It’s easy today for athletes to calculate how many vertical feet they’ve climbed, how many steps they’ve logged, and even whether they have been getting faster since last week or last year. But how can athletes know whether they are stronger? Jacob Rothman ’16 believes he may have the answer.

Perch, the fitness startup he cofounded with friends from MIT, provides users with a new way to monitor and analyze weight room performance. “There are many devices and programs that can track aerobic activities,” Rothman says. “We wanted to create a similar technology that could help people grow stronger while keeping safe during strength training.”

Born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, Rothman originally came to MIT to study aerospace engineering, but his plan changed after he watched the 2.009 Product Engineering Process presentations during his freshman year. “I fell in love with product design and entrepreneurship,” says Rothman, who majored in mechanical engineering. “I loved identifying a problem, coming up with a solution, and building a prototype.”

A utility infielder on MIT’s baseball team, Rothman set out to solve the problem he experienced trying to assess the effectiveness of his own strength training. “It’s not just a question of how much weight you are able to lift,” he explains. “It’s analyzing your workouts and designing a training program that is actually making you stronger. Should I do eight repetitions at 100 pounds or six repetitions at 125 pounds? How quickly should I be raising and lowering the bar?”

While still at the Institute, Rothman teamed up with two of his Kappa Sigma fraternity brothers—Nate Rodman ’16 and Jordan Lucier ’17, MEng ’18—to found Perch in 2016. The group participated in the MIT delta v accelerator the summer after Rothman’s graduation. “MIT was incredibly supportive of our venture,” says Rothman.

The Perch system consists of 3D cameras that mount on a weight rack and connect to software that collects data and analyzes metrics. The system provides such real-time information as number of repetitions, speed, and power output—the amount of work done per unit of time. “This system can tell you whether you are doing the right thing in the gym, whether you should add or remove weight, how fast you are lifting the bar,” he says.

Designed for use by sports teams, Perch is already being employed by 14 NFL franchises and hundreds of colleges and high schools.

Perch is still a young company, but Rothman is confident that the lessons he learned on the baseball diamond and in the batting cage will help the business grow and succeed. “I used to hit the ball off a tee for hours trying to perfect my swing,” he recalls. “I tried to harness that same mentality at Perch. You have to know how to grind it out, how to work hard to get better.”

Photo illustration by Mary Zyskowski; portrait image courtesy of Jacob Rothman