So far, the most successful company to be launched out of Bravo TV’s incredibly popular suite of reality shows is a company that makes low-calorie cocktails for women. A lucrative business, sure, but not exactly a blockbuster when it comes to cutting edge innovation and technology.
But the cast of Silicon Valley, the controversial new Bravo reality show set to debut next month, wants to shake things up a bit — some real startups were apparently built in the weeks this past summer that cameras were rolling.
One of those startups was Ignite Wellness, a personal health tracking system that includes both a web application and a physical device that integrates with any smartphone. Founded by brother-sister duo Hermione and Ben Way, Ignite is positioned as a kind of Wii Fit for the masses, with a price point starting at under $30 and an aim to eventually make the device completely free. 
And while it seems that it’d be hard to really build a company while partying (and sometimes feuding) with a houseful of young unmarried roommates while cable TV cameras are rolling, Ignite actually appears to be the real deal. The company, which is in talks to sell its device in Wal-Mart, has landed seed funding and is in the process of raising a Series A round. The Ways have filed seven patents around Ignite’s technology, and have a working prototype in hand.
Ignite is still in pre-launch mode at the moment (its official debut will come after Silicon Valley starts airing November 5th), but this week the Ways stopped by TechCrunch TV to give us an early hands-on look at their physical product and a demo of their mobile app. Watch the video above to see Ignite in action, learn a bit about the technology that powers it, hear about what it was like to build a company while making reality TV, and more.
Seattle, WA
San Diego, CA
Menlo Park, CA
San Francisco, CA
Berlin, Germany
Boston, MA
