Advocates for a product strategy that de-risks execution by building unique software experiences and intellectual property on top of mature, commodity hardware.
Believes that post-acquisition integration is a critical failure point, citing her experience with Mirror's user experience being degraded by Peloton streaming landscape content to its portrait-oriented hardware.
Focuses on creating novel human-computer interactions by blending physical objects with digital interfaces, as demonstrated by Bored's ability to recognize non-electronic game pieces on a touchscreen.
Employs a pragmatic and vision-oriented approach to early-stage fundraising, including using non-functional prototypes to convey the user experience and securing capital from previous investors who have seen success with her.
Plans for an open ecosystem for her platforms, intending to release an SDK for third-party developers and launch an App Store for the Bored console.
Pre-2016
Started her first business, a fitness studio, using $15,000 in personal savings from her career as a professional dancer. The studios operated for 10 years.
Fall 2016
Raised initial seed funding for her new company, Mirror, using a non-functional 'smoke and mirrors' prototype to demonstrate the concept.
September 2018
Launched the Mirror product after approximately two years of development.
March 2020
Sold Mirror to Lululemon for approximately $500 million, less than two years after launch.
2021
Closed her brick-and-mortar HIIT studios due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Post-2020
Lululemon sold the Mirror business to Peloton. Putnam founded her next company, Bored, and raised a seed round of approximately $15 million from previous Mirror investors.
▶Hardware De-Risking and Software InnovationApr 2026
A core theme in Putnam's strategy is the deliberate choice to use mature, commodity hardware (like touchscreens) and focus innovation, investment, and intellectual property on the software layer. This was the strategy for Mirror and is being repeated with Bored, which uses a custom AI stack to give a standard touchscreen novel capabilities.
This strategy minimizes manufacturing risk and supply chain complexity, allowing the company to focus capital on creating a defensible software moat and unique user experience, which is likely more attractive to venture investors.
▶The Full Lifecycle of a Startup ExitApr 2026
The narrative provides a complete arc for Mirror, from its 2016 seed funding and 2018 launch to its $500 million acquisition in 2020 and its eventual sale to Peloton and discontinuation. Putnam reflects on the financial success of the exit but also the subsequent degradation and termination of the product she created.
This case study highlights the significant risk to a founder's product vision post-acquisition, demonstrating that a successful financial exit does not guarantee the long-term survival or integrity of the original product.
▶Novel Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)Apr 2026
Putnam's current venture, Bored, is centered on creating a new form of physical-digital interaction. The technology enables a touchscreen to recognize the identity, location, and movement of physical game pieces that contain no electronics, using capacitive patterns and proprietary machine learning models. This is supported by an acqui-hired HCI team.
Putnam is betting on a new interaction paradigm that blends the tactile nature of board games with the dynamic possibilities of digital software, potentially creating a new market category for 'phygital' gaming.
▶Pragmatic and Iterative EntrepreneurshipApr 2026
Putnam's career shows a pattern of pragmatic business creation, starting with a fitness studio funded by $15,000 in personal savings. For Mirror, she secured seed funding with a non-functional prototype that sold the user experience. Now with Bored, she has leveraged her track record to raise a substantial $15 million seed round from previous investors.
Her fundraising and startup strategy adapts to her circumstances, demonstrating a savvy ability to use the resources and reputation available at each stage of her entrepreneurial journey to achieve the next milestone.