294. The Wearable Revolution: Oura CEO Tom Hale On the Perks Of Data & Why You Should Opt In

Fitbit, Apple Watch, Nike Fuelband, WHOOP, Oura Ring. With the nature of my career, I’ve been rocking some sort of wearable technology since it became a thing, over 10 years ago. I get so many messages asking why I switched up my wearable recently and today I am sitting down with Tom Hale, CEO of Oura — my current wearable of choice. I’ve been looking forward to this conversation for a long time and we really dive into everything that is the wearable industry. I appreciate how Tom talks about wearables very democratically throughout this conversation and his outlook on the future of the industry. We talk about Tom’s interesting journey to CEO of Oura, his perspective on why people should invest in a wearable and the importance of placement, as well as how he’s gained meaningful insight from his journey with wearing an Oura ring.

IN THIS EPISODE

Tom’s journey to becoming Oura’s CEO (5:10)

What made Tom lean into Oura in the diverse world of wearables (8:13)

The early days of CEO and managing the learning curve that came with a massive technology company (11:55)

The reason to wear a wearable at all (16:32)

Tom’s perspective on the ‘nocebo’ effect (19:40)

Why continued use of a wearable matters even if you feel you’ve got the data you need (25:20)

The importance of the placement of wearables and how it impacts data (37:01)

How the Oura employees are Tom’s biggest inspiration (42:00)

Tom’s bookshelf recommendations (45:02)

How sleep can affect nutrition and overall appetite regulation (48:26)

Tom’s perspective on the future of wearables (57:02)