Servus meets Howdy – Five minutes with… ANTELOPE, members of the Bavaria delegation at SXSW

We are starting with Philipp G. Schwarz, CEO and founder of ANTELOPE. ANTELOPE develops and sells EMS suits and other wearables for electrical stimulation training. The products support any kind of sport and make the workout even more effective.

You’ve already been to SXSW once and kind of already know what it’s all about. Is there anything that you didn’t have time for, didn’t manage last year that you definitely want to catch up on?

Last year we were exclusively focused on presenting and introducing ANTELOPE. It was four weeks before our product launch. This year we want to work out with ANTELOPE and exciting people in Austin and see a bit of the city and do something good for our health and fitness at the same time.

Which programme item do you want to attend without fail or is there someone who you definitely want to meet?

Chris Sacca would be a good start. And with our combination of electrical muscle stimulation, sportswear and app we are of course every excited about the Sport Track and what innovations are going on there. A meeting with the US-American entrepreneur, investor and author Tim Ferriss would also be really fantastic.

You’re allowed to present your company there too. How are you preparing for this?

We were part of the German Accelerator programme in the Silicon Valley from October to December. This programme focuses on improving our pitch deck. It was very helpful and has given us the final touch we needed. And then, since our launch in Rio during the Olympic Games last summer, we have been training  with new people time and time again, from athletes to senior citizens and lifestyle customers. Everyone has their own questions.

What are your objectives for SXSW? How should the conference take your company forwards?

For us SXSW is the best place to discover innovations and to network with those who drive these. Vice versa, we see precisely the people here with whom we can develop our ANTELOPE.TECHWEAR further.

Your EMS (Electrical Muscle Stimulation training) suits have been available for advance orders on the Indiegogo platform for a little while and they can be purchased in your online shop. Tank tops, wings and calf guards have already been send to supporters. What are your next milestones?

One huge success so far was certainly our successful crowd funding campaign on Indiegogo. With this, we were Germany’s most successful campaign on Indiegogo in 2015 with more than 1,600 orders from 66 different countries and over 1.3 million dollars of funding. The next step is obviously the delivery of the first ANTELOPE.SUITS. We have just accepted the pilot series. When we return from Austin, we are expecting the golden samples. That’s the last series before mass production. To take one step back though. We have already started delivering the sub products (TANK.TOP, CALF.GUARDS) and have had really enthusiastic feedback so far. The sub products will be delivered to all Indiegogo supporters over the next 4 weeks.

Just for understanding: we have two product ranges. On the one hand the sub products, which work with a 2-channel booster and can stimulate 2 muscle groups at the same time (e.g. the stomach and back with the TANK.TOP). And on the other hand our ANTELOPE.SUIT including 8-channel electronics with which all the important muscle groups can be stimulated at the same time. THE ANTELOPE.SUIT is the top product in our range. It is the perfect tool for an effective and time-efficient full body workout. It can stimulate 8 muscle groups at the same time. We are really excited about the feedback on the ANTELOPE.SUIT. We received very helpful feedback in previous tests.

We need certification for different countries to be able to supply our products. We have already received CE certification for the whole of Europe and can therefore supply our products within Europe. Another milestone that we are aiming for is FDA approval in order to be able to sell our products in the USA too. We are making great progress with this at the moment.

The other start-ups have also been interviewed by us and reported on their objectives and hopes for SXSW. Interested in what´s going on in Austin? Visit #bytevaria news.