Ah, yes, the classic double-dog dare, a seemingly trivial yet persistently effective tool, whose relevancy extends beyond our childhood days (clearly). Betchyu is based on this idea that competition can motivate people to reach their health goals through a social filter. Whether that’s losing weight, exercising more, running farther, or quitting cigarettes, Betchyu capitalizes on your own social network of friends and family, getting them to place bets against you in hopes that you’ll stick to trying to achieve your goal(s). There are, of course, other apps out there that already incorporate competition in the overall scheme of health and wellness. Companies like Pact (formerly Gympact) and DietBet work precisely through competition – for each, a user puts in real money and place bets against himself/herself; if they fail to achieve their desired fitness goal(s) then they lose that money to those on the platform who successfully achieved theirs. Baratz is certainly cognizant of the competition out there, but he thinks that the competition’s focus on interaction with strangers is something that really isn’t sustainable for most people: Betchyu’s app launched today and is currently only available on iOS. Check it out for yourself!
