Tag: OYO Fitness

KC inventor’s untimely death leaves legacy of fearlessness, unfinished vision

By Tommy Felts / September 29, 2022

Paul Francis pioneered fitness tech for NASA, commercialized it with Bowflex, then raised $4 million on Kickstarter: How the OYO founder’s unexpected death this month cut his storied entrepreneurial journey short — but left a lasting impression on the people who worked alongside him. Former colleagues are remembering the late Paul Francis as a uniquely…

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OYO Nova Gym by OYO Fitness

Reluctant gym-goers help push KC’s OYO to $4.4M in pre-sales for latest home fitness device

By Tommy Felts / June 24, 2020

A month after breaking records as the most-funded fitness product in Kickstarter history, the KC-created OYO Nova Gym closed its crowdfunding campaign with $4.4 million in pre-sales. “To say that it exceeded our expectations is a total understatement,” said Graham Ripple, COO of OYO Fitness, the Kansas City-based startup behind the handheld home gym product.…

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OYO Nova Gym

This KC-created handheld home gym just became the highest-funded fitness product ever on Kickstarter

By Tommy Felts / May 9, 2020

The OYO Nova Gym passed a massive crowdfunding milestone Saturday morning — raising $1.6 million in pre-sales for the Kansas City company and becoming the most-funded fitness product in Kickstarter history. And OYO’s campaign still has a month to go. “The OYO team has worked hard to develop fitness devices that fit in anyone’s lifestyle,”…

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OYO Fitness team: Nick Bolton, fitness director; Paul Francis, founder and CEO; Sonya Andrews, art director; Graham Ripple, chief operations officer; Marcus Sy, manufacturing director (not pictured)

OYO Fitness set a $30K goal for pre-sales — they’ve passed $1M in just a week

By Tommy Felts / May 1, 2020

Editor’s note: The following is part of Startland News’ ongoing coverage of the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Kansas City’s entrepreneur community, as well as how innovation is helping to drive a new normal in the ecosystem. Click here to follow related stories as they develop. Fresh innovation is working out for OYO Fitness, as the Kansas City-based…

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Paul Francis, OYO Fitness space tech

‘Wild idea’ behind OYO Fitness sends KC inventor into Space Tech Hall of Fame

By Tommy Felts / May 8, 2019

Commercial viability for an inventor-entrepreneur comes with only about a “one in 1,000” chance of success, said OYO Fitness founder Paul Francis, who was recently inducted into the Space Technology Hall of Fame for his patented SpiraFlex technology. “It’s probably much smarter to come up with an app because you don’t have any selling costs…

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