Halifax-based Bright Breaks, which streams wellness videos for its customers’ employees, has been acquired by Wellable of Boston for an undisclosed price.

The exit, announced Monday, will reward several local investors and is the latest chapter in the notable entrepreneurial journey of Bright Breaks Co-Founder and CEO David Howe.

Wellable, which provides employee wellness, rewards, and recognition solutions, has agreed to let Bright Breaks operate as an independent Halifax-based brand within the Wellable family. Howe said in an interview the acquisition will bring his team greater resources and experience as well as access to the Boston company’s customer base.

“The corporate wellness space is very competitive,” said Howe. “Wellable has been around for 14 years and they’re profitable. They grew by bootstrapping; they haven’t raised outside [equity] capital. Joining with them is very much a one plus one equals three scenario where we can tap into all their expertise.”

Bright Breaks sells corporations and organizations micro-breaks – videos of about seven minutes – that their employees can tune into for healthy breaks in their work day. These include such activities as meditation, stretching, dance, strength training, and mindfulness exercises. The platform also provides tips on finances, meal preparation, and other workplace wellness topics. A smart scheduler integrates with Outlook and Google calendars, automatically finding time for breaks without disrupting employees’ schedules.

The company said its approach is grounded in research showing that employees who take regular breaks for movement, stretching, or breathwork experience up to a 40 percent increase in productivity and lower rates of burnout.

Bright Breaks closed a funding round worth $2.5 million led by Build Ventures in 2023, and a $1.5 million round a year earlier. Its investors include Tidal Ventures, Concrete Ventures, Invest Nova Scotia, and Venture Grade.

With offices in Boston, San Diego, and Washington, Wellable serves organizations of all sizes with solutions designed to enhance workplace culture and employee health. The acquisition expands Wellable’s offerings by adding daily live breaks and a large on-demand library to its employee experience platform, the partners said.

Howe said that Wellable has been in business for 14 years while Bright Breaks has been in the wellness space for only five years. The Boston company has about 20 to 30 times as many customers, and thus the deal offers a huge re-selling opportunity for Bright Breaks.

Amanda Kuron, Wellable’s vice-president of content, said the acquisition aligns with her company’s goal of making wellness a seamless part of the workday. “By embedding micro-breaks throughout the workday, we empower employees to reset and recharge while fostering deeper motivation and connection,” Kuron said.

The Bright Breaks sale to Wellable is actually Howe’s fourth exit. He started and sold a landscaping business in university, then launched ToothbrushSubscriptions.com, which sold toothbrushes online. During this time, he met New Brunswick-born investor and startup specialist Dan Martell, who bet Howe $1,000 he couldn’t produce a profit of $15,000 in six months. Martell explained the stakes in the wager weren’t as important as the need for a young entrepreneur like Howe to learn accountability.

Howe lost the bet but the pressure taught him valuable lessons in marketing, pricing and growth strategies. He soon sold the toothbrush company to a competitor in New York.

After starting and selling a software company in California, Howe started a new venture based in Halifax that offered haircuts or hairstyling in people’s homes or places of business. Cribcuts gained traction until the pandemic hit and killed its business.

So Howe and co-founder Kiran Sachdev pivoted to offer online exercise and wellness videos, which evolved into the company they have now sold to Wellable.

“Startups are a long, hard, but rewarding journey,” said Howe on social media. “I could write a book on the last eight years about the highs and lows, lessons learned, and the hard-to-believe stories. But the book isn’t done yet, and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to continue all of our hard work as we start a new and exciting chapter with Wellable!”