During the first Central PA Innovate! Exhibition, Martha Harris will be talking about her Lancaster-based Fizika Group, and her passion to “do well by doing good” through digital wellness. Along the way, she’ll be telling attendees how to find support for new entrepreneurial ideas, and that it’s never too late to start a tech company.
HVI: Tell us about your company in one sentence. What’s your company’s secret sauce that sets you apart from your competitors?
Harris: When I founded b_ Fizika, LLC in 2018, it was the first Pennsylvania benefit company to headquarter in Lancaster. Our mission is to do well by doing good. We exist to improve the health and safety of seniors and children alike during critical times in their lifespan. With Fizikaflex, we focus on all sides of flexibility — the ways our bodies can lose flexibility as we age, and how cognitive flexibility is so essential to prevent social isolation. We are committed to human-centered design, and engaging seniors and employees in life-sustaining activities to increase longevity and quality of life.
HVI: What pain points is your company uniquely solving for your customers?
Harris: We launched Fizikaflex in October 2019 - four months before the pandemic put long term care communities into lockdown. Our mobile wellness platform syncs with Fitbit’s application, enabling Fizikaflex to engage seniors who have been feeling isolated and not able to work out in person. Fizikaflex fosters better morale among seniors and those who care for them, through dynamic gamification related to healthy behaviors. www.fizikaflex.com
HVI: What do you think the benefits are for tech companies to exist within the Central PA technology and innovation ecosystem?
Harris: When I moved to Lancaster from Pittsburgh in 1995, I missed the tech ecosystem that I’d had in Pittsburgh. But today, there is a lot more tech in central Pennsylvania. In 2018, I took the Fizikaflex concept to a tech accelerator and they helped me to develop the brand and concept and get trained in human-centered design. This past year, we were able to get an SBA loan, along with grants from the city and the county, and I was able to pitch Fizika during Invent Penn State’s ViP conference in April. That’s the benefit of this ecosystem: creating a safety net that’s allowed small tech businesses like mine to keep going.
HVI: Can you finish this statement: After attending your talk at the conference, attendees will know ____________________.
Harris: Two things: First, If you have a bright idea, there are resources and mentors to help you get it off the ground. And secondly, you don’t have to be young to succeed as a tech entrepreneur. I started Fizika Group in 2010 when I was 55, and today, I’m 65. It can be done.
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