| Website | dietbet.com |
| @dietbet | |
| Category | Consumer Web |
| Phone | 212-DIET-BET |
| Employees | |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Description | We gamify weight loss. |
| TOTAL | $1.1M |
| VENTURE FUNDING TOTAL | $1.1M |
| Seed, 1/11 | $1.1M |
DietBet gamifies weight loss.
By turning your diet into a game with friends, DietBet makes it fun to lose weight. Players can bet money into the pot and also compete for non-monetary stakes (winners get extra vacation days, losers clean the office refrigerator, etc.). The game is not winner-take-all like The Biggest Loser. Everyone who crosses the finish line after four weeks splits the pot.
Mixing friendly competition with financial incentives has the proven effect of hypermotivating players to lose weight. The company does not prescribe any specific weight-loss products or programs. Its mission is simply to incentivize dietbetters to kickstart a healthier lifestyle.
The game is predicated on well-known principles of behavioral economics. A UPenn study found that people who were paid to lose weight (particularly if they also had their own money at risk) were 500% more likely to reach their weight-loss goals. Research at Harvard Med School has also found that it’s easier to lose weight with friends than it is to lose it alone.
DietBet was founded by serial entrepreneur Jamie Rosen. The website officially launched in December of 2011.
