TRIBETIC Is Transforming Type 1 Diabetes Management Through Personalization, Integration, and Interpretation
Co-founders Dan Donlevie and Suzanne Stites are leveraging their experience in elite athletics and business creation to build a new kind of T1D management platform, one that seamlessly integrates critical data and makes care guided and highly personalized.
The Challenge
Imagine being handed a thousand jigsaw pieces but no picture on the box to show you how they fit together. For folks with Type 1 diabetes (T1D), this is an everyday reality. They have access to a wealth of data about their blood sugar levels but no information on how to interpret it or take actions to manage their condition better. It is like having a toolbox full of tools but no instructions on how to build anything.
Now, to make matters even more puzzling, imagine some of those jigsaw pieces being missing. Existing solutions for T1D management often focus on just a few pieces of the diabetes puzzle. They might give you a glimpse of the bigger picture but leave out essential elements like nutrition, sleep, and physical activity. It’s as if you are handed a recipe with only half the ingredients, you’re left with something incomplete and unsatisfying.
Enter TRIBETIC, a platform that takes a new approach to T1D management. Instead of just collecting data, it’s designed to interpret, integrate, and personalize it, making it more meaningful and actionable, improving quality of life.
Origin Story
Dan Donlevie, an Ironman athlete, got his first taste of the struggles of diabetes management when he found himself mysteriously falling ill during the Ironman Lake Placid in his late 30s. “I wasn’t feeling great. I remember completing the 112 mile bike but on mile two of the run something was just not clicking. After throwing up, I was thinking, ‘how am I going to run the rest of this marathon?’ I knew it wasn’t lack of training or preparation, but I also didn’t know what was going on?”
It turned out that Dan’s body wasn’t absorbing carbohydrates the way it should, and a little later, he was diagnosed with T1D, a revelation that rocked his world. Being a healthcare professional with a background in athletic training, physical therapy, and nutrition, Dan thought he was prepared. But despite his expertise, he found himself facing an entirely new challenge.
Dan vividly recalls the early days of learning to manage the condition, testing different foods, and constantly monitoring his blood sugar levels. He had to become his own lab rat because there weren’t many resources available.
Dan realized that the best insights into his body came during intense physical stress. “Your body adapts in terms of the way it handles things so you can go through your day as a person with diabetes. If you’re fairly inactive or sedentary, you are experiencing the same things on a much smaller scale. But when you start to stress your body, those adaptations start to surface much more readily.”
Over the years, Dan’s diabetes management evolved from manual injections and finger pricks to continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) and insulin pumps. He also began exploring wearable health devices like the Oura Ring and Whoop Straps. What struck him was the wealth of data available for athletes but the absence of integrated solutions catered toward people with diabetes.
So Dan took matters into his own hands and started creating spreadsheets to understand the intricate relationship between exercise, nutrition, and blood sugar levels. In doing so, he discovered the highly personalized nature of diabetes management, understanding that what works for one person might not work for another. He also noticed a gap in the market–companies invested millions in creating software solutions for diabetes management but offered little or no guidance on how to interpret it. These apps showed what was going well and what was going wrong but didn’t provide instructions on how to manage the condition better. Furthermore, most diabetes management apps focused on just one biomarker–blood sugar levels–when there were many more elements that influenced metabolism and affected the blood sugar levels. However, it was challenging to break them down, but it is exactly what Dan wanted to do.
Dan’s idea was simple: making T1D management highly personalized by integrating critical data about all aspects of metabolism–nutrition, physical activity, blood glucose levels, and more–helping people understand it and then creating individualized plans.
Things started falling into place when Dan spoke to Suzanne Stites, an accomplished triathlete with whom he had shared a decade-long friendship. Suzanne had faced her own challenges: an equestrian accident from which she needed significant rehab. A few years after the accident Dan started to work with her to address her physical and metabolic challenges. She too is now doing Ironman triathlons.
Suzanne also had a career creating health and wellness businesses. She has run and created multi-million dollar businesses. Her core drive was to make a difference in people’s lives. So, when she saw what Dan was building, she couldn’t help but be drawn to it. Together, they formed TRIBETIC in 2019, a name that resonates with their athletic spirit; the three metabolic levers of nutrition, exercise, and sleep; and a commitment to helping people with T1D.
The duo believed they could revolutionize healthcare by optimizing the metabolic health of people with Type 1 diabetes, and the good people surrounding them are proof that they will. TRIBETIC’s advisory boards comprised accomplished endurance athletes and nutritional, genetic, behavioral, physiological, and metabolic experts who understand the intricacies of how the human body works.
Currently, TRIBETIC is in the midst of a feasibility trial to refine their system and fundraising to develop the MVP. Ultimately, their goal is to make T1D management integrated, highly personalized, and accessible to all.
Under the Hood
TRIBETIC is a B2C platform whose approach to T1D management is rooted in personalization, integration, and interpretation.
Personalization is at every step of a user’s journey with the app and live coaching. As soon as a user signs up, they will be asked to answer a few questions and engage in a brief discussion with an onboarding expert. This initial conversation is used to determine the best plans based on individual biology and lifestyle preferences. The next step is to connect daily activity trackers or CGMs with the app. TRIBETIC then gives users a personalized daily map. The map includes new plans for exercise, nutrition, and sleep every week and is adjustable based on the body’s response and schedule. All are supported by weekly calls encouraging compliance and persistence.
TRIBETIC doesn’t just look at blood sugar levels but all aspects of metabolic health, including nutrition, sleep, exercise, and heart rate variability (HRV). By focusing on these areas, they simplify and take a holistic approach to T1D management.
Interpretation is about providing users with information on why their blood sugar levels fluctuate in a specific instance and what particular lifestyle adjustments they can make to manage their condition better. TRIBETIC does this two different ways. First, they provide users with a metabolic health score that offers insights into their current state. Second, users are given access to expert coaches who guide them through their health journey. Initially, the weekly coaching calls are organized to provide personalized guidance and support. As the users progress and gain a deeper understanding of how their body responds to different factors, the level of human interaction gradually decreases, allowing for more automation.
Last Words
TRIBETIC is taking a holistic approach to the management of T1D, turning this daily challenge into a dynamic, engaging experience rather than a mundane chore. By infusing an athletic spirit and promoting self-empowerment, the venture is not just helping individuals manage their condition; they are helping them thrive, grow, and reclaim control over their lives.
Lastly, the remarkable bond of trust Dan and Suzanne share, forged through shared experiences and recovery, lays the foundation for TRIBETIC’s resilience in the unpredictable world of startups. With each chapter, they’re determined to make the diabetes management landscape better, different, and truly special.
Join us in welcoming Dan, Suzanne, and the TRIBETIC team to StartUp Health and to the T1D Moonshot community.
→ Learn more and connect with TRIBETIC.
Call for T1D Innovation
Are you a scientist or innovator focused on T1D innovation who would benefit from education about how to navigate and build a company that will be successful in attracting mission-aligned capital, customers, and collaborators to pursue scientific discoveries in the field of Type 1 diabetes? Learn more and apply for a T1D Fellowship.
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