How this fitness buff became a wearable-tech entrepreneur

Laura Kraman-Parquet knows fitness.
She’s been in the business of fitness since 1999 — she’s a personal trainer who also started her own company, Mobile Fitness, in 2009.
Last fall, however, the 35-year-old Delaware resident by way of Kentucky sold her company and associated contracts. Looking for a fresh start, Parquet turned to technology.

A hackathon success story.

So, she participated in the Delaware gathering of Global Startup Battle in November. That event, she says, gave her the courage to take the next step.
“How things can change in 48 hours,” Kraman-Parquet said. “I gave a five-minute pitch, and I won already before doing that. I got feedback to dig deeper into customer discovery. I talked with gyms. I talked with customers. I learned I should use analogies to help me describe things and help me connect better with my customers.”
After Global Startup Battle, Kraman-Parquet decided to open up her own studio, which would integrate personal training, nutrition and wearable technology.
She and her team are working to create E-volve 365, a platform which will sync all biometric devices — like popular Fitbits and Polar heart rate and GPS watches — to one location online. There, users can log food or supplements, view progress and so on. It’s billed as “The tool for personal trainers.”

For trainers, Kraman-Parquet said, this platform would help streamline the amount of work. Currently, trainers are logging into multiple sites, apps and platforms to keep track of their clients.
“It’s one platform and the trainer can see everyone’s data, no matter what device they’re using. The trainer can set goals for everyone individually,” Parquet said. “It’s a really wonderful way to help the trainer keep track of people. We’re all over the place. We have no desk. This is a way of keeping track of clients and keeping track of goals in one place.”
Kraman-Parquet has not yet decided if the platform will be web-based or a mobile app, but hopes to do both. Either way, she said, a streamlined platform will also help trainers keep track of trends and progress — like the best time of day for their client to work out, how much sleep she is getting, eating habits and if the fitness plan should be increased or decreased.
Kraman-Parquet is planning for a March opening of her new gym, Evolve Fitness Studio. She’s eyeing a location on Kirkwood Highway in Wilmington. She anticipates having the platform up and running before then, so all new clients can get fully acclimated to integrating technology into their routines.
She is also looking to raise funding, she said.
Kraman-Parquet said she has been speaking with tech-savvy members from The Loft to build a good technological foundation moving forward. She said she plans to participate in more startup events and also learn to code.
“I’m learning about technology as much as personal training. I absolutely love it and embrace it,” she said.