Our Story

Technology these days tends to pull us toward strangers, AI bots, and addictive feeds… often doing more harm than good for our health, and distancing us from the handful of people who really matter.

I’m building Risers to help turn the tide. It’s the place to put your health, and the people who matter most, back in the spotlight.

Here’s how it started.

My name’s Dylan, the builder of Risers.

Dylan at his desk, smiling, with the Risers logo open on a laptop and code on the monitor behind him.

It goes back to 2016, second year of university in Waterloo, Canada. My girlfriend (now wife) Klaudia and I were “gym buddies”: we got each other’s butts to the gym on the days the other didn’t feel like it. We built amazing consistency…

…until we got internships in different cities. Suddenly, I’d lost my gym buddy.

The idea for an app called “GymBuddies” was born: post a pic once you showed up.

Dylan on stage with a microphone, presenting a slide that reads “Introducing Huddle — for iOS and Android”.
Pitching the idea under a new name, “Huddle”, at the 2016 5K Velocity Pitch Competition, University of Waterloo.

Fitness was the starting point, but the formula of plans + witnesses turned out to be so much bigger. “Huddle” became “Risers”, and my north star has never changed:

What’s the app I’d love to use with Klaudia every day to build consistency together?

Our Ethos

1/ Health is the foundation everything else stands on.

Energy, mood, focus, confidence. All of it sits on top of how you sleep, move, eat, and recover. That’s why Risers is a health app first, not another to-do list. Rise here, and the rest of your life tends to rise with it.

2/ Willpower matters. It’s just rarely enough on its own.

Some days, willpower alone doesn’t get me out the door. What helps is deciding what you’ll do today, and letting someone who cares see it. A plan that’s written down is more likely to happen. A plan that’s witnessed is more likely still. That’s why your daily plans in Risers are shared, not hidden.

3/ Distance shouldn’t dilute your closest bonds.

Risers was built from Germany, an ocean away from family and friends in Canada. I know how easily the people who matter most drift into “we should catch up soon” territory. Risers gives you a small, daily reason to stay in each other’s lives.

4/ Technology should bring you closer to real people, not replace them.

No strangers. No follower counts. No algorithm. Just the people you chose to let in. The best software right now makes you need your phone a little less, and the people around you a little more.

Imagining how Risers will help others do the same is what gets me out of bed excited to keep building each day.

We hope you and your inner circle love it too.

Thank you for being part of the Risers community.

— Dylan