Health Tech: Roman Podgursky Of Everdance app On How Their Technology Can Make An Important Impact On Our Overall Wellness

An Interview With David Leichner

You need to listen to yourself and understand what is interesting to you, what you are an expert in and can be useful to society. And further understanding these trends and realizing your value, you start looking for a sphere or a market where you could apply it all. And then you look at the response from the market to your actions.

In recent years, Big Tech has gotten a bad rep. But of course many tech companies are doing important work making monumental positive changes to society, health, and the environment. To highlight these, we started a new interview series about “Technology Making An Important Positive Social Impact”. We are interviewing leaders of tech companies who are creating or have created a tech product that is helping to make a positive change in people’s lives or the environment. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Roman Podgursky.

Roman Podgursky is a former dancer and instructor, participant of international dance competitions. In 2019, he becomes CEO and Co-Founder of the Everdance app, one of the world’s first streaming platforms for dance lovers, which helps dancers monetize their skills, and users — to start taking care of themselves with dance therapy from home.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory and how you grew up?

My childhood was mostly spent with my grandparents in the village, because my parents worked a lot and continue to do so to this day. Therefore, it was the older generation that was responsible for my first educational moments. I have never been a spoiled child. And I have always received some gifts from my parents only for achievements. No one reacted to my childhood “I want” and gradually I grew up, realizing that if I need something, I have to earn it. My family also instilled in me the rule that it is not possible to achieve or get something without difficulty.

I’ve been doing sports all my life, because my father is a professional track and field athlete, so I have been instilled with a love of sports since childhood. And since I was 17, I became interested in dancing when I moved to a big city from the village. I was a student for 2 years, and in the third year I began teaching.

For more than ten years I’ve worked in the field of fitness & dance, performing myself and teaching others. Since I’ve been using to achieve everything by myself since childhood, it was so important for me to be admired. And I fell in love with dancing when I watched a couple of films — “Street Dance” and “Step up 2: The Streets”, and this finally determined what I wanted to do. I also got my first idol — Robert Hoffman, with whom I was even lucky to talk about our Everdance app.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

The biggest influence on me was the participation in the Polish dance camp “I’m in”. We were under severe physical and psychological stress for 7 days. The training sessions were 8–10 hours each. And there were some stages when we’re engaged not only in our physical form, but also in mental health, emotions, and imagination. But before that, I somehow didn’t perceive dancing as an element of creativity, self-expression. As for many teens, dancing for me was then just a way to stand out, to show off in front of my peers. The organizers of the camp set interesting tasks for us: “How would you show your feelings, fears, pains, doubts through dancing?”

It was then that I realized that dancing is not just about movement, it is a real opportunity to give shape to some things that don’t have a form with the help of dancing. I even cried from this discovery. But after that, a powerful leap in my dance development happened to me.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

First of all, it’s me. Because only I was by my side when it was very difficult for me, when it was easy for me, when it was clear or not clear to me. Only I motivated myself and forced myself to try again and again, despite the failures.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

There is a short quatrain that I really like:

Go ahead and be calm.

You know for sure that you’re invincible.

Let them say: “No man is an island”,

But with faith in your soul, you are not alone!

If I believe in myself, believe in what I am doing, then I’ll definitely succeed.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Humanity in all aspects. It doesn’t matter whether you’re engaged in business or something else, you must always remain human. Sincerity and honesty, in order to be able to accurately point out to a person his mistakes and direct him in the right way, or to accept his own shortcomings and work on them. And hard work. If you’re willing to work hard, then everything will work out.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about the tech tools that you are helping to create that can make a positive impact on our wellness. To begin, which particular problems are you aiming to solve?

The pace of modern life is constantly accelerating, which leads to constant stress and health problems. This is especially true for women, from whom modern society demands to be successful, both in their careers and in their families. It’s all very difficult. In addition, not everyone has the financial opportunity and time to attend a gym or dance studio. Not everyone lives in big cities with good infrastructure. Not to mention the fact that many people, gaining weight or getting older, begin to be complex and shy about their body, their awkwardness due to the cult of youth and slimness imposed by modern consumer culture.

How do you think your technology can address this?

Our app helps users with the help of dance therapy to alleviate issues with physical and mental health. After all, they can now train in a convenient place and time for them. Try the most trending dance styles from TikTok dancing to Dance Fitness, Heels, K-pop, etc. from home. And choose the most suitable style and instructor for them in one click.

Also, our Everdance app helps dancers monetize their skills by getting paid to the views of their classes and dance videos. As a dancer, I know what this dependent profession is. Even recently there was a COVID with lockdown and all studios and nightclubs have closed. And how could the dancers survive and feed themselves? After all, even in order to promote yourself on Instagram or YouTube, you need funds.

Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?

I’ve been thinking for a long time about how to help dancers monetize their skills in addition to dance studios or participating in shows. After all, the career of a dancer is very short, so we retire early. Also, an injury can instantly put an end to your career. Even, for example me: one day I just physically had no opportunity to continue dancing. My injuries were not comparable to the continuation of my dancing career.

In addition, I still remember the moment when I worked with my students. From time to time, girls and women with excess weight came to our studio, overcoming their own complexes and fears. How they were embarrassed by their awkwardness, etc. And I wanted so much to help such women even more so that they would not be afraid to take care of themselves, they would know that their body is beautiful and capable of much. That everyone can dance, and all our clamps and complexes are only in the head and we need to fight this. Therefore, in the Everdance app, all this success coincided: my desire to inspire others to dance and help dancers earn passive income.

How do you think this might change the world?

Our main difference from others: we don’t just aim to teach the user to dance, we also contribute to the fact that our dance instructors and influencers, many of whom belong to the plus size community, and of different ages, inspire our users with their personal example and show that all our boundaries are in the head. And users can also enjoy their bodies, dance and be successful and beautiful at any weight and age.

The main goal of Everdance is to teach people to love and accept themselves as they are.

Among our users, there are also people with disabilities who, thanks to modern technologies, can enjoy dancing from home, as well as make new friends in the app. We have long been transformed from a mobile app into a real dance community that unites thousands of people around the world and helps to find like-minded people, get acquainted with new cultures and countries through dance.

We make life easier for modern women who, thanks to our technology, can find time for themselves in their busy schedule. It’s so touching when we see dance videos from moms with children in the application feed, how they dance together and have fun. We can say that Everdance unites generations!

Dancing, in general, is inherent in human nature. A child is born, so he has learned to move. What happens to him when he hears music for the first time? He starts dancing. So everyone can dance, it’s in our nature.

And I also like that, our technology fully meets the Zero Waste philosophy, because usually people use a car to go to a dance studio or gym, which creates an additional burden on the environment. In our case, it is enough for them to open the application for training.

Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

The main risk is the frivolity of the audience in the perception of the information that is given to them. We work with dance leaders who help our users learn how to dance. But it is important to be able to analyze and perceive any information correctly. For example, we inspire users to love themselves for who they are. BUT at the same time, it is important to understand that this does not mean that you can forget about yourself and stop taking care of yourself, control your condition and work on yourself.

Here is the main question for our discussion. Based on your experience and success, can you please share “Five things you need to know to successfully create technology that can make a positive social impact”?

First, it’s necessary to generally understand what is happening in the world. For example, my morning always starts with reading the news of the world’s leading media, as well as those specific areas that are important to me: fintech, dance, health, sociology, etc.

Second, you also need to listen to yourself and understand what is interesting to you, what you are an expert in and can be useful to society. And further understanding these trends and realizing your value, you start looking for a sphere or a market where you could apply it all. And then you look at the response from the market to your actions.

Third, you have to confirm this value in a practical way — by activity, marketing, product release, etc., in order to understand whether people need it. When we first started working on our product, we’re so much inspired by a large amount of scientific studies which have shown the effectiveness of dancing to strengthen physical and mental health. Did you know that according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, dancing reduces the risk of mental illness by 76%, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases?

The fourth is social responsibility. You also need to understand whether your activity will harm people or nature, the world, how can you change this world for the better? Even if only the life of a small community. For me personally, it was very important to engage in such an area that would not contradict my moral values. A couple of months ago, we saw a comment under our ad on Instagram, in which a user wrote that she would like to dance as well, but she can’t. We wrote to her and clarified why. After that, we started a correspondence. It turned out that she had been dancing professionally until recently, but now she has cancer. All her big dreams were ruined. She was depressed. We tried to support her by providing free access to our application, supporting her with kind words. And she starts to smile and share positive vibes with us about her news plans. During such moments I understand that everything is not in vain.

And the fifth is your organizational skills. As far as you can build the entire workflow, find like-minded people, choose the right team. At Everdance, we are all one big family, scattered across countries and continents.

If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?

Every person has a healthy share of selfishness, and we may not even think about how our actions and decisions can have an impact on what will happen after us. Actually, you need to learn to be responsible for other people, the planet and its inhabitants. Before those who will be after us. What trend we will set, so it will be after. Especially now, when the future of all of us is in great doubt because of all the natural disasters and conflicts.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

This is Conor McGregor. A man who has achieved heights in a variety of fields, starting with sports and ending with technology: he already has 2 applications on his own. One is gaming, and the second is fitness. What I like most about him is how he created a business empire and a personal brand, it deserves respect. He is a strong athlete and businessman. I would be interested in just talking to him about his path.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

First of all, through our official Instagram page and a website where you can DM us, and I will be happy to answer you. And also my Linkedin page.

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success in your important work.

Thank you for this opportunity.

About The Interviewer: David Leichner is a veteran of the Israeli high-tech industry with significant experience in the areas of cyber and security, enterprise software and communications. At Cybellum, a leading provider of Product Security Lifecycle Management, David is responsible for creating and executing the marketing strategy and managing the global marketing team that forms the foundation for Cybellum’s product and market penetration. Prior to Cybellum, David was CMO at SQream and VP Sales and Marketing at endpoint protection vendor, Cynet. David is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Jerusalem Technology College. He holds a BA in Information Systems Management and an MBA in International Business from the City University of New York.