Tempo: Startup to $750MM Valuation

Tempo: how strong relationships helped take a startup from a single idea to a $750 million valuation

When it comes to industrial design, ambitious startups need more than an iconic ‘look’. They need a design team to steward their brand over time – to steer them from bootstrapping VC pitch to big-budget consumer launch, to turn consecutive product ideas into realities that are beautiful, functional, achievable and coherent. Which is exactly what we do for home fitness brand Tempo.

Why does our stewardship work? Trust. Tempo trusts our perspective and instincts. And we trust they’ll only push back for good reasons, push on when it’s right. Also, we’re as interested in one another’s lives – birthdays, babies – as any welding processes or color specs. Working in this deeply empathetic way, Tempo turned from a team of two into a trailblazing fitness brand worth $750 million.

Here’s how, together, we’ve grown our trust, our relationship – and our businesses:

The Studio: getting Tempo up to speed

Long before the pandemic, Moawia Eldeeb saw that people wanted weight-training and HIIT at home. He’d already dreamed up a living-room device that would use spatial mapping to monitor and guide a user’s workouts, all while storing any equipment they might need. In other words, a home gym in a space smaller than a yoga mat. This would be Tempo’s first product: the Studio.

When Moawia and his co-founder Joshua Augustin came to us, they had a comparatively modest raise of $1.8 million – and no idea how the Studio might ultimately look. But they needed prototypes to persuade VCs to put their hands in their pockets. It would be tricky to pack so much into one device and keep it looking beautiful. Just as tricky: doing it for a startup that was brand new to the hardware space.

‘It’s a phenomenal process… because you truly want to understand what we need… every time, whatever I thought we were going to get, we came out with something better.’

To make the Studio a success, we:

- Demystified design. Like many clients, Tempo weren’t sure what they wanted (they’d know it when they saw it). To get the ideas out of their head and into the world, we got hands-on in our Open Kitchen. We used mood boards, sketches, full-scale drawings, and multiple cardboard models to test smart ways of storing weights and accessories. ‘It’s a phenomenal process,’ Moawia told us, ‘because you truly want to understand what we need. I remember you created different geometries and shapes, to say: is this what you were imagining? And every time, whatever I thought we were going to get, we came out with something better.’

- Saw things from their perspective. There’s no point designing something that’s stunning but unrealistic – something that will cost millions in R&D to actually make. That’s why we presented options based on manufacturing processes we knew would be available and affordable for a startup. So, using bent aluminum gave us the look of high-end furniture while keeping costs down.

- Talked it over (and over…). Naturally there were plot twists: healthy tension around budgets, timelines. The solution? We talked. We asked questions. And we really listened. Moawia remembers a moment we earned his trust: ‘I’d given loads of feedback, and in the next round you just nailed it. With other agencies, maybe one of the ten issues would have been resolved. But this was everything. I saw the final product and thought, yep, that’s it.’ Our open conversations showed Tempo that, when we pushed back, it was only ever to protect their brand.

Since launch, the Studio has set pulses racing. Its Olympic-grade equipment satisfies elite athletes and beginners alike. According to a survey of 1,300 users, design was one of the main reasons they became devotees. We were thrilled – because, as partners now, we cared deeply about Tempo’s success. Making their idea a reality was, for us, a dream come true.

The Pro Suite and Accessories: feeling the strain

After the incredible success of the Studio, Tempo asked us to develop their roadmap of products. Specifically, the Pro Suite: workout bench, squat rack and weight storage, fit for professional athletes. And alongside this, ownable accessories including a kettlebell and weights collars. Simple, right? Not quite. Because:

Suddenly, we weren’t on the same page

level and Tempo were both growing. Fast. And, working with many new faces, we struggled to make sure everyone understood the complexities in the design process. For instance, the bench seemed like a simple job. But it was a real swiss army knife of a product. It needed to be slender enough to fold away but strong enough for bench jumps. Items that appeared straightforward needed serious creative thinking, which put our teams at odds over budgets and timelines.

Even the wins started to feel like losses

Despite the challenges, we threw ourselves into the work and tackled every detail of every product with the same care we’d always shown. For the bench, we used the lines and angles as for the Studio, making it both beautiful and on-brand. With the squat rack, we found a slim, collapsible form that could be stored as neatly as a pair of skis. Even the kettlebell was tested and refined until we’d found the right grip for hardworking hands big and small.

But still, we kept bumping heads over time and money. Somehow, our expectations of one another were out of whack – and we felt spread way too thin.

A seemingly impossible challenge

Rumors swirled that a competitor was soon to launch in Tempo’s space. To stay ahead, Tempo had to design and launch their next product first – which meant working outrageously fast.

An idea surfaced at Tempo to hire another design team, alongside ours, to get more ideas in the mix. We could see why this made sense to them. But we also knew a new team wouldn’t have the shared language and reference points we had with Tempo – nor would they have time to build them. Equally, hiring two agencies meant each working on 50% budget. This is not the way to produce great work.

This was when we had a frank conversation to say: after all we’ve achieved together, we aren’t interested in being set against another studio. We can only succeed if we work as partners, with complete trust and commitment. They understood immediately. We agreed that Tempo and level would work as one, like we had at the start, to get the job done.

The Move: doing in five months what typically takes a year and a half

With both teams realigned, we set to work on the Tempo Move. Like the Studio, it would guide workouts and store gym equipment. But instead of having its own screen, it would connect to a user’s own iPhone and TV, making it more affordable and more accessible, while vastly decreasing its environmental impact.

‘The thing I cherish about level is: if there’s something I want that I know is ridiculous and impossible, I just trust that you can do it.’

The challenge: it only existed in people’s heads. And we needed to get from there and into homes within five months. Even Moawia admitted: ‘timelines like that don’t happen with physical hardware. Ever.’  This kind of thing would normally take three, four times as long. If not longer. But Moawia says something else too. ‘The thing I cherish about level is: if there’s something I want that I know is ridiculous and impossible, I just trust that you can do it.’

In Moawia’s words: ‘making the impossible possible’

With no time for lengthy discussions or presentations, we dived into physical mockups. Together, in one room, level and Tempo worked through several design directions in week one. And within a month we’d created twenty models, to test that doors would open smoothly over carpets, that weights could be accessed easily. We refined the models even as requirements evolved daily.

Within two months we were choosing woods, powder coats and textiles, collecting the samples ourselves rather than waiting for delivery before driving them to the Tempo offices for review. At every stage, we addressed differences of opinion with patience and good faith, understanding one another’s position before settling on a way forward. As we got back in step, things fell into place – there were more and more moments where we saw Tempo’s eyes light up.

In the end, we drew on our experience with complex technologies, our familiarity with Tempo’s existing range. But the rapport that had served us so well was vital in helping us to:

- Launch a genuinely incredible product – on time. The Move is affordable. Compact. Packed with smart details– like the magnetized fabric door that opens two ways, the chamfer that allows weights to roll in and out smoothly. And where the Tempo DNA really shines through? The warm wood, upholstery fabric and inviting colors mean Move fits comfortably, proudly, into homes of any style and size. Moawia proved it in a powerful PR stunt: ‘We brought journalists to a living room and asked them to find the gym. They looked everywhere, but zero realized that it was the Move. Lots of design teams say they can build something functional, modern, elegant, but it often feels out of place. level know how to build something for the home.’

- Reinvigorate an incredible relationship. Working as partners meant putting old difficulties behind us. It meant both sides being open – and open-minded – about hopes, anxieties, ideas and realities. And it worked. Making the Move a success, within such an extraordinary timeframe, proved the power and value of strong relationships, at a brand and business level.

So this project was more than a successful launch. It was a restoration of the trust that had served us so well in the past. A trust we restored by degrees in every meeting, every email exchange, every satisfied smile. A trust we treasure today.

“... trust is the number one thing... I don’t know if I trust anyone like I trust level.”

Now, Tempo is worth over $750 million. The business has received an IDEA award and has been recognized twice by Fast Company for innovation. We’re so proud to have been a part of this journey. But we’re proudest of all to have built such a powerful relationship with the Tempo team. It matters to Moawia too. ‘It’s hard to turn something in your head into something everyone agrees on,’ he told us. ‘So, trust is the number one thing. When I’ve invested everything, I know I can trust you to play your part. I don’t know if I trust anyone like I trust level.’

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