every two to three hours for its first 20 months.
