This Detroit-based wellness app is making better health more accessible

(DETROIT, Mich.) In a world where information is coming from every direction and people are constantly on the go, many are looking for a few minutes of peace and calm. 

Meditation, yoga, and sound baths have increased in popularity over the last few years in the quest for wellness combined with mindfulness. But finding the right  practice that is also accessible to diverse groups of people can be tricky. 

It’s a problem Madala Mathurin and Amanda Zora say they understand, and one they have created a solution for through the development of their app Kozen, designed for both wellness professionals and wellness seekers.  

"We really are positioning ourselves to be the Eventbrite of wellness,” said Mathurin.

Mathurin and Zora told VNN they were coworkers at Apple when they discovered they both had a passion for wellness products. They worked on multiple projects together prior to coming up with the idea for Kozen. 

Both co-founders had their own life experiences that made them question how they could make an impact in the health and wellness world. 

“I have an autoimmune disorder that makes inflammatory forms of working out and foods really difficult,” said Zora. “So using Pilates and Yoga has been a huge way for me to calm my body down and also just overall feel peace at the end of the day.”  

Mathurin’s quest to help a friend struggling with depression led him to question what could be better in the wellness space. 

When his friend, who was also a yoga teacher, agreed to help his other friend, Mathurin began to realize how much goes into finding the right wellness practice for each individual. 

“She's like, does he want music, does he want a yoga mat, does he want to be situated in a group or in an individual setting,” said Mathurin. “Does he want incense, what type of music does he want?”

After the practice had a positive impact on his friend, Mathurin started asking the yoga instructor more questions. 

“She said that the space is super fragmented with different technologies,” said Mathurin. “So I whipped up a quick demo for her and I said hey would this work for you? And she's like yeah this would work.”  

After getting feedback from other yoga instructors Mathurin knew he had an idea that would make an impact in the wellness industry. 

The Kozen app helps people seeking yoga, meditation, and sound bath experiences to find them in their area. 

It also offers wellness instructors a platform to run their businesses and set their own rates.

The app is free for wellness seekers, aside from what they pay the instructor for a session. For instructors running their business on Kozen, there is a two percent take rate for each session.

Wellness users are also able to make donations to Kozen to help make health and wellness accessible to everyone. 

“What we're looking to do with our community is elevate a lot of ethnically and culturally diverse voices in the space so that people of all shapes and sizes can feel included on our platform,” said Zora. “We don't typically see this in the wellness space currently.” 

Both Mathurin and Zora say they are thrilled to found Kozen in Detroit. 

“Detroit is one of the most stressed cities in the nation right now and honestly it's amazing that we're able to actually even provide a service that can help with that,” said Mathurin. 

The quest to build wellness connections has led to multiple collaborations for Mathurin, Zora and Kozen, including recent acceptance to pitch at the UCLA Anderson x USC Marshall Event at LA Tech week. 

The team was selected as a semi-finalist in the Pepperdine Grazido Business School most fundable companies competition. 

And Kozen has also been accepted into Startup Grind, Founders Network, and the Builders + Backers program, the latter of which was the Detroit Cohort Summer 2023 Idea Accelerator program. 

“Builders and Backers has been integral,” said Zora. “Just from the other builders in our cohort, meeting with them and discussing the idea with them. They've been giving us valuable feedback because they're looking at our product with that critical lens that builders usually have and even just getting it out to the public through their pitch events and community events.” 

"It was clear from the beginning that Builders and Backers was the right choice," said Mathurin. "They were extremely supportive, listened with intent, and asked insightful questions to help formulate impactful experiments and ideas. They assisted with our go-to-market strategy, positioning, marketing, and more. Grateful to have gone through this experience." 

As for their advice for other entrepreneurs, Mathurin and Zora said persistence and feedback are keys to success. 

“Define what is that next step you have to take and then just start there,” said Zora. 

"Being extremely curious and not being afraid of that feedback loop and not being afraid to feel bad if they're like yeah it sucks,” said Mathurin. 

Moving forward, the duo said, Kozen will strive to reach more wellness seekers and more wellness instructors and incorporate updates based on feedback, including location-based calendars and milestone badges in the app. 

They also hope to partner with more Detroit-based companies in the future. 

The Kozen app can be downloaded for free in the app store. More information about Kozen can be found online.