Levels is a company that empowers individuals to take control of their health by providing continuous, real-time insights into their health state. The founder of Levels had a realization during a stressful period, which led to its development.
Prior to starting Levels, Josh had experience at SpaceX and working on the astronaut life support program.
At SpaceX, effective communication and extreme accountability are promoted. The company emphasizes communication in a way that anyone can understand and contribute, and individuals are held accountable for the outcome of projects, fostering a sense of ownership. Responsibility is given to one person for each project, from beginning to end, to avoid committee hurdles. Additionally, titles do not determine ownership at SpaceX; rather, ownership itself does.
Levels initially shipped a product that relied on customer feedback to identify opportunities for software improvements. Over time, they added core features based on user needs, such as insights, interpretation, and food logging. They rapidly built and iterated on their software with a small team of co-founders. They engaged users in community challenges to encourage experimentation and exploration of different lifestyle factors. Levels gradually added features like food logging, compare functionality, and importing additional metrics to their basic charting app.
Levels focused on metabolic health and established the concept of improving metabolic health. They developed a meal and day score to simplify tracking and understanding blood sugar dynamics.
Levels gained initial customers through family and investors who were interested in the concept. Once Levels emerged from stealth mode, people started talking about it on Twitter. The Covid-19 pandemic further increased interest in Levels as people focused on health and resilience. By the end of 2020, Levels had a waitlist of close to 100,000 people, demonstrating their impact and importance in the health industry.
Regarding nutrition, Levels advises avoiding processed foods and focusing on consuming whole foods in their original state. Processed foods with refined carbohydrates can cause instant blood sugar spikes. Eating a balanced macronutrient profile of protein, fat, and carbohydrates improves insulin control. The glycemic window post-workout varies for each individual.
Deep work and asynchronous communication are key elements of the culture at Levels. The company prioritizes deep work to ensure productivity and respect for everyone's time. They use long-form documentation and collaborate asynchronously, reducing the need for long meetings. Levels has built a culture of radical transparency and accountability, which attracts the right people and benefits customers and investors.
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