Headspace Wants You to Get in Touch With Your Body
*By Alyssa Caverley*
You might not think that your smartphone, with all its flashing message alerts and beeping reminders, would be the tool to help you slow down and get in touch with your thoughts.
But that's what the guided meditation app Headspace aims to do by giving its 28 million users a way to improve their health and happiness at any time of day. It was one of the top lifestyle and wellness apps in the first quarter of 2018.
"It is genuinely a coming together of a consumer need and something being offered in a very different way," said the Headspace co-founder Andy Puddicombe in an interview with Cheddar's CEO Jon Steinberg. "You have meditation that's been around for a few thousand years, so this isn't new."
Puddicombe, who trained for 10 years as a Tibetan Buddhist monk in Northern India, said that Headspace was designed to help make meditation accessible to people's modern daily lives.
"So most people think of meditation ー 'O.K. I've got to sit down on the floor, cross legged, light some incense' ー we've tried to kind of take it away from that to make you feel sort of grounded and down to earth," Puddicombe said. "So I encourage people to sit down on a comfortable chair and just focus their attention in the distance."
He said the point was to show people who download the app that meditation is an individual experience and anyone can do it. And it's Puddicombe's voice ー the voice of Headspace ー that will help guide you through it and maybe even lull you to sleep.
"Meditation gives you what you need and if, at that time, you need sleep and you feel amazing when you wake up, that's a win," he said.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/headspace-founder-on-why-meditation-app-clears-up-the-brain-fog-for-users).
Project management platform ClickUp raised $400 million in Series C funding this week, and founder and CEO Zeb Evans joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to talk about taking the added funds to help make the workplace more efficient by being a one-stop-shop for office needs. He also discussed a growing demand for his company's services during the pandemic as companies seek solutions to keep their employees on the same page.
How much real money would you pay for a virtual plot of land? Developing technology is introducing everyone in the real world to new, virtual worlds, like Decentraland. In this metaverse economy, users are buying virtual real estate at high value – and it’s not just the average Joe that’s looking to invest. Company's like Facebook are betting big.
The dating app Hinge says it's taking online dating to the next level by introducing a voice prompt feature for profiles. Michelle Parsons, chief product officer, joined Cheddar to talk about providing the question prompts for users to make accounts more personable in their own voice. She also went into how much the pandemic has had an impact on engagement.
TikTok is testing out a new program that would allow creators to receive tips for their posted content. The video-sharing platform also said it will allow creators to retain 100 percent of their tipped revenue.
Tonya Evans, professor at Penn State Dickinson Law, joined Cheddar to talk about the meme coin war flaring up between the Shiba Inu and Dogecoin tokens. She noted that one of the most fascinating takeaways from the crypto craze is the "power of community" being able to manipulate market prices. Evans also talked about the rising number of coins coming to market and how to assess if they are worth investing in.
Nicole Lambert, President at Myriad Genetics joins ChedHER to discuss how to expand access to genetic testing for all women, and how her experience as a 'pre-vivor' motivates her role in the industry.
Social media giant 'Facebook' has rebranded itself as 'Meta' in a move that has many talking about the motive behind the timing of the announcement as the company finds itself getting negative press almost daily. Editor In Chief of Investopedia Caleb Silver breaks down the change and how the vision of Meta and the Metaverse could change the future.
Third quarter Shopify earnings fell below expectations in both revenue and earnings per share. Though the e-commerce retailer has seen growth in partnerships with Target and Spotify, as well as adoption of a buy now, pay later payment option, Hatem Dhiab, Managing Partner at Gerber Kawasaki explains the impact that ongoing supply chain issues have had on Shopify's bottom line.
