It’s always good to know you’re doing well, sure the numbers can look ok and the employees can seem happy enough shuffling around in their little cubicles, the steely glint of mutiny lying dormant behind their eyes. But how can you really be sure, how can you really know you’re being successful? Awards. Awards and, in this case, ‘Best of’ lists, which coincidentally is just what Lifesum have found themselves on.
To clear up any confusion we should point out that Lifesum used to be ShapeUp Club who we covered in May when they recruited some new execs. Since then the Swedish startup have got themselves a new name and seem to have continued doing very well. Registered downloads have now risen to over 4.8 million and they can count to 500,000 monthly active users through Northern Europe and Scandinavia, which is a really big number to count to if, like me, you need to use your fingers. Most people who use the app tend to be a bit more active that me though, losing on average 13lbs (6 kilograms) in 3 months. Which is a lot more than I’ll probably manage sitting here flexing my fingers.
The list that they’ve found themselves on is none other than Apple’s own ‘App Store Best of 2013’. Put together by the App Store Editorial team the list recognises some of the most remarkable, innovative, and entertaining apps of 2013 in the Nordic region, at least that’s what their press release says. You’d think that would make the creators happy, and I guess it has.
“The entire Lifesum team is really proud to receive such recognition from Apple.” said Tove Westlund, co-founder of Lifesum. “It’s a great way to celebrate our rebrand, and really inspires us as we go into a new year when Lifesum is dedicated to expanding outside of the Nordics and sharing advice, guidance, and encouragement to new users in the UK and the broader English-speaking world.”
So hurray, pats on the back, and little cocktail sausages all around. When all the wild partying is over they’ll be back to work, continuing development on new technology that will allow the app to offer detailed insight and guidance in response to a user’s input. It’s intended to encourage users to implement practical changes that will help them to develop new behavioural patterns, and lead to sustainable health programmes they will be able to stick to. Between expansion into the English-speaking world and the continued development of the app they have a busy time ahead of them, but I’m sure people who are making an excise app are prepared for a little hard work themselves.
