Dr Jacob Skinner is a product development expert who works with people and technology to create user-driven products that offer real value. Especially passionate about wellbeing, health, and social impact projects, he works across disciplines to solve technical challenges in wearable technology and the wider IoT space.

Alongside Dave Sandbach, he is the driving force behind Thrive Wearables, a consultancy pioneering the design and development of wearable technology products. Teams in multiple disciplines create user-validated, physical technologies and digital systems, enabled with data science across a myriad of application areas, with a particular focus on health and wellbeing. Thrive has a global reach through its clients, collaborators, and partners, often working together on long-term and collaborative projects.

Dr Skinner is also one of WoW's Experts in Residence delivering sessions as part of our Knowledge Hub program. We talked to him about his journey in tech and how companies such as Thrive Wearables are flying the flag for more innovative and diverse technology space.

Jacob, tell us a bit about your background and your projects so far.

I started out in physics, creating quantum computing technology. I then worked as a postdoc on the design of electrophysiology sensors, which was my gateway into wearable technology application development. After starting several product companies in the space, Thrive is a culmination of my own experience, combined with a skilled team of people with deep knowledge, experience, and networks in wearables.

How did you get into this industry? Has it been an easy industry to get into or have you had many challenges?

It was accidental. I was working on what would later become wearable sensors and the market opened up as I was transitioning from academia. However, it was a far-from-certain sector for a long time, with many suffering disillusion at the early hype. (Thanks Google Glass!)

How long did it take you to be where you are now? What was the biggest obstacle? What are the challenges of being in the industry you are in?

Growing a business is tough. It's always several steps forward and several back and even if things go well, which they have for us, it takes a lot of dedication and confidence in the vision.

What are your biggest achievements to date?

Having founded companies that strive to have a positive impact, all of which are still in existence and growing. To have started seeing products we have created hit the mass market and being deployed at scale. This kind of impact is very humbling.

What are the projects you are currently working on?

Using wearables to address global health and wellness challenges such as: tackling stress and anxiety naturally (without medication), cancer detection, and pain management, with very promising applications in women’s health, particularly managing endometriosis and dysmenorrhea. We are also working on projects that look at sports rehabilitation and recovery for athletes, emotion-sensing, and biofeedback. We are also seeing a significant increase in applications around predictive and preventative health, especially as post covid thinking starts to percolate new models of healthcare.

Is the #WomenInTech movement important to you and if yes, why?

The first answer is that it is shocking how far the gender gap stretches and how our polarising political culture continues to create further injustice. Establishing fairness in every aspect of society has been catalyzed by recent world events and the potential for change is very motivating. There is such a lot still to do, from improving our working environments, supporting mothers with flexible working, recruiting with attention to biases and systemic race and gender issues, all the way to designing better clinical trials, where race and gender are properly represented. Pragmatically, there is also a huge business opportunity to cater to women better. Companies like Elvie are a great example of success in this space.

What will be the key trends in your industry in the next five years and where do you see them heading?

Massive disruption to all aspects of health provision. Some less than others, but remote monitoring, data-driven preventive health, significant increases in at-home care and monitoring, consumer embodiments of medical technologies ('consumerisation').

What is the most important piece of advice you could give to anyone who wants to start a career in this industry?

If you are seeking to be a business founder - seek out a good mentor and expect a long haul! If you are seeking to transfer skills into the workplace and find a job in wearables, I would say DO IT. The industry is certain to continue expanding for many years and the opportunities are incredible. Exceptional technical talent is always a key focus for us and so get in touch if you think your skills are transferable to wearables.

Who are three inspirational women in your respective industry you admire?

Anna Gudmundson (Bioself Technology). Debora Rozman (HeartMath), Hélène Guillaume (wild.ai) (And Marija of course!).

You can also check out our recent blog about an interesting femtech case study and project Thrive Wearables did for one of its clients.

Follow Thrive on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Interested in collaboration with Thrive? Get in touch with their team!

Introducing WoW Expert in Residence - Dr Jacob Skinner, CEO of Thrive Wearables

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