Meet the team that’s making PopOut happen.
Nate Ames
Nate studied kinesiology and exercise science and has worked as a personal trainer. (He was Bo's trainer, actually, and they became fast friends.) Nate is passionate about all aspects of health and has embraced the PopOut mission to get more men out walking, meeting with each other as often as possible. His deep understanding of health and fitness drives the development of features that support active lifestyles and promote psychological health.
Bo Bigelow, Founder and CEO
Bo is passionate about connecting people. He's spent his entire adult life building things that didn't exist before, just so he could make connections. He's successfully done this with the rare-disease nonprofit the Foundation for Hao-Fountain Syndrome, as well as DISORDER: The Rare Disease Film Festival. He's probably going for a walk today, in case you happen to be free to join him.
Brett Wickard (advisor)
Brett opened his first Bull Moose music store in Brunswick in 1989, when he was still a student at Bowdoin. He created his own software to keep the Bull Moose chain growing in a changing industry. Before long, other retailers started asking for his software, and thus his new company FieldStack was born in 2013. He advises us on user interface, software design, and marketing strategy.
Anna Pfalzer, PhD (advisor)
Anna is the Chief Science Officer at CombinedBrain, a consortium devoted to speeding the path to clinical treatments for people with rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorders by pooling efforts, studies, and data. Aside from being an expert beer consultant, she’s been advising us on how to gather survey data, so we can make progress on the public health front.
Whit Ford (advisor)
Whit owned a small Maine company for 25 years. His work experience includes industrial marketing, strategic planning, software development, non-profits, and education. He's generously advised us on funding and strategy.
Jon Pugh (advisor)
Jon is a senior strategy executive at Home Depot. A graduate of UVA's Darden School of Business, he's been a consistent sounding board for all of Bo's startup ideas, pouring a welcome cup of reality and reining Bo in whenever needed. Jon's most helpful trait by far has been the sentence that begins: "Have you thought of...." He's been invaluable in advising us on business strategy.
Ryan Bell
A 2024 graduate of Syracuse University, Ryan is the expert on all aspects of maps and data. When he moved into his freshman dorm, he brought a stack of tortillas, some cheddar, and a hot plate. He sold so many quesadillas to his classmates that he became known as “Quesadilla Ryan.”
Ben Cushing (advisor)
Ben brings his seasoned expertise in healthcare technology from his tenure at Red Hat, a software company and subsidiary of IBM that provides open source software products to enterprises. Aside from advising on app development and logic, he also brings an expertise about cutting-edge artificial intelligence.