Monika Zameta: The Visalus story reminds me a bit of the Rockefeller family’s story. You started out as a very small company and have grown into a dynamic enterprise. How did it all start and what’s Visalus' mission?
Vi : Visalus originally started in 2005 in North America. In 2008, Visalus was acquired by Blyth, Inc. The company flourished further and grew tremendously, thanks in great part to the Co-Founders and leaders of the company: Ryan Blair (CEO), Blake Mallen (CMO) and Nick Sarnicola (Global Ambassador). In 2013, Visalus launched its operations in the UK.
Visalus’ mission is taking the weight off the world one person at a time, 10lbs at a time! With good nutrition as the foundation and a powerful social network, the company is committed towards providing a real solution to the global obesity epidemic.
Cleeng has powered two National Success Challenge events to help Visalus and ViEvents reach a global audience through their 3 founding Pillar message: Life, Health and Prosperity. Visalus is actively involved in combating the obesity epidemic, and the company strives to educate, encourage, and motivate people about living a healthier lifestyle.
M.Z.: What’s the key to your National Success Training? You’ve managed to gather hundreds of thousands of people around the world to take up the challenge and cheer you on.
Vi: Every event is unique, and every time we host an event, we try to make it more successful than our previous one. Our objective is to create one-of-a-kind experiences where our attendees will walk-away with great memories and be part of a culture and community whose mission is to make the world a better place.
M.Z.: In respect to your contestants, what have you learned about motivation, and how do you power your community?
Vi: Visalus has been committed to making a difference, championing important causes that people care deeply about.
Customers and employees together support a range of programs, partners and causes that make a meaningful, positive impact on the lives of others within the Vi-Cares program. Vi-Cares is about more than just helping people; it’s also about helping people help others, creating and nurturing a consumer movement that builds a healthier future, one person at a time.
Visalus is a vibrant community on a mission to make the world a healthier place - celebrating each and every victory along the way.
M.Z.: Your March event was your second event organized as a Live online pay-per-view. Why did you choose Cleeng and how has the Live component added to your success?
Vi: We chose Cleeng as it seemed to be a perfect fit for the business model we have in place today. While we focused on our core competencies, you were brought on to take care of the streaming and pre-booking segment, during and after the event.
You made it possible for us to reach our global audience who were unable to be at the event and give them the platform to be apart of the excitement by way of the ViStream. You’ve enabled us to grow our international presence and touch people across the globe.
Cleeng has provided us with an easy way to navigate through live pay-per-view architecture. Thanks to that, everything that happens on the stage appears effortless for the people in front of their computer screens or viewing on a mobile device.
Cleeng has been a wonderful partner, thanks in large part to Rudy Milkovic (Cleeng partner and CEO of Velikom International), who has been insightful and supportive. I look forward to seeing our relationship develop as the possibilities for growth are endless.
M.Z.: Where’s the Visalus Challenge heading to next?
Vi: “Vitality Houston”, September 12-13, 2014, will be the site of our next big event at the George R. Brown Convention Center. We look forward to seeing you there!
