Mentored by Urban Ladder co-founder, FitnessPapa aims to offer you the 'mother of all fitness deals'
The fitness and wellness industry is believed to be getting close to the magical figure of ten thousand crores by the end of this year. With close to 10 to 15 percent of people joining gyms and wellness centres, year-on-year, the fitness industry is the next hot thing in the Indian market. Riding the crest of this wave is FitnessPapa.
While organisations like UrbanClap find suitable trainers for you, with a FitnessPapa membership you can get a monthly fitness program membership. This would allow you to join the best fitness studios in the FitnessPapa network, for any kind of workout.
Founded by Sourabh Kumar, FitnessPapa offers over 30 different kinds of workout options to the customers. Sourabh came up with the idea of FitnessPapa when he noticed that while his friends had started going to the gym or participated in different fitness-related activities, they would quit the programs very soon. He set about discussing the problem with individuals as well as fitness centre professionals. What he found was a startling little fact - people wanted variety!
"Most of the online fitness platforms in the country are focused more on listings or providing a free trial. The idea of FitnessPapa is slightly different. It works on a module of a monthly membership to any of the different gyms, studios or classes in the city," says Sourabh.
Building the team and connecting with different fitness providers
After figuring out the problem and working on the solution, Sourabh quit his job at EMC and decided to start his own venture. His friends were not very encouraging though; they did not think it was a feasible idea. "However, a friend of mine, Siddharth, did have a long chat with me. After this discussion he joined the venture to look after the product development aspects," says Sourabh.
Sourabh says that team building was one of the biggest challenges that he faced. He wanted to bring in people with diverse skills and backgrounds, but they were unwilling to give up their lucrative jobs and join a startup. However, at this time, luckily for Sourabh, he found an invaluable mentor - Rajiv Srivatsa, the Co-founder of Urban Ladder. After that, there was no looking back.
"We are looking to raise funds and expect to close on it very soon as we are in touch with multiple investors for the same," says Sourabh.
The other big challenge that the team faced was getting the different fitness providers in the city on board. However, because of the inherent merit of the idea and some passionate sales pitches, Sourabh was able to overcome the resistance.
FitnessPapa is currently operational in Bengaluru and has over 150 different types of fitness centres in its network. "Our USP is variety and flexibility," adds Sourabh. The team plans to expand to all the metro cities soon.
Revenue and market
FitnessPapa works on a monthly subscription model. For Rs. 999, it offers a 10-class access in a month. The team is working on developing modules that provide unlimited access. Apart from this, FitnessPapa also works on a per class revenue share model with its fitness partners.
Some of the other players in the segment are Fitternity, Orobind, Healthtee and Gympik.
The current fitness market is said to be growing at 25 percent CAGR. Reports suggest that there are several factors contributing to this phenomenal growth - increasing purchasing power, income growth, and a growing awareness towards health and fitness. This augurs well for FitnessPapa in the short term.
