The CQ is Forerunner’s weekly newsletter rounding up the most pressing consumer news and analysis, plus some bonus musings from our investment team. Subscribe now to get the latest edition in your inbox every weekend.

Subscribe now

Forerunner | @ForerunnerVC

Few companies tap into timely, fast-moving tailwinds more than Prenuvo, which enables a new level of personal agency in health & wellness for increasingly self-directed consumers.

There is now mainstream consumer awareness about the problems with our traditionally reactive healthcare system — from America’s dwindling age expectancy to the growing prevalence of various lifestyle diseases. Prenuvo has built the world’s most advanced and comprehensive whole-body proactive health scan, offering potentially life-saving insights (the case for 1 out of 20 of its patients).

This week, Prenuvo announced several highly impressive milestones:

• They’re profitable

• They did over $100M in revenue last year

• They’ve served over 110,000 patients

• They have a suite of new AI-powered products and services coming soon, which will offer greater proactive visibility into one’s health

• They’ve raised a $120M series B, led by our team

We’re immensely proud to work with this highly disciplined, effective team on a mission that’s so universally important. Check out Prenuvo today: https://prenuvo.com/

Share

What We’re Talking About on Slack:

1. Is America still a nation of small businesses? The Washington Post dug into the data and discovered that’s not the case so much anymore. Before the Great Recession, most Americans worked for small businesses, but now 53% work for companies with over 500 employees. Businesses with fewer than 100 employees have steadily lost ground while businesses with more than 10,000 employees have gained. Experts attribute the decline of small businesses in part to changes in government policies since the 1970s and 1980s that favored larger corporations and deregulated antitrust laws. And these days, there are other obstacles for small businesses, like overly complex tax laws and Big Tech companies who “have been able to squeeze small businesses who need their platforms to sell or advertise.” One bright outlier: small restaurants have the biggest job growth of any industry since the late 1970s, and over the past decade, the five-year restaurant failure rate was just 44% — better than the total private-sector rate of 49%.

2. The Financial Times looks at the tyranny of ‘teenage wellness.’ According to a recent McKinsey report, Gen Z spends more on mindfulness-related products, like meditation classes, mindfulness apps, and therapy sessions, than older consumers. The wellness industry is increasingly focused on teenagers, offering spa treatments, mindfulness tools, and wellness retreats designed to reduce stress and boost wellbeing. While the intention is to help address mental health concerns, some argue the issue with wellness aimed at teens is that exacerbates a need for self-optimization. “It’s very much tied to productivity, aesthetics, and consumerism, adding a pressure that you have to be working on yourself.”

3. A Gallup poll conducted in January 2025 shows that Americans’ national satisfaction hovers at a record low, with an average satisfaction score of just 38%. The survey highlights dissatisfaction with issues like poverty, homelessness, various equities, and healthcare affordability, with only 22% of respondents satisfied with the country’s moral and ethical climate. There were only five of the 31 areas in which respondents were mostly satisfied, including military strength and growing acceptance of gay and lesbian people. The quality of life in the U.S. was the only area with majority satisfaction from both Republicans and Democrats, though the satisfaction rate dropped by 18 percentage points since 2017.

4. Aging boomers are about to rekindle the senior housing market. Once struggling, the senior housing sector is facing a demand surge, as the U.S. population aged 80 and older is expected to grow by more than 4 million people to 18.8 million by 2030. More than 560,000 new units are needed to meet the demand by then, but only 191,000 will be added at current development rates, due to high interest rates and building costs. “That means more seniors, especially those living on limited fixed incomes, will likely be priced out of senior housing or will have fewer housing options in the places they want to live.” Since buying is more cost-effective than building, many developers are acquiring existing properties rather than new construction, and those that choose to break ground will target wealthy seniors who will be able to absorb future rent increases.

5. Microsoft study finds AI makes human cognition “atrophied and unprepared.” New research shows that as humans increasingly rely on Gen AI, they engage in less critical thinking, which can lead to cognitive decline. The researchers observed that workers who were less confident in AI’s abilities engaged more with the AI’s output and developed stronger problem-solving skills, while those with more confidence in AI’s abilities used less critical thinking. This decline in critical engagement is particularly prevalent in routine or lower-stakes tasks. “[A] key irony of automation is that by mechanizing routine tasks and leaving exception-handling to the human user, you deprive the user of the routine opportunities to practice their judgment and strengthen their cognitive musculature, leaving them atrophied and unprepared when the exceptions do arise.” Researchers suggest designing AI tools that facilitate user learning, like providing explanations of AI reasoning, areas for user refinement, or guided critiques, to prevent long-term cognitive deterioration.

6. Amazon, king of online retail, can’t seem to make its physical stores work. From its bookstores and fashion outlets to its Amazon Go convenience stores with “Just Walk Out” technology, the retail giant’s experiment with brick-and-mortar over the last decade has mostly fallen short. Dozens of stores have since closed and Amazon has reduced its Go portfolio by about half since 2023. “I don’t think they really understand retail. Running warehouses and shipping stuff efficiently is not the same as greeting a customer and saying, ‘May I help you?’” says the president of a retail advisory firm. Amazon is now pivoting to focus on licensing its “Just Walk Out” tech to other retailers and growing sales in its grocery portfolio of Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh, including introducing “dash carts” that allow customers to scan items themselves.

7. The 401(k) has reached a tipping point in its takeover of American retirement: for the first time in nearly 50 years, half of private-sector workers are saving in 401(k) plans. Recent state mandates and federal incentives for small businesses have driven this growth, with 70% of private-sector employees now having access, up from 60% a decade ago. Despite all this, around 40% of workers are still not saving enough for retirement.

8. Amazon is set to pass Walmart in revenue for the first time. Amazon is expected to report $187 billion in revenue for its latest quarter, surpassing Walmart’s projected $180 billion, which will announce its earnings on February 20. While Walmart still leads in annual revenue, having exceeded $600 billion in the past two years, Amazon is quickly catching up. Amazon’s 2024 revenue is estimated to reach $638 billion, marking its first time surpassing $600 billion. A key factor in Amazon’s growth is its cloud business, Amazon Web Services, which now makes up 17% of total sales.

9. Axios reports that teens spend a quarter of the school day on their phones texting, video streaming, or scrolling social media. According to a new study, kids ages 13 to 18 spend an average of 1.5 hours on their smartphones during a 6.5-hour school day, while 1 in 4 spend more than two hours. “To understand the risks of too much screen time, researchers say, it’s important not just to tally the hours kids spend on devices but to consider what activities are being displaced — in this case, learning.”

10. The New York Times takes a look at the price we pay betting on sports. Sports gambling has surged in recent years, approaching $150 billion annually. But it’s not all fun and games. Aside from the risk of losing money, gambling increases the risk of health problems, domestic violence, and family rupture. About 2.5 million Americans face severe gambling problems every year, but an additional 5 to 8 million are struggling with mild to moderate issues that often go unacknowledged—and modern technology and marketing are making it extremely hard to resist. Online gambling companies use personalized data to target each user, while subscription plans and automated deposits eliminate friction points. These companies are also blurring the line between gambling, video games, and financial speculation, so it’s harder to maintain boundaries. “Companies promote gambling as harmless entertainment while portraying addiction as an extreme condition afflicting only a vulnerable few. This playbook—refined over decades by the tobacco and alcohol industries—frames harm as a result of personal choices rather than a problem to do with their products.”

Portfolio Highlights:

• OURA CEO Tom Hale is profiled in Bloomberg with quotes from our Partner Eurie Kim.

• Forbes profiles Marc Lore, CEO and founder of Wonder.

• Away’s new “The White Lotus” luggage collaboration continues to get press including Travel + Leisure, Rolling Stone, Forbes, and The Hollywood Reporter.

Forerunner Highlights:

• Inc. interviews our Partner Nicole Johnson about our 2025 outlook and investment focus.

Job of the Week:

Head of Brand Strategy at Chime, the world’s largest challenger bank.

There are ~640 other jobs open at portfolio companies, check ‘em out.