Tim Rosa remembers the day he realized his true calling.
When he was the Chief Marketing Officer at Fitbit, the wearable fitness tracking device, he pored over emails, forum posts, and support logs. There, he discovered moving stories from customers—one said the product had helped him discover a heart issue, and another said it helped her reverse type two diabetes and finally get pregnant.
"I would literally be in tears reading these stories," Rosa says. "From then on, I knew my purpose was to help people by doing good and creating beautiful products and services that improve lives."
Today, Rosa is the CEO of Somnee, a pioneering neuroscience-based sleep company whose flagship product is a neurostimulation device that helps users fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and improve overall sleep quality. Rosa wants to improve lives by solving one of the most fundamental human needs: quality sleep.
Rosa is this week's guest on the One Day with Jon Bier podcast. In the interview, he talks about his journey from a run-and-gun marketing executive at ESPN, 2K Sports (launching the NBA 2K series), and Fitbit, working so hard he often slept under his desk, to discovering the value of sleep later in life and channeling that passion into Somnee.
He also imparts some valuable wisdom he's gained in business over the years.
"The most important thing is to be absolutely obsessed with understanding your customer," says Rosa.
At Somnee, that meant first digging deep into customer feedback, engagement metrics, support logs, qual/quant research, and getting to know his customers' needs on a personal and emotional level.
"By putting........