The relative calmness of the pandemic gave an opportunity for many to reassess their personal development. For many, mindful practices helped combat the anxiety that emerged from the calamity and uncertainty of a locked-down world. Now as we put the pandemic in the rear-view mirror, many are looking to make these practices lasting, embedded in their new routines. Open is an operator of mindfulness studios and an online platform that offers a blend of breathwork, meditation, and pilates programming to help people be more present and improve their wellbeing. Open’s first studio is located in Venice with various daily programming that focuses on building an elevated and consistent wellness experience centered around community. Membership for the online platform is $20/mo with a $120M annual option available. In-person classes start at $20/session, making them more accessible than many of the alternatives.
LA TechWatch caught up with Open Cofounder and CEO Raed Khawaja to learn more about the importance of mindfulness in relation to overall mental and physical health, the company’s future plans, recent round of funding, and much, much more…
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
Mindfulness studio Open announced the close of a $9M Series A investment round, building on a $5.5M Seed round for a total of $14.5M fundraise. Led by existing investor Founders Fund (Keith Rabois) and A.Capital Ventures (Ronny Conway), this capital raise also includes participation from Susa Ventures, Aglaé Ventures, backed by Groupe Arnault, as well as a roster of prominent Founder/CEOs in consumer technology such as Twitter (Jack Dorsey) and DoorDash (Tony Xu), among others. Founders Fund and A.Capital have made their first investments in the space by betting on mindfulness with Open—a revolutionary approach to making the practice of wellbeing accessible to all.
Tell us about your product or service.
Open is a mindfulness studio offering experiences that combine breathwork, meditation, yoga, Pilates, and more to support transformation and personal development. Since launching in 2020, Open set out to build an ecosystem to meet people where they are at—anywhere, anytime, every level, on or offline. Their approach bridges ancient wisdom and modern science, guided by expert teachers, and supported by proprietary technology. Classes are designed to engage the senses and regulate the nervous system to effectively reach a meditative state that many find elusive. Breathwork techniques are woven into each experience to strengthen the mind-body connection through mental and physical training.
What inspired the start of Open?
Prior to launching Open, I spent most of my career at the intersection of food, beverage, and tech. I wore many hats for global brands and retailers with massive scale like PepsiCo and Walmart. I was fascinated by brands capable of reaching and appealing to billions of people. A farmer in rural Pakistan enjoys the same yellow bag of Lay’s as a banker in Chicago—how does that work? A lot goes into it, but mostly it boils down to the powers of brand and distribution. I would often think about how we could leverage these powerful tools to push culture forward and create real impact.
The entrepreneurial spirit emerged while I was in corporate roles and developed a knack for launching new capabilities. I love the creativity and persistence required to take on something from scratch. Eventually, I immersed myself in the early-stage tech ecosystem in San Francisco. My last role with Jyve [a labor marketplace for consumer-packaged goods/retail] provided the critical experience I desired to demystify the zero-to-one phase that precedes scale.
Open is the result of a lifetime of inspiration. I believe mindfulness is the gateway to well-being. The first step of any path towards transformation and growth begins with being present and aware of your current state without judgment. For example, it is hard to be a better partner if you have no understanding of how you are doing in the first place. The good news is there are many ways into presence and awareness. Breath, music, movement, sound, and sport are some of my favorite entryways. All of these tools have something different to offer, and that is what makes it fun. When you eliminate the idea of a monolithic path, you open yourself up to endless possibilities limited only by your imagination.
I was raised in a wonderful Muslim household and learned prayer from a really young age. I would not have called it a “meditation practice” at the time, but that’s exactly what it was for me. Every Friday I’d join hundreds of people at my local mosque as we prayed in unison with a billion other Muslims around the world. This was my earliest exposure to what community feels like. As many of us do, I grew older and fell out of religious practice. Years later I rediscovered meditation through technique-driven practices like breath observation and body scanning. I was able to access the benefits of the practice pretty quickly thanks to my direct experience with prayer growing up. Interestingly, despite my enthusiasm, my friends struggled to stick with it or see the value in it.
On my own journey, I continued to study and practice anything that deepened the connection between the body and mind. For theory, I became enthralled by the overlap of ancient wisdom and modern science. For practice, I began integrating breath work, sound, mindfulness, music, and movement into my daily life. Taking an interdisciplinary approach to theory and practice changed the course of my life.
Eventually, I felt the desire to practice with my friends and others. Community served as an important point of connection and accountability that I had experienced in a different context growing up. I felt like I was a part of something greater than myself. Fitness brands like Barry’s Bootcamp, Peloton, and SoulCycle understand the importance of delivering consistent experiences and cultivating a passionate community around their brands.
I grew curious. What would it look like to create a wellness experience for people who want to go beyond fitness? How would we design a platform where people from all walks of life feel like they belong? In what ways can technology enable reach and accessibility? If mindfulness is the gateway to flourishing, how do you deliver a reliable experience of presence?
Open was born to address these curiosities. It is a response to our collective present moment. Technology is advancing faster than the mind can keep pace, and we are in the midst of a global mental health crisis. Unfortunately, the solutions are fragmented and inaccessible. This is why Open exists.
How is it different?
Open’s mission is simple: be present, together. The studio delivers the most immersive audio and visual experience for livestream, on-demand and in-person classes, designing digital and physical spaces to facilitate community and presence for all levels. Practicing together is core to Open’s ethos. The team prioritizes development of features to connect users and teachers, such as in-class live chats, groups of friends, synchronous meditation and breathwork sessions, the ability to turn on your camera and view others while practicing—all to encourage presence through connection. To create broader access, Open offers free guest passes; subscribers can (virtually) bring friends to classes in a group by sending a link. Open offers in-person classes at their studio in Venice, facilitating presence, together.
What market you are targeting and how big is it?
Open has built a loyal, fast-growing community of people seeking to deepen connection to themselves and others—they have supported over 80,000 shared practices, and users’ solo practices have grown 42% for the past six months
What’s your business model?
Open offers unlimited access to live and on-demand classes through a $20/mo or $120/yr subscription, available globally. Scholarships are available to those who may need support. Our in-person classes in LA are currently offered at $20/class.
What are your post-COVID office plans??
We love to meet, gather, and create in-person—especially at this early stage. We’re proud of our home base in Venice and will continue to operate in a hybrid approach, with key meetings in our office and studio, and focused time from home or wherever our team members feel most inspired in LA.
What was the funding process like?
Fundraising gives you the opportunity to meet with some incredible people who can provide invaluable feedback on your approach, your aim, and especially how you are articulating your vision. The process forces you to zoom out and see the bigger picture.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
Deciding between Zoom and Google Meet.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Our investors believe in our hybrid approach from distribution to content.
What advice can you offer companies in Los Angeles that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Build from your heart, trust the process, and stay laser-focused on your customer’s needs.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
Open will continue its path towards increasing access to the experience of wellbeing. Over the next five years, we will continue to innovate on our core experiences, expand into new channels (physical spaces, retreats, etc.), and do whatever it takes to meet people where they are at in their journey. We are committed to evolving our understanding of what it takes to live a sustainable, happy, and purposeful life.
What’s your favorite outdoor activity in LA?
Our favorite way to connect to LA and ourselves is through practicing breathwork on Venice Beach with the Open community.
