The LULU Light Breakthrough
- Ethan Babil
- Oct 14, 2024
- 10 min read
In this edition, we highlight Ross Ducat's inspiring journey and his innovative health-tech app, LULU Light, which uses hypnagogic light therapy to improve sleep and aims to transform the sleep technology market.
What a weekend! I had the opportunity to meet some true Italian innovators throughout Milan and Venice. I was also able to catch up with Florian and Luca, the founders we featured in last week's newsletter. (Note: I met the two via a Zoom call, and this was the first time we saw each other face to face.)
As I grow into my entrepreneurial role, I’m noticing more and more how many people don’t think like us, which can be quite discouraging at times. Yet, we keep pushing to innovate and persevere.
If you’re just starting your journey or in the "put your head down, get shit done" phase (aka early traction), I want you to know that you're not alone. I see you. Keep going, and like Luca told me, “Don’t ever quit.”
Now, let’s get into the juicy stuff!
Ross Ducat everyone. Quite a unique character, though a meeting full of story’s, laughs and most importantly learning more about his innovation through LULU Light. I wish you could have been on this call because that guy could tell a story! From personal crises to his dating life, I heard it all, and he skillfully tied every experience back to his current venture that has brought him to this point. His journey is not just inspiring; it’s a testament to resilience and creativity. I hope to capture the same energy Ross had in this week's edition and showcase the opportunities at hand in the most authentic way. So, what do you say we turn onto the block and take a stroll down 103St?
The Front Porch
LULU Light - is a health-tech app that uses hypnagogia and your smartphone’s camera flash to guide users into deep sleep, offering an innovative, effortless alternative to traditional sleep aids.
Elon Musk (SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink, OpenAI), Steve Jobs (Apple), Tim Ferris (Uber, Shopify, Duolingo), Dylan Field (Figma) all brilliant minds who revolutionized their industries. But here's something you might not expect: many of them credit psychoactive experiences with unlocking creative pathways that shaped their legacies. It’s the kind of unexpected twist that makes you wonder if there’s more to their success than just grit and vision. Ross Ducat, however, took a different path. His journey began with a different kind of spark, one that didn’t come from any substance but a life-changing experience that set him on the course to revolutionize sleep as we know it.
Lucia n°03 hypnagogic light therapy - it sounds like something out of a sci-fi novel, but this is where Ducat’s journey took a significant turn. Picture this: lying down with closed eyes as a machine projects flickering lights, inducing a deeply meditative, even psychedelic-like state. For Ducat, this wasn’t just a cool experience - it was a transformation. It stirred something within him, and he knew that this kind of deep relaxation could have much wider applications. He imagined a world where people could tap into similar mental states through everyday technology, right at their fingertips. So, he set out to create a mobile app that would make it possible.
But like all great stories, there were setbacks. His partner in this venture fell into poor habits, pulling the rug out from under their promising startup. “That relationship ended up falling apart. I lost all the assets - he helped me to rent some, lost the app, lost the website, lost everything and was basically kind of at zero, apart from the nuts and bolts of the app,” Ducat shared. Many would have thrown in the towel, but not Ducat.
Instead, he found opportunity where others would have seen only failure. While building the app, he noticed a surprising pattern: users kept returning for one particular feature - not the mind-expanding experiences but something much more practical. Sleep. Every night, people need to shut off their minds and rest, not dive into a psychedelic state. This revelation became the core of his next venture, LULU, a sleep accelerator designed to help people drift off naturally, quickly, and without the need for medications or endless scrolling through Netflix episodes of Friends.
"People today are either on drugs, struggling with sleep, or turning to things like Friends on Netflix," Ducat says, addressing the common struggle. "They just let it play to help them sleep, or they use Spotify or other apps. But these methods aren't working. When I offer them an alternative that works in just 15 minutes, they use it every night.”
With LULU, Ducat found a solution that not only filled a gap in the market but also deeply resonated with people struggling to sleep. This unique approach, of course, is bound to attract imitators.
“I think there will be imitation, as it’s the highest form of flattery. I’m pretty sure we’re going to get some copycats out there,” Ducat admits. He knows competitors will try to jump on the bandwagon, but while his patented light technology is crucial to LULU's success, he’s aware some will attempt to find loopholes. “There must be ways around the patents,” he concedes, “but they won’t have the sounds we’ve got, the composers I work with, or the AI advancements we’ve built into our platform.”
This is where Ducat’s background as a DJ comes in. Years of hosting radio shows and traveling the world fueled his obsession with discovering new sounds. His connections with top producers and mastering engineers allowed him to create soundscapes for LULU that are unmatched. “Even if you replicate the light patterns,” Ducat says, “you can’t touch us on the sounds.”
But it’s more than just technology or competition - it’s about solving a universal problem: sleep. In today’s stress-filled world, people are losing sleep, and LULU offers a natural, innovative fix. Ducat’s confidence is unshakable.
When asked about the challenges ahead, Ducat’s response is simple, bold, and full of determination: “FUCKING bring it on.”
Lawn Work
Short-term Goals:
Launch Lulu Light app to a broader user base by mid-2024 with a target of 500 beta users actively using the app.
Refine and finalize the token model to increase accessibility, allowing users to purchase in-app experiences via tokens rather than subscriptions.
Complete current pre-seed fundraising round of £250,000 to continue product development and marketing.
Expand the team by securing a CTO and further refining the app's messaging and value proposition based on feedback from initial users.
Long-term Vision:
Dream: Lulu Light aims to revolutionize how people manage their sleep, offering a natural, non-invasive solution to sleep issues through hypnagogia-induced light technology. The long-term goal is to become the leading sleep app globally, providing solutions beyond just sleep, like power naps and jet lag management.
Global Expansion: Starting with the UK market, Lulu Light plans to scale into the U.S., targeting wellness-conscious regions such as the West Coast. Future plans include further expansion into Asia, focusing on high-tech, sleep-deprived nations like Japan and South Korea.
Innovative Sleep Solutions: By offering an alternative to medications, therapy, or even sleep-inducing substances like cannabis, the founders want to address the sleep market with a unique product, focusing on accessibility and ease of use.
Exit Strategy: The goal is to exit within 3 to 5 years by potentially selling the company to a major sleep or wellness app like Calm, leveraging Lulu Light’s unique approach to sleep and its user base to complement an existing platform.
Ethical Considerations: Ross Ducat, the founder of Lulu Light, emphasizes providing a natural, drug-free alternative to help users achieve better sleep. He has first-hand experience with sleep issues and wants to offer solutions without harmful side effects, particularly as a response to the widespread use of cannabis for sleep management.
103st Strategic Metrics
Backroad Breakdown - Risk Analysis
3.2 out of 5 stars
I encourage you to look into how we came to these numbers: Click Here
Top of the Block - Front of Mind Risks
Market Saturation in Sleep Tech: The sleep technology market is highly competitive, with many established players offering various solutions. Lulu Light needs to carve out a unique position with its hypnagogic approach to stand out among better-known products.
Lack of Medical Certification: Without approval from health authorities like the UK's FDA equivalent, Lulu Light is limited to a wellness and entertainment angle, which may raise concerns about its effectiveness among potential users.
User Education and Adoption: As a novel approach to sleep using hypnagogia and smartphone lights, Lulu Light faces the challenge of educating users about its safety and benefits, especially when the concept of brainwave manipulation might seem intimidating.
Dependency on Testimonials: Lulu Light’s initial traction heavily relies on user testimonials to build credibility and trust. However, gathering these testimonials and ensuring consistency across experiences may prove challenging as the product scales.
Early-Stage Funding Risk: Lulu Light is currently raising pre-seed funds and has soft commitments, but there is still uncertainty in securing the full amount needed to continue development and marketing efforts.
Deal Street Dispatch: IPO & M&A Roundup
IPO: 17%
M&A: 77%
I encourage you to look into how we came to these numbers: Click Here
Market Share Scorecard: LULU Light vs. Competitors
Top Performers:
Calm: Leading the market with a 30% share, Calm dominates the sleep and wellness space, particularly through its popular sleep stories feature, generating hundreds of millions in revenue annually.
Headspace: Holding 25% market share, Headspace is a major player offering guided meditation and mindfulness practices, with a strong foothold in both sleep and wellness categories.
Notable Competitors:
Moshi: With a 15% market share, Moshi caters specifically to children, offering sleep stories and soothing content, making it a key player in the niche children's sleep market.
Sleep Cycle: Commanding 10% of the market, Sleep Cycle provides sleep tracking and personalized insights, focusing on improving sleep through data-driven solutions.
Pzizz: At 5% market share, Pzizz leverages psychoacoustics to help users sleep better, positioning itself as a unique option for sound-based sleep improvement.
Emerging Player:
Lulu Light: Currently holding a micro-fraction of the market, Lulu Light is poised for significant growth with its hypnagogic technology that offers a novel approach to sleep. With early traction and unique partnerships like the one with AI unicorn ElevenLabs, Lulu Light has the potential to capture a significant share of the market in the coming years, offering a solution that could disrupt traditional sleep aids.
Next Door Neighbors
SomnoxRecent Milestone/Funding: Somnox, a Netherlands-based startup, raised €10 million in early 2023. The company offers a robotic pillow designed to regulate breathing and calm anxiety during sleep, helping users fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. The product mimics human breathing patterns to encourage relaxation and deeper sleep(Silicon Canals)(Somnox Website).Why It’s Similar to Lulu Light: Both companies provide innovative solutions aimed at enhancing sleep without the need for medication, focusing on calming the user through tech—whether through light or breath regulation.
DreemRecent Milestone/Funding: In October 2022, Dreem raised $35 million. The French startup develops EEG-powered headbands that optimize sleep through biofeedback and audio stimulation, helping users improve sleep quality by monitoring brain activity.Why It’s Similar to Lulu Light: Both Dreem and Lulu Light focus on tech-driven, non-pharmaceutical solutions to enhance sleep. Dreem uses biofeedback and EEG, while Lulu Light employs hypnagogic light frequencies.
Recent Acquisition: In July 2023, Dreem was acquired by Beacon Biosignals, a neurodiagnostics company specializing in EEG analytics. The acquisition integrates Dreem’s sleep-monitoring technology into Beacon’s clinical trial services, enhancing precision medicine in sleep and neuropsychiatric disorders(Beacon Biosignals)(Sleep Review)(Longevity Technology).
CalmRecent Milestone/Funding: Calm raised $75 million in Series C funding in December 2020, elevating its valuation to $2 billion. Led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from TPG, Insight Venture Partners, and Marc Benioff, the funding is being used to expand content and grow Calm's global presence, especially in the employer health market(MobiHealthNews)(Mercom Capital Group).
Why It’s Similar to Lulu Light: Both Calm and Lulu Light focus on non-pharmaceutical sleep solutions. Calm leverages sound and guided meditation, similar to how Lulu Light uses AI-powered hypnagogic sounds to improve sleep(Pulse 2.0).
Future Outlook: Calm has pursued growth through M&A, acquiring Ripple Health Group in 2022 to enhance its mental health care offerings. While it remains a private company, there is speculation of an eventual IPO(PitchBook)(PrivateCo Opportunities)(Nasdaq Private Market).
HatchRecent Milestone/Funding: In May 2023, Hatch raised $50 million in a Series B funding round. Hatch, known for its sleep-enhancing devices such as sound machines and wake-up lights, is using this investment to scale its direct-to-consumer product line and expand into new markets(33rd Square)(Crunchbase News).
Why It’s Similar to Lulu Light: Both Hatch and Lulu Light target sleep issues using non-invasive, tech-based solutions. While Hatch focuses on light and sound with devices like the Hatch Restore, Lulu Light uses hypnagogic light frequencies and AI-powered sounds to promote better sleep(33rd Square)(Popular Science).
The Block
Founded: Apr 28, 2024
2023 Rev: $0
YOY Targeted: NA
Self Funded: $10,000
Final Thoughts
In a world where sleep has become a commodity, LULU Light emerges as a beacon of hope, offering an innovative approach to sleep enhancement. Ross Ducat's journey from a transformative experience with hypnagogic light therapy to the creation of this unique health-tech app reflects a deep understanding of the struggle for restful sleep. By combining cutting-edge technology with soothing soundscapes, LULU Light is not just another sleep aid; it’s a pathway to natural, drug free slumber that resonates with those seeking holistic solutions. As Ducat prepares to launch the app to a broader audience, LULU Light’s potential to disrupt the sleep technology market is palpable. With ambitions of global expansion and a commitment to innovation, the future of sleep may very well rest in the hands of LULU Light and its visionary founder.
"Long-term success, I believe, is not just about being remembered a decade later, but about making a meaningful impact in the world and having people tell you that their lives are better because you existed."
The Attic
Ross Ducat on LinkedIn: I am beyond excited to announce that Lulu Light is officially supported by… | 12 comments
I am beyond excited to announce that Lulu Light is officially supported by ElevenLabs! Having a legit 🦄 behind us is going to take us to whole new heights… | 12 comments on LinkedIn
Opportunity
Funding: To reach the next milestone of 100,000 downloads and 1,000 paying users.
Seed Raise Trigger: Achieving this milestone will enable our Seed round to launch and expand into key markets like the US, Europe, Japan, and South Korea.
Advisors: We are always on the lookout for great advisors to guide us through this journey.
Infrastructure Ready: Office, software, and everything else are in place. Now, we just need the financial boost to power LULU Light to its highest potential.
Contact Ross Ducat
Check out LULU Light
For the full story alongside due diligence about LULU Light check out our data rooms.
And if there are any details, you’re still curious about … just reply to this newsletter! We’re always happy to hear feedback and answer questions.
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