Founder John Ford first contemplated the integration of exercise and learning in 2001 while watching Spanish television during a run on a treadmill in Santa Barbara, CA. He was struck by how helpful it was in his efforts to learn Spanish and realized that this combination had the potential to be a highly effective learning tool.

In July of 2005, after a summer traveling through Europe and a stint at the University of San Francisco Business School, Ford decided to draw upon his experience with combining exercise and learning to create a company that would deliver the concept to a wide audience. Ford, supported by a USF MBA faculty member, teamed up with two friends with backgrounds in education and marketing.

The team spent several months intensely researching the fitness and education industries. A plan was successfully presented, seed capital was obtained, and the team was ready to perform a formal test of the concept. This project culminated in a series of test classes that invited 50 individuals to cycle while watching a simple Spanish language presentation. The novel concept was a hit with the participants.

With the knowledge that their idea would be popular, Ford and the Connect18 team were ready to expand in order to develop a marketable product. PhD experts in the fields of Education, Foreign Language Acquisition, and Exercise Science contributed to the development of a second set of prototype courses. Over one hundred individuals participated in the product development study, in which they cycled through Mexico City while learning Spanish language. The response, as gauged by an independent market research firm, was stunningly positive with participants expressing an improvement in their ability to concentrate during the class. More importantly, 9 of 10 participants reported their desire to continue in the program, and participant excitement was clearly demonstrated in focus groups and written evaluations.