In 2023, Tayla Cannon made the leap from Australia to the U.S. to take on a job in a city she had never visited before.
“No family, no friends, just a fresh start,” she shared with TechCrunch. Living with chronic back pain, she initially worked in physiotherapy, believing she could make a difference in others’ lives. However, the traditional physiotherapy approach didn’t ignite her passion.
She then switched to interventional cardiology but found herself increasingly disenchanted with the physical rehab model due to its “localized, reactive, and volume-based nature.”
During her free time, she became a content creator, sharing her views online about proactive and holistic methods for pain relief. This hobby soon took off.
Now, she boasts over 130,000 followers on Instagram, runs a company named Athletic Rebuild that offers rehab and performance coaching for athletes, and is launching a HIPAA-compliant mentorship app called Rebuildr early next year. This platform is designed to help rehab professionals manage their businesses online.
“I wasn’t trying to build a business; I was just sharing my thoughts on the internet and encouraging people to rethink what care could be,” she explained.
Cannon and her work caught the attention of Slow Ventures, who recently announced a $1.1 million seed investment. She is among the first creators to receive funding from Slow Ventures’ $60 million Creator Fund, which aims to support content creators and influencers making a positive impact online.
When she began sharing her ideas on social media in 2024, she had no plan—it was purely organic. “There was no strategy, no roadmap, and certainly no business model behind it,” she said. She attributes her success to the authenticity and unfiltered honesty that many content creators aim for.
However, growing a brand on social media comes with its challenges. As her presence quickly expanded, she faced the need to grasp business principles, consumer insights, and content strategies to connect with new audiences. “None of which are taught in healthcare,” she noted. “We’re trained to help people, not to build brands.”
The breakthrough moment for her came when she recognized she was holding her own business back. “I couldn’t scale something that relied solely on me. I needed to create something that could grow independently,” she said, leading her to hire help for her projects.
Her strategy also evolved from merely pointing out problems in the rehab world to actively working on solutions. Rebuildr aims to transform the industry from localized reactive care to a proactive, holistic model, integrating consumer solutions, clinicians, education, and the software needed to deliver it all at scale.
A friend introduced her to the Slow Ventures team at an event in Austin. “I had no intention of raising capital,” she recalled. “I wasn’t even pitching or preparing a presentation.” Yet, she connected with investor Megan Lightcap and shared her vision for Rebuildr.
“The conversation sparked something,” Cannon said, adding that Slow has inspired her to envision an even bigger version of Rebuildr than she initially imagined.
Other personal trainer software options include TrainHeroic, Trainerize, and Everfit. Cannon hopes Rebuildr will fundamentally transform the rehab industry.
“I aim to make high-quality rehab available anywhere in the world, not restricted by geography, insurance, or limited appointment times,” she stated.
