So many tech valuations hinge on forced customer retention scores. I hope the market wakes up and realises that there's absolutely zero moat in usage streaks, notification loops and decent UI. These just end up with low-quality network effects that tech companies harp on about to save face from a relative lack of innovation.

For this reason, Oura's IPO will be tragic. They'll push subscription prices even higher to satiate shareholders, which will work in the short-term, but eventually customers will fall off the edge of a cliff once they've reached the peak of the price curve. My guess is that that's coming soon based on how they've hiked prices over the years.

I genuinely feel like the world needs to wake up to these fads lol. Why do you need a ring or watch to tell you how you feel? I understand tracking steps or calories burnt, but stuff like sleep scores are probably the most useless sales feature that's been fabricated out of thin air over the past decade. Like, do people not know if they had a good nights sleep once they wake up? Who ACTUALLY cares if your sleep score was 87% in March and then 82% in April???

The answer: people who PAY for the hardware/subscription.

It's all backwards. You pay for this thing which means you're forced to care about what it tells you. Obviously there's a tiny subset of the physical elite who do care, but for most (relatively sedentary) customers, why does this stuff even matter other than sybolizing status / fashion accessory.

Whoop are another (probably worse) example with an even worse product because their marketing/hype has been the only thing that's kept them functioning. Them IPO'ing would be genuinely hilarious because the stock would pump when they announce a new sportsperson sponsorship rather than anything to do with product innovation...which would never happen btw.

I hope Apple takes the entire health hardware market by just acquiring Oura lol. That'd be huge aura (not Oura) points for John Ternus.