Fit Hub lays foundation for health and wellness empire

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Few things that can take the weight off a startup’s shoulders like a seed funding round does. It is the first resounding vote of confidence from external investors that a business has the potential to be something special. That’s exactly what Indonesia-based Fit Hub has got.

Global Founders Capital recently led a seed round worth more than US$3 million for the health and wellness firm, which aspires to be the go-to provider for almost everything in the space. However, beyond that moment of joy and relief, startups usually have to come face to face with reality: More funding means more pressure to deliver returns and sustained growth.

In our premium story pick today, we analyze why VCs are going against the grain to invest in Fit Hub, and how the startup is looking to stand out among competitors in a relatively small market.

Today we look at:

• Fit Hub’s seed funding round
• Shopee closing doors in India
• Other newsy highlights such as a plethora of funding rounds featuring the rising startups from India, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines

Also, if you’re an entrepreneur looking for funding, fill out this form to get your company featured on our list of fundraising startups.

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Making a run for the money

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Fit Hub claims to be “Indonesia’s most affordable gym,” offering premium facilities through memberships starting at 250,000 rupiah (US$17) per month. It also offers free classes and training on various exercises such as weight training, zumba, yoga, body combat, and k-pop dance.

The startup, founded in late 2020, has big plans as it looks to become a super app in the health and wellness sector. From building an online community to offering an app that enables users to book personal trainers, renew memberships, and get promotions, Fit Hut has to do it all before it can realize its goal.

• Making gains: Part of the freshly raised capital will be used to expand Fit Hub’s offline business to 50 branches across 15 cities by the end of the year. More than half of the funding, however, will be used to experiment on its online strategy and develop its online platform.

• Meeting unmet demand: “We saw that 40% of Fit Hub’s members are first-time gym-goers, which shows that they are converting people who regularly exercise at non-gym facilities or attract people to get their first gym membership,” says Melvin Hade, Asia-Pacific partner at Global Founders Capital.
  The ability to “convert” people into gym-goers owes much to Fit Hub’s positioning in a fragmented market. Indonesians want to get fit and healthy but hesitate because of factors like price and quality. Fit Hub, through its affordable pricing and high-quality equipment and services, looks to bridge this gap in the fitness market.

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