Our Founder and President, Chris Downie, co-founded an online auction company called Up4Sale.com in 1996 which was purchased by eBay. You can click here to read about this experience.

Chris attributed much of his success to using goal setting and being in great physical condition, which led him to start SparkPeople after working for eBay.

Founded in 2000, SparkPeople Wellness is a health & wellness technology consulting company that partners with Fortune 500 companies, Health Plans and Large Member Organizations that are seeking customized online programs to help employees reduce health risks, live healthier lifestyles and better control their health care costs.

We specialize in working with very large employee populations that are spread out geographically among several locations. Our client list includes some of the world's largest, most respected companies - including two of The Fortune 500's top 10.

Here are some of the key differences we feel sets SparkPeople apart:

High Performance People: SparkPeople has a world class team with backgrounds, qualifications, and work experience including:

A business and engineering team with experience at companies like Procter and Gamble, NASA, eBay, GE, and others.

Registered dieticians and health promotion experts.

Certified personal trainers and physical therapists.

Medical Doctors (cardiology, women's health, and sports medicine)

Speed and Flexibility: Unlike "off the shelf" online programs or vendors that offer little flexibility, SparkPeople has world-class technology and health promotion teams "in-house" that specialize in creating customized online programs. This allows us to create one-of-a-kind products that meet each of our client's unique objectives efficiently, typically on a timeline that exceeds their expectations.

Innovation and Continuous Improvement: We are constantly adding new and exciting features and programs, all of which are grounded in research. Our programs blend medically accepted fitness, nutrition and wellness principles with proven motivation and goal setting techniques. We have found this a powerful combination in helping users acquire the knowledge, skills and motivation they need to create long-term behavior change.

Consumer Site Pedigree: Since 1996 SparkPeople's founder and key team members have been creating and operating successful consumer websites. SparkPeople.com, the consumer weight management website, was launched in 2000. Our experience working with people online since the early days of the web has helped SparkPeople learn the secrets to motivating and retaining users so they can experience the full benefits and results of the program.