Tech Alumni to Appear on ‘Shark Tank’

A few years ago, Braxton Davis, an avid gym enthusiast since college, started thinking about how he could track his strength training workouts every day more effectively than with a smartwatch or fitness tracker. He was looking for a seamless way to capture detailed workout data without having to write it down, which is how Metric Mate was born.

Metric Mate makes devices that, when coupled to pin-based and plate-loaded exercise equipment, send data to mobile phones, turning strength training equipment into smart equipment and allowing users to automatically count reps and sets while also tracking caloric burn, force exertion, muscular fatigue, and rep tempo. In addition, it gives healthcare workers the ability to monitor fitness in patients.

Davis, along with Ecleamus Ricks and their business partner, M.T. Strickland, have been working on Metric Mate ever since 2019. And this week, they will be showcasing their patented Training Accountability Partner (TAP) device and Metric Mate mobile app on the popular television show Shark Tank.

Both Davis and Ricks earned bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering through the dual degree program at Georgia Tech and Morehouse College. After graduating, Davis went on to get his law degree from Georgia State University with a focus on intellectual property. Ricks moved to Texas to work for National Instruments and earn his master’s in software engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Within the Metric Mate team, Davis focuses mainly on strategy, intellectual property, and legal. Ricks works on all things technology, and Strickland, the CEO, is responsible for marketing and driving revenue.

“Handling the hardware and understanding it is one of the benefits of Georgia Tech that we now have — the ability to draw on those things you learned in college to create something new,” Ricks says.

Next, they will be exploring ways for their patented technology to help with physical therapy, and they are always working on new features and improving the accuracy of the platform.

See Metric Mate featured Friday, Jan. 13, on ABC’s Shark Tank.