QOR360 Profile

“We make chairs that keep people moving while sitting.”

“We all spend a lot of time sitting. Probably more than we realize and certainly more than is good for us. We can’t easily change how much we sit, so the challenge is to change how we sit. QOR360 chairs are designed to transform sitting into a healthy activity with life-long benefits. 

Active sitting is more enjoyable, comfortable, and offers a wealth of long-term health benefits. QOR360 helps you sit better so you can live better.”

“Owner contribution [and] profits from chairs sold.”

“Two founders, six freelancers, many ‘just-in-time’ factory workers.”

“I'm an inadvertent entrepreneur. Passive sitting is a public health catastrophe, but no one was doing anything about it. So, I invented a solution and founded a company.”

“I developed back pain and, after taking a deep dive into the causes of back pain (I'm an M.D., former academic surgeon, and lifelong researcher), I concluded that the solution was to keep people moving while sitting. Because no such chair existed, I invented it.”

“We wanted to bring to mind the relationship of sitting to core muscle atrophy, but, because all the URLs with ‘CORE’ were taken, we went with ‘QOR’ (sounds like "core"). The 360 was to suggest all the muscles of the core (360 degrees in a circle, etc.)”

“Most people are unaware that sitting is a health hazard, but [it] doesn't have to be. Getting this message out has been a heavy lift because we don't have much of an advertising budget. So, we've had to rely on earned media (Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, etc.), as well as things like YouTube influencers, podcasters, a TEDx Talk, my blog, a book I wrote, etc.”

“Everyone who sits — so, basically everyone. But our early adopters have been people who sit a lot in their home office, as well as movement/posture folks (Feldenkrais, Alexander Technique, etc.).”

“Earned media.”

“Word of mouth.”

“Chairs purchased per day, customer acquisition cost.”

“‘The Art of the Start 2.0’ by Guy Kawasaki; ‘How I Built This’ (NPR).”

"Just because I invented it doesn't mean I know what it is for.”

“Half a dozen gig workers who love our chairs, all of whom I love for their commitment to making sitting better.”

“A firm commitment to our public health mission, born of my life-long career as a doctor. As a surgeon, one can affect at most 10,000 patients' lives. But, by curing back pain, I could help millions of people. Now that's motivation.”

“Get up early, make a list, do this stuff on your list. It's how I managed a career as an academic surgeon, and I published over 300 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. Turns out this works for entrepreneurship as well. Also, as a surgeon, I had to manage many teams that had diverse membership: doctors, nurses, PTs, OTs, medical students. Keeping them all excited, focused, and productive is an art that wasn't easy to learn, but it has application to any team one may be charged with managing, such as our little chair project.”

“Our team's success: we've converted over 6,000 to sitting actively, and all of these folks are healthier for our efforts. ‘Do well by doing good.’”

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