Most corporate wellness programs fail for the same reason: they run on the honor system. Log your steps, click "I exercised," and nobody believes the leaderboard — so nobody shows up. A program that actually works needs two things the tired ones never had: verification you can trust and stakes people care about. That's gamification plus real money — how Cadoo turns fitness into a program your team talks about.
Why traditional corporate wellness programs stall
The old model asks employees to self-report. That means standings that mean nothing, so the competitive people tune out and the rest never tune in. Add a participation-trophy reward and you've built a program HR pays for and no one uses.
Cadoo flips that. Players stake their own money on hitting a fitness goal. Hit it and you get paid; miss it and your stake goes to the teammates who finished. The goal isn't a suggestion — it's a bet to win. That's the money-motivated half. The other: every rep is camera-verified, so winning is earned, not claimed.
The flywheel: workouts in, performance out
Cadoo runs on a loop we call "Workouts in. Performance out." — five compounding turns built for exactly the group a wellness program serves.
- 1. Your team. Any group that performs better when it moves — a department, a squad, a whole company.
- 2. Team games. Host a private, gated game under your company's name. Steps and distance count for everyone (from Apple Health or Google Health Connect), while camera-verified reps are there for the competitive.
- 3. Verified habits. No honor-system check-ins. CadooVision uses the phone camera and AI pose detection to count reps and score form on pushups, situps, squats, pullups, and dips — so every rep and step is verified and standings mean something.
- 4. Energy and culture. Standings, streaks, and trash talk turn a benefit nobody remembers into a program people show up for — add a prize pool to raise the stakes.
- 5. Performance and retention. Healthier, sharper teams that stick around. Fit teams ship faster.
Then it loops — one game's energy recruits the next. A wellness perk that compounds instead of decaying.
What makes it actually work
Three things the average program can't offer. Verification: the camera and device do the checking, so no one games the leaderboard and every win is real. Real stakes: money on the line is motivation a gift-card raffle never provides. Fun that spreads: camera-verified workouts become shareable "skinned" proof-of-work videos, so a teammate's win nudges the next person to move.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do all employees have to stake money?
No. You can host free onboarding games or staked money games. Steps and distance count for everyone from their phone's health data, so people can join without touching a camera or a stake — while the competitive crowd bets on camera-verified reps.
How does Cadoo stop people from cheating the leaderboard?
Every workout is verified, not self-reported. CadooVision counts reps and scores form through the phone camera with AI pose detection, and steps and distance come from Apple Health or Google Health Connect. There's no "I promise I did it" — the standings reflect real work.
Can we keep our program private to just our company?
Yes. Host a team game as a private, branded Group so only your people can join — it runs under your company's name, gated to your team.
What activities can employees compete in?
Camera-verified reps cover pushups, situps, squats, pullups, and dips, while steps and distance come from the device. Games run as leagues from Bronze to Champions, so everyone has a bracket to climb.
Ready for a wellness program your team actually talks about? Host a team game — your people get paid to work out, and your team gets its energy back. New to it? Here's how to host a fitness game in the Cadoo app.
