Miranda Nover is the Co-founder and CEO of Fort Health. Fort builds wearables that automatically track strength training for people who care about longevity.
This is a new format I’m experimenting with. It’s the first time I’ve had a Banana portfolio company founder on the show while they’re still at the pre-seed stage. When I surveyed my subscribers a few weeks ago, you were most interested in more early stage VC-backed founders, and I’d love your feedback on what you think of this.
Miranda is still very much working through the idea maze and iterating on the Fort product. We talk about the megatrends driving consumer health, why she’s building a company that helps people get stronger, and everything she’s learned getting a hardware company off the ground.
She’s also in the middle of the current YC batch, and gives an inside look at what it’s been like and if she’d recommend it to other founders.
Thank you to Numeral and Flex for supporting this episode.
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Timestamps:
(3:37) Importance of strength training
(6:34) Benefits of being strong
(10:37) Evolution of Fort’s hardware
(15:58) Automating workout tracking
(19:29) Two types of strength trainers
(25:30) Building the strength company
(27:26) How healthcare is consumerizing
(40:43) Lessons building batteries at Tesla
(44:56) Hardest parts about building a hardware startup
(51:01) Adventures in vibe coding
(57:54) How to use Twitter as a founder
(1:02:09) The launch video industrial complex
(1:08:03) What it’s like doing YC
(1:10:19) Selling crayons in 3rd grade, Lemonade stands
(1:14:41) Miranda’s best vintage finds
(1:16:44) How Turner evolved as a VC
(1:22:22) Turner’s early social media PMF
(1:28:53) Inventing shitposting
Referenced
Try Fort: https://www.fort.cx/
Follow Miranda
Twitter: https://x.com/mirandanover
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mirandanover
Follow Turner
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TurnerNovak
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/turnernovak
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