Fasting App Zero Expands Offerings to Health Conscious Community

Today, we are excited to announce our investment in Zero, a platform dedicated to helping the health conscious reap the benefits of fasting. Zero’s app for intermittent fasting is the top-ranking fasting app in the App Store and has enabled more than 8 million fasts to date.

Zero’s origin story is wonderfully personal and reminds us of those of Blue Bottle Coffee and Hodinkee. When there is that kind of passion behind everyday acts and products — fasting, coffee, or watches — the seemingly mundane can transform into something magnificent, reinventing and creating entirely new markets along the way.

While the app was originally a passion project created by our partner Kevin Rose, the Zero brand and expanded platform have transitioned ownership into the talented hands of our good friend and entrepreneur Mike Maser. Mike saw great promise in the product and has since taken the brand under his wing as Zero’s Co-Founder.

Mike, who is in remission after undergoing treatment for Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, employed fasting as part of his treatment and as a way to stay healthy and cancer-free. When he discovered Zero, he wished he’d had the app to help him stay organized and motivated while fasting.

This will be Mike’s second company, following mobile fitness app FitStar, which was acquired by Fitbit, a True portfolio company, in 2015. In addition to his entrepreneurial career, Mike is an investor in and advisor to several Silicon Valley startups and is a member of the Digital Advisory Council for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which is dedicated to finding cures for childhood cancer.

The Zero app is now available on Apple Watch.

We knew fairly immediately that we wanted to fund Zero’s expansion. Foremost, we saw a strong, early product-market fit in a blue ocean space. It’s a totally new frontier. We also knew we’d be in good company working with a seasoned entrepreneur like Mike whom we trust both personally and professional and who has a real passion for emerging health science. It’s truly an ideal scenario from an investment perspective, and we wish every choice was as easy.

Zero CEO and Co-Founder Mike Maser is on a mission to guide health conscious people to the benefits of fasting.

With seed funding from True, Mike will begin building a suite of fasting products and a social space for fasters that align with Zero’s current offerings. We’re thrilled that Kevin will stay on as an advisor to Zero, which is a great way for him to stay connected to the movement while freeing up time to pursue other projects.

Learn more about Zero from Mike’s perspective on Medium.