Discovering the Power of Ōura and the Ōura Ring

CTR Capital

6 min readJun 25, 2019

Even superheroes need to recharge.

That’s the banner on Ōura’s website and their message is that everyone can benefit from wearing their Ōura Ring.

And it’s not just superheroes — even Prince Harry was seen wearing one on his trip to Australia in October of 2018.

What is Ōura?

Ōura is one of the first companies to be identified as suitable for our Conscious Capital Fund (CCF) portfolio.

The stated mission of the creators of the Ōura Ring is to help people unleash their full potential, and that’s what resonates with the CCF founders.

We’re investing in companies whose purpose is aligned with ours, which is to raise consciousness of the condition of people and our planet earth in order to find solutions — and Ōura fits that profile.

While CCF focuses on the benefits of increased consciousness at a macro level, Ōura operates at a micro level, seeking to increase the self-awareness of each individual, especially with regard to sleep patterns and health recovery.

How does Ōura fulfill this mission? Through its Ōura Ring.

What is the Ōura Ring?

https://ouraring.com/introducing-the-new-oura-app/

The Ōura Ring is the key to measuring bodily functions and to helping people recover from physical and mental stress.

The Ōura Ring is a wearable — a small wearable computer embedded in a ring that interfaces with an app on your cell phone.

Available to fit various finger sizes, it comes in black, silver or in a special diamond-studded edition and is priced between US$299 and US$999.

The original rings were made out of Zirconia, a ceramic compound, but the latest versions are made from Titanium with a waterproof and scratch-proof coating.

The electronics embedded within the ring monitor movement and calculate pulse, heart rate and respiration, as well as changes in body temperature.

The Ōura app then interprets the data and presents personalized recommendations for activities that will either challenge or encourage rest, leading to a more balanced lifestyle and better sleep habits.

The latest version of the Ōura Ring has enhanced capabilities, with faster processing, additional memory, increased functionality and a longer battery life.

The charger is included in the ring box, and the battery can last for three days, allowing wearers a lot of freedom to roam.

The latest evolution released by Ōura is Moment, a meditation tracking feature. This ongoing research and development orientation of the company gives it high standing in our rankings.

What’s the history of the Ōura company?

The Ōura company was launched in 2013. Based in Finland, its three co-founders are Petteri (Peter) Lahtela, Kari Kivelä and Markku Koskela.

These entrepreneurs are highly qualified in the fields of computer science and international business, and launched many other companies before setting up Ōura.

In April, 2019, Peter Lahtela, in an interview with Nordic Business Report, Peter explained that the major challenges at first were in manufacturing the Ōura Ring, accommodating the demand and making decisions about distribution.

Peter noted that, unexpectedly, the company has attracted interest from the research community, and universities interested in evaluating the Ōura Ring might open up new opportunities.

The company is currently shipping to dozens of countries worldwide, and is trending.

Why invest in Ōura?

Crunchbase states that the company has expanded its operations to other centres in Finland, and as far as San Francisco, CA.

Funding is reported at US$19.3M, and the Crunchbase (CB) ranking is 3,135.

Ōura’s funding status is listed as Early Stage Venture.

TechCrunch similarly reports on funding in the US$20M range. They point out that you’d be in good company if you invested in Ōura, noting:

The star-studded funding group also includes Shaquille O’Neil, Lance Armstrong and Will Smith (via The Dreamer’s Fund).

A press release from the company in May, 2019, highlights the new Moment feature and how that will impact Ōura’s future in the wearables sector :

Oura Ring is a market leader in the fast-growing wearable health tech market (projected at $22 billion by 2022) and with Moment is expanding further into the $4.2 trillion global wellness market. To date, Oura Rings have tracked over ten million nights of sleep for more than 75,000 users in 70 countries.

In the NBR interview earlier this year, Peter talked about the difficulties of obtaining funding for Ōura when the company was first launched, and explained:

When trying to get funding for the company, it was really hard to find investors who were also driven by something else other than money. Our mission from day one has been to create a lasting impact by empowering individuals to learn how their bodies respond to their lifestyles.

This brings us back to why our CCF fund is interested in bringing Ōura into its investment portfolio.

Ōura as a CCF investment

One of the messages from Ōura is: We sleep better knowing that you sleep better.

They go on to say:

We see every individual as unique: your state of health and wellness today, tomorrow, and the days to follow.

This value is a core value of CCF also. This concern for the well-being of the people who wear an Ōura Ring resonates deeply with our Conscious Capital Fund, and shows why we want to support its initiatives.

Currently, Ōura has approximately 50 employees, and growing, and when it seeks out people to join the team, it looks for “talented, curious and fearless individuals”.

Ōura employees describe themselves as people who want to help others and make a difference, and those are our kind of people.

Our CCF team embraces the same values in our employees, and so we know that Ōura approaches its customer service just as we do, and we’re eager to support this worldview.

But, it’s obvious that Ōura goes beyond just servicing customers, the company has a commitment to raising consciousness about the importance of sleep and the path to well-being.

https://ouraring.com/category/how-oura-works/

Their website is full of tips about “sleep hygiene” and how to ensure that the benefits of a good night’s rest are understood.

In fact, the company officially trades as Ōura Health, and the name they have chosen reflects their focus.

World health is one of the issues that is at the centre of the CCF mission to raise consciousness and find solutions.

It’s obvious to us that Ōura is solutions-oriented, and that’s one of the main reasons we want to support them.

Ōura shares our commitment to the TBL

Achieving the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) is the main focus of CCF. The triple pillars are People, Planet and Profit. As we state elsewhere on our website:

We believe that investments in CCF will benefit the peoples of the world and will lead to a healthier, safer planet, while returning profits that can then be re-invested for further good.

There’s a misconception that companies that focus on conscious capitalism, such as Ōura, do not have the same ROI as more traditional companies. This has been shown to be a myth.

There is increasing evidence that impact investment means that companies can engage in work that helps the environment and the oceans, addresses the challenges of poverty and hunger, but still brings in a profit that can be used to provide even more solutions.

We invite you to find out more about CCF, about Ōura, and about how you can benefit from TBL investments.

For further information:

To learn more about conscious capitalism and how a flourishing eco-system of entrepreneurs, innovators and investors can make a difference, sign up for our mailing list.

We’ll be happy to tell you more about CTR Capital and our Conscious Capital Fund (CCF) if you contact us through social@ctr.capital.

To find out more about our parent company, CTR, please visit us at The Conscious Thought Revolution.