Q&A With the Render Competition Winners, True Adherence

Last fall, we announced the eight winners of the inaugural Render Competition. Each startup received a $100,000 investment to scale their solution within and beyond the Greater Louisville region. Now, we’re catching up with each of the winning founders to hear about their competition experience, lessons learned, advice to future applicants, and an update on what’s ahead.

Next, we’re excited to hear from Kyle Poulin, CEO and founder of True Adherence. True Adherence has created digital displays with AI training capabilities that empower gyms to offer an unrivaled fitness experience. Their product is powered by computer vision and provides users real-time biomechanical feedback and adaptive exercise programming while they perform strength training movements.

Why did you decide to apply for the Render Competition?

The straightforward answer: capital. The broader answer is that I liked the idea of a cohort investment, one where we all committed to move to a region and work around each other for a year. It shows commitment to uproot your business and move to a new HQ.

What was something you learned from the application process?

I learned that there are still assumptions we have to prove out to back up our idea with more data. Even though we launched a beta in the middle of the process, the second-round judges wanted to know what our data focus was. The feedback between rounds has helped form the strategy of True Adherence going forward.

What did you take away from your interactions with the judges?

I was impressed by the caliber of judges throughout the phases of the competition. The judges were either business operators or investors, and as a result, many of their comments and questions showed a personal understanding of what is at stake when developing an early-stage company.

What attracted you to Greater Louisville?

People. Period. I was introduced to Louisville in February 2020 while competing in the University of Louisville Cardinal Challenge. Due to flight schedules, my co-founder Chris and I were only in town for 28 hours. After winning the challenge, we continued to keep in touch with several judges and mentors. That experience let me know that the startup network in Louisville is engaged in startup success.

How are you using the $100K, and how will it help you scale?

We’re continuing to develop the product to get it ready for a full commercial launch at the end of 2021. To hit our launch milestone, we’ll be investing in significant marketing events toward the end of the year, the fitness industry has a few key conferences we will attend as part of our product launch.

What advice would you give to a company applying for the next round?

I misunderstood the intent of Render Capital during the competition. After meeting and speaking with the team afterward, I quickly learned that the investments made are a bet on the company and on what it can do to bolster the economy in Louisville. Rather than invest solely in getting a multi-million-dollar exit, Render invested in True Adherence to provide job creation, economic empowerment, and long-term opportunities in this region. It’s a humbling and motivating form of investment to receive.

Would the current efforts of your business look different today without this funding?

Before becoming an entrepreneur, I had several mentors who mentioned giving their spouse an “option” that, when exercised, would result in stepping away from their current business endeavors for something more suitable. Going into True Adherence, I followed their example. Had the funding not come in from the Render Competition, my wife Marissa would have exercised the option, meaning I would have spent time finding a full-time job while working on True Adherence on the side. That would have been challenging for the rest of the team.

What role do you see your startup playing in the regional economy over the next 5 years?

We’re going to have a two-sided impact. On the health side, we will be enhancing fitness in the region by providing hyper-personalized fitness programs to our clients. On the direct business side, Louisville will become a hub for our distribution efforts to the East Coast, we will build out assembly, testing, shipping, and warehousing teams.

How has your business had to pivot or adjust over the past year?

We had to focus on the value we are generating for our clients. We thought it was a distinct feature of feedback. However, through user interviews and meetings with fitness influencers, we learned that we are providing personalized programs and empowering people to do those plans correctly with feedback. Understanding that has led us to change how we position ourselves and build the next phase of the product.

What’s next for your company in 2021?

We are moving toward the launch of the product by the end of this year. There is a lot of development and testing to do before then, but with the current features launching over the next month and the expansion of our beta later this quarter, we’re on track for a fantastic launch.

What inspires you to continue to grow your business every day?

Whenever I show someone what True Adherence can do for them, I often get a “That’s incredible!” or “That’s what I’ve been looking for!” With that type of response from strangers, I push each day, knowing I am working on a product that will genuinely change people’s lives for the better.