VAHA Founder Valerie Bures-Bönström on the Cover of Forbes

Becoming a founder

At the age of 24, Valerie had already founded the fitness club chain ‘Mrs Sporty’, together with her husband. Initially sceptical about the idea, a visit to a women’s only gym in London convinced her otherwise: “20 years ago, women around 50 were completely different – not as receptive for fitness as they are today. I saw a group of women there, working out together and having fun – and thought to myself, dedicating my life to that would be a beautiful thing to do.”

Pixformance, the precursor of VAHA

After Mrs Sporty, Valerie founded Pixformance: the first company to launch a smart mirror with motion analysis. With the help of Pixformance, physical rehab patients in hospitals could now follow an individual therapy plan and receive real-time feedback on their execution. It was a technology that Valerie eventually wanted to make available to end consumers.  Focusing on further expanding the support and entertainment aspect of the smart mirror, she then founded her third company: VAHA.

VAHA, the “bonfire of the future”

“With her fitness mirror VAHA, the Berliner founder brings the gym into one’s own four walls and thus redefines the way we exercise”, describes Forbes. What’s also new is the vision of VAHA as more than just a piece of equipment that will sooner or later gather dust in a corner. For Valerie, VAHA is the “campfire of the future” that functions as a place of gathering in people’s living rooms: “We see the mirror being used by families in their living room and not somewhere in the basement. We want to highlight the aspect that the mirror should be integrated into everyday life. That’s why we also offer applications that go beyond fitness.” In addition to your workout, you can therefore also surf the web or visit apps like Instagram, Zoom or TikTok on your VAHA.

The difference between VAHA and other fitness equipment

Meanwhile, a wide variety of providers are stepping up their game in the home training sector, a development that Valerie welcomes: “A revival of the home fitness sector was long overdue, so I’m happy to see the competition. The more activity there is, the better we will be able to exercise in the future.” Our founder is also not afraid of the competition, because VAHA stands out from the rest with its unique Flow philosophy: “We follow a different approach – we want our customers to get into the Flow state, meaning to draw energy from their workout. That’s what we focus on 100%.”

You can read the full article here [only available in German]. 

Valerie also talks in detail about her experiences as a founder and the story of VAHA in the Forbes format Good Morning Vibrations. Watch the video here [also only in German].