[Funding alert] Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty invests in health and wellness startup SQUATS
Pune-based SQUATS wants to start a movement to make 50 million people fit and create one million jobs in the fitness industry.
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Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty has recently invested an undisclosed amount in Pune-based health and wellness startup SQUATS. The company will be using the freshly raised funds to enhance its technology framework, strengthen its team, and expand operations.
Along with the actor, SQUATS will be initiating a movement to make 50 million people fit and create one lakh jobs in the fitness space.
(L-R) Suniel Shetty, Sonal Singh (Director, SQUATS) and Jitendra Chouksey (Founder, SQUATS)
Jitendra Chouksey, Founder of SQUATS, said,
"This coming together of mutual synergies is testament to the strength of the SQUATS’ result-oriented approach to fitness. With Mr Shetty on-board, SQUATS will be able to attract and transform the lives of more people in the country.”
SQUATS started its journey in January 2016 as a Facebook community, which was used to address challenges in the fitness industry. The startup, along with this community that has 5 lakh members, have recorded 70,000 fitness transformations so far.
Its mobile application FITTR has received over two lakh downloads since September 2018. The founders claim that the company has been profitable since inception. At present, SQUATS is focussing on preventive health care.
In the press statement, Suniel Shetty said,
"In today’s time, when all kinds of false information about fitness is common, there is a critical need for companies like SQUATS, which address the issues of trust and credibility in the Indian fitness space, focusing on ‘balancing quantified nutrition with weight training’ and delivering exceptional results. With this collaboration, together with SQUATS, I pledge to make India fitter.”
Through FITTR, the startup addresses misinformation and quick-fix solutions associated with fitness. The company has generated revenue worth $8.5 million since inception.
There has been an increasing trend of celebrities associating with players in the startup ecosystem. Last week, Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez and Malaika Arora invested in SARVA, a yoga and wellness brand.
Also read: Alia Bhatt, Ranveer Singh, PeeCee, and now Virat Kohli: meet the star power behind young startups
