Neha Motwani founded Fitternity, a platform that helps brings together fitness seekers and fitness provider. In a world of apps and online shopping, Fitternity is like the Zomato for the world of Indian fitness.
So what made Neha quit the corporate world to start out as an entrepreneur? Lets get to know her story.
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I was born and raised in Mumbai. I started working professionally after getting a campus placement as a Risk Consultant in Genpact where I worked for 2 years. Post my MBA, I had a 3 year stint in Aon Hewitt as a Talent & Organization Consultant. At Aon Hewitt I managed several talent consulting projects like HR transformation, organization restructuring, Hi-Po assessment etc across different industries (FMCG, Banking, IT&ITES etc.)
How did the idea of Fitternity come about?
The idea came out of a user gap that I experienced in my personal fitness journey. Having a busy work schedule with a lot of travel as a consultant – it left very little time for fitness. There was a constant challenge to find something interesting and then stick to it. When I shifted houses – this challenge became more evident. That’s when I realised that it is so easy to find a restaurant, book a hotel, find coupons for your next purchase at the local store – but when it comes to fitness, there is no platform that makes it easy for users to access fitness services available in their vicinity.
Post identifying this gap as a user I went about researching prevalence of this need with the larger Indian audience and industry growth numbers. Soon realised there was not much available on research / industry papers. Hence decided to conduct primary research – I met 500 individuals across 6 metro cities (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmadabad, Pune & Hyderabad) and conducted focus group discussions and interviews. We were able to test our hypothesis and research concluded that fitness discovery was a definitive problem faced by Indian users. We then built out this learning into a product along with the customer value proposition and revenue model.
What were the initial challenges you faced when setting-up the venture?
Since we were creating a marketplace platform – trying to balance demand (fitness consumers) & supply (fitness service providers) – it was challenging to balance & focus on ‘whos problem we are solving first’. Also getting the right team in place (recruitment) was a big challenge when the model wasn't established.
Fitternity is all about helping people achieve fitness goals. Off the top of your head, what top 3 things should those aspiring to get fit keep in mind?
I wouldn't be able to comment from a fitness expert / trainer perspective but as a fitness enthusiast, following 3 things I have learned over the years -
- Food is the most important component of being healthy. What you eat today can impact how you feel tomorrow.
- Cultivate dedication and not motivation. Motivation may dwindle but its dedication that gets one to stick to the routine, day after day
- Having a friend or workout buddy in your fitness journey can have an great impact and keep you going
In the near future, what other services do you hope to offer via Fitternity?
From a market expansion perceptive - We are planning to venture into more cities in the next 3-6 months. Currently our operations are in Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune and soon launching in Delhi. We are going to be adding new categories like kids fitness, sessions with celebrity fitness, healthy food.
Also we are in the process of launching our mobile app which will enable users to book workout sessions in a 'pay-per-use' format thereby combining different fitness forms and removing monotony from their routine
What is an average work-day like at Fitternity?
Average work day at Fitternity HQ starts at 9:30 am and the day lasts till our brains work. We imbibe the model of 'Move fast and break things. Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough.' Moreover the team is super motivated, we love to work, workout and party together!