YouSaid · the spoken record

Minday Grossman

lines on the record: 67
first: 2019-01-02
most recent: 2019-01-02
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“End of the year. Okay. It was great talking to you. Thanks for coming on the show. This is Mindy Grossman from WW International. Thanks to you all for listening. You can find more episodes of Reco Decode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, wherever you listen to podcasts. And please tell a friend about the show. You can follow me at Kara Swisher on Twitter. Mindy, where can people find you online?”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I sometimes want to move so quickly. That I can underestimate the trickle down effect when it goes through the org. So that's over the course of a career. So I'm much more cognizant and focused right now on relentless prioritization of breaking things too, Mindy? Yeah, you know, I've been known to do that every now and then. You know, and in terms of what people are doing, to your point, there's a lot happening in the wellness space that, you know, I think is really exciting because I do think people want more personalized care, et cetera. But I don't think any one thing has broken through yet. And I'm hoping that either us or us partnering will be able to do that.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“All right, so last question when you've started to make this change, I ask this of every entrepreneur or executive, what's the thing you did that you got wrong and where do you think something you look at that's not Weight Watchers that you think that's really interesting with that company is doing You can answer either in an easy way”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“What is the number one shareable thing, even if you look on social media? Right, it's food, it's friendship, it's coming together. That inherently is part of humanity. And I don't think we're going to give that up.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“You heard that. You've been to these. But you know what people forget Okay, food is not just something that keeps you alive, right? Food is community. Food is socialization. Even if you look at our Connect platform,”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It should be a much bigger part It should be a much bigger part. And now, actually, we have a better opportunity. We have some great clients now, don't get me wrong, but it's a much bigger opportunity now that we're more of an ecosystem versus kind of a one path. But the most important thing is to be able to give the business a dashboard on are you really making a difference in the health of the employees, either in reduction in absenteeism, increase in productivity, healthcare costs going down. And so that's a very important element that we know from the businesses we currently work with that we've performed. So if we have an even better offering, it should be that much more powerful.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Meditate, the more tools we give people, the more information we have. And if we use it for good, meaning we use it so we can better personalize their experience, that's a good use of data. And I think today if you're being asked for your data and you're not communicating to me as an individual, then why am I even giving it to you? But it can't become insidious where I'm giving that data away or I'm not using it for its most effective utilization.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And the use of data or the misuse of data. We are obsessed about privacy. We know a lot of personal things about people's lives and health, and that's a very significant responsibility. And it's at the forefront of everything we think about because if we don't have that, we don't have a business and we don't have a brand. So it's tantamount number one to everything we think about.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Think about it. We have no lack of data, right? Behavioral data, food science data, activity, every element of data and we're working diligently to be able to use that much more effectively for personalization, just like you're saying. And that's another big element of our strategy. It has to be.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah. So you mentioned before, you know, why a 55 year old brand and community, I think that, yes, are we using technology today to enable and to create more meaning? Yes. But the human-centric part of what we do and the community part of what we do, that is harder to replicate, but we're very, very clear that we just have to keep innovating and we have to be more important to people and we have to have the greatest efficacy. And that's why we can differentiate ourselves.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Right. So when you look at it at the broader landscape, if you're moving into health, you also sort of run smack dab into the big companies, the very big companies we're at. You consider them partners. But you see Google moving into it, Apple. Yeah, actually.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“To your point, there is a lot Going on, and you have to be cognizant of all that's going on, but then put it through the lens of not just your brand, but the lens of is this what consumers are really going to want and will it really help them long term? And is it accessible? Right, right. Because somebody could say that if you take a moonshot, you know, you'll live an extra 10 years, but it's going to cost you a million dollars. It's not really going to be very relevant. So the accessibility piece for us is important as well.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That people would know what, see, to know what happens when you eat something to your body would be, to me, that's whoever does that tells you that it's going to be next billionaire. You know what I mean, in terms of what it does and what happened and what you need to do next. And”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Exactly. Stop telling me to get up. Well, that's where we're spending a lot of time and research, and that's why we have a fairly sizable scientific group. To look at, but we will not do anything unless the science specifically says it is going to perform better that what people can do today. And we see it in the future. And it's just a matter of when we feel that product is where we want it to be.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Instead of just get up. I don't want to stop telling me to get up. It's a really like where are we in that? I mean, you've got to be thinking about that because if you're thinking about wellness in general, it should be something that's actively helpful versus suggestions.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“But that's what I'm talking about. Part of that is personalization because what may be good for me or what I like is different than what's good for you and what you like. So the more that we can get it to a behavior point of view where we're telling you something that's going to be relevant.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That works, but I want you to think about even more out. Like, I have said this to so many technologists. I'm like, here's what I'd like is the, like, I have some sort of sensor in my body that goes, when you ate that cake, this is what happened to your sugar level, this is what happened. Put down that bagel immediately and have this, like, that it's more like Tim Cook's always trying to get me to wear the Apple Watch. I'm like, until it tells me exactly what to do, I ain't wearing that thing. Like, just steps doesn't matter to me. Or, you know what I mean? They don't become A lot of these fitness apps and fitness devices. They're not prescriptive. I'd like them to be prescriptive. Right.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Haven't thought about sensors in a while. But the way we also think about it, does the science behind it tell you that if you do this, you're really going to help people be more effective and in some cases, it doesn't tell us that yet. We do think, though, that personalization around behavior and the more we can identify when you're having a challenge or an issue and we can help you or the more we can personalize everything from food to activity, et cetera. So that's a big body of work that we're doing. But I want you to think about it.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That's essentially. I mean, look, I'll donate the cake. The reality is you have to look at everything. Right. I do think the Place that is going to get more and more and more critical is personalization. And that's where we're spending a lot of time and looking at that is how can you make it your WW as much as possible. And we look at everything that's happening out there from, you know, DNA to biometrics to what's happening in food. I left DNA.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Where things are going, I spent a lot of time with Silicon Valley people, and they're all, whether it's food or fitness or body or wellness, they're trying to come up with technological solutions to solve our unhealthiness. You know, one person I just met with was investing in a company that rids you of dead cells, sentient cells, and senescence. And so if you don't have senescence, you don't die. Or living very healthily until you're 90 or 100. Someone the other day was saying, well, you can decide whether you want to live till 20 or 500 or something like that. You know, it's a really interesting, they're all, and then there's the food stuff that's going on in possible foods. There's the idea of doing soant or fasting. There's all kinds of trends and crazy things going on. And some of it's sensors all over your body so that you know pills that you take to get skinnier and things like that. And there's brain drugs and things like that. How do you look at all that when you have Weight Watchers? It's just like, don't.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Exactly. But I would say that the one thing that you can never, ever underestimate that is so powerful for us is community. Again, whether it's that digital community, that physical community, and even people who've achieved their, let's call weight loss or health goals, they stay because of the power of that community. And they now want to inspire other people. And we see that constantly. So our retention right now is in the high nine months. And what I've said was, you know, I help to be talking about retention in years at some point, not just months, because of the value of what we're giving people, the tools, and the community.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Right. Your friend gets a free moment. But when you're in the subscription right now in the subscription space, it's a really interesting thing because it's hard to get people. To give them enough value for what they're getting. You know, I've noticed a lot of these fight camp, there's all these kind of interesting, there's a peloton, someone left a peloton in my new house. Now I have one. I don't know if I want a subscription to it. But, you know, it's all based around that. I happen to like Soul Cycle, which I overpay for. But do you have to get into that kind of thing where you provide, if you're doing all health, you have to get into... Having a Weight Watchers bike or whatever, or not.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Where if you came to the wellness festival, the second you cross that threshold, you unlocked a month's worth of fresh food for a family in the community. And so we'll be expanding our efforts there around broader access where we can. When I think about it, you know, if I look at our constituency and what they'll pay for, I think they really value what we're giving them and the benefits. We also saw, we launched an invite a friend capability within our app. So if you invite a friend, you get a free month and your friend gets a free month.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“24 hours a day, 1995 a month. Surprised at two smoothies. And then if you also want the weekly physical interaction along with that, it's about $44.95. But we also launched WW Good, which is our social impact platform to help underserve communities get healthier. We launched six wellness festivals in the summer.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Actually, yes, we have a partnership with MSC Cruises, our fourth cruise just ended. We have a cruise to Cuba next year. And it's called WW Cruise. Think of it as a week of health and wellness on the sea. People love it.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I see. So, when you think about this noise that's going out there in wellness, and again, you're right, it is elite. There's a lot of stuff that people that without means cannot accomplish, the things that you want to do, including even meditation, which they're trying really hard to get it through to everybody in that regard. How do you look at when you have to get customers? Because you want to get a subscription go. You have a subscription business. We have a”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And I would tell you that one of the big reasons that I made the decision to join the company is, yes, I'm paid to deliver a financial return on equity, but I'm very focused on delivering the human return on equity that If we do that, both will happen”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“What someone has from us that they didn't have a year ago, it is massive in terms of support, in terms of the tools they have, in terms of the information. And that's our desire. And if our real North Star goal is to give people the tools to have the habits sustainably, they're going to help them lead a healthier lives will also have the financial return on equity.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“As I said before, you have to look at everything. Everyone says, well, why do you need WW and you pay for it when there's all these free apps? And I said, how many free apps are on your phone that you've looked at once and you've never looked at again?”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So we think about 1.3 to 1.5 million devices, unique devices a month. So that's actually complementary in our world. And for example, you know, I sync up with Apple Health. So especially now that we have the rewards program, I want to make sure I'm getting all my points. So, you know, again, I think a lot of what we're trying to accomplish, we will accomplish more effectively with partners, the authentic partners. And when I say authentic, it's partners that share the same desire that we do, which is actually to help the trajectory of people's lives.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“In a lot of ways, I think consumer reports were on the forefront of this kind of thing. They did the reported and science-based. And then they got run over by everybody. You know what I mean? Like, in terms of, and yet now they're trying to try to, because they have a trusted brand, but it's hard to connect with millennials in that way or younger people, I guess, not just millennials. So you have all these fake stuff that's going on, which you have to combat and you're science-based in terms of what really works or trying to shift. And then you also have all these gadgets everywhere. How do you look at that space? So you have, you carry a Fippin, Apple has health.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And trust, and we're trying to be more democratized. Know, and so when I'm asked, you know, who do I think the customer could be? And I said, I'm not being flippant, but if you have a body and you want to get healthier, we're going to talk about that. We can really be your partner. And, you know, I've said, look, if you have Amazon for shopping and you have Netflix for entertainment and you have Spotify for music, we should be your health and wellness partner. And that's our goal. And the one thing about having 55 years of trust.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, I think there are So I think there are two issues. One is people don't know what's real and what's not. And for a lot of people, the shiny new object is maybe the thing that'll work for them. And unfortunately, that's rarely the case. I think the second issue that we have is wellness is becoming a little elitist. Right. Yep. Yep. And so we're trying to do two things. We're trying to be the voice of real.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“You know, the reality is that people are confused and they want the truth. And we've always been science-based. There's nothing that we do in any one of those areas that is not backed by science. We have a chief scientific officer, scientific advisory board. We just created our first youth and family advisory board. And that's what we represent. And that's why we're so trusted.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“No, it's becoming insidious. So I have a page that has 20 different articles on the left and 20 different articles on the right, each one negating one another. Hell is good, kale is bad, glutinous. Kale is good. I know.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Of competition. Manage competition. Right. And so you have these competitors in the Weight Watch space. Then you have the in the wellness space, which is really boomed, and some of it's just awful. Like, you know, and some of it's, it used to be sort of stuck in magazines, right, all the wellness stuff.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Look, you can't ignore any competition. Right. And frankly, some of your biggest competition is the last great experience somebody had. You're not just looking at a single lane of competition. So you have to know what's going on around you. You have to be agile and constantly innovating to create more and more value for what you're providing people. And that's the only way to manage competition.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“You know what? You can eat anything on www. We don't make your everyday food The food products that we make, and 100% of them are all new launching in January. Because when we came out with the new purpose of the company, which is we inspire healthy habits for real life. People, families, communities, the world for everyone. And we said we're going to be a wellness company. All our products didn't live up to that. So, every food product we make, which is mostly in the healthy snacks, breakfast food, et cetera. And it's more to support people's efforts and streamline it. We took out all artificial ingredients, preserving ever. So everything is launching. But Cara, to be honest with you, what I've said is our biggest competition is people thinking they can get healthy themselves.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So if you now sit back and where we used to just be about the food, now you have what you put in your body, how you move your body, how your mind works to support all your efforts. Your encouragement and your community You have a complete wraparound”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And community. So whether it's Connect, which is what our digital community is called. Very powerful, very honest, very positive. It's one of the biggest reasons I believe our attention is at an all-time high.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Meditation and mindset. Right. Right. So there's original content that they're creating for us, same thing with Aptive. We launched the first rewards and loyalty program in the company's history. Different than any other one. It does not reward you for spending money. It rewards you for all the efforts you take for your health.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And it's the first time in the company's history that you can take one of those two paths. You used to have to want to lose weight. So now we have a healthy habits option, as you will. But in addition to that, we now are launching FitPoints 2.0. So taking the science and applying it to activity, so recommending a certain amount of activity between strength, endurance, and intensity. And then we're just about to launch Aptive within our app, which is audio fitness. We've already launched Headspace, so we do our own content”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That was. So if you have the experience today. Right, the program that was launched, or at least the eating program in January, which has been our most successful in the history of the company, is called WW Freestyle. There is a scientific methodology. So we have one of the largest, if not the largest food databases in the world, and we measure every single food on calories, nutrients, fats, sugars, and satiety doesn't fill you up, which is why there's over 200 foods that are zero points. And then based on who you are, you get a certain amount of points per day that you can have beyond that, whether you want to lose weight or whether you just want to eat healthier.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Because you know, health doesn't have a beginning and end. It's why we don't use before and after projects. Well, that's true. That's true. If you believe in afterlife, maybe you can come back. Although we're going to talk about some.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“What's important to note though, if you ask those same 10,000 people, what's the first thing you think you need to do over 70% will say, I either need to lose weight or I need to eat healthier. So we're not going to abdicate our leadership there. We're just going to give people more than that.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Other elements of wellness. And we're probably, if not the biggest, one of the biggest proponents of body positivity. We don't dictate. It's really about what's your why. However, we've done a lot of both quantitative and qualitative research. And if you ask 10,000 people, do you want to lead a healthier life? 10,000 people are going to say yes.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I think it's important to note that we've been using the WWA mark for over five years. And as much as the name has a tremendous amount of equity, it's been in the universe for 55 years. It's kind of a blessing and a curse. And it was really becoming an impediment in a world where we don't even use the word diet anymore. We don't tell people what they should weigh. We literally say to people, what is healthy mean to you? And we're so much more than just about the weight. And it was important that we reflect that in our brand. So we moved to the WWA mark and we're utilizing the tagline wellness that works. And the reason why we're utilizing that, if you talk to anyone about their experience at WW and you say, why did you join? Why'd you come back? The first thing people say is it works. And we've always been science-led and have always had a product that has worked. So now we're just applying that to”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“More of the app, right? And when they did their first foray was not terrific. And now compare it today, it's almost a five-star app. It's an incredible platform. It becomes people's daily, you know, health and wellness. Tool. So it's a very, very different company and a very different business.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And all of them are attached to our digital tools and our app and they're engaging. And we even have a very powerful digital community. But one point six million of those still want to have that face-to-face interaction. And it's a matter of giving people the community they want on their terms. And yes, are we elevating and are we evolving, whether it's our digital or our physical? Of course, you have to. You have to keep innovating. You have to keep evolving. But that community piece is never going to go away.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Right. And it was a matter of saying, how do we take a very single-focused business around weight loss and now give people tools for activity, mindset, give them rewards and recognition, and still empower them with community? So, you know, if you look, we have about four and a half million subscribers.”
2019-01-02 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Why Weight Watchers is now WW · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT