With the onset of winter, one can witness a flurry of fitness enthusiasts on the hilltops in and around the city of Pune. The same goes for gyms and fitness clubs where most members attend a few sessions or never return, which is a big concern for gym owners. The Indian population attending sports halls would represent only 0.7% and only 35% of them renew their membership each year. In a bid to change that scenario, three young co-founders Pallav Pandey, Dipak Sanghvi and Anand Pandya came together to create “Gymshim,” a fitness tech app designed to help customers and gym owners streamline daily gym activities and processes. Gymshim is revolutionizing the way the fitness industry works and taking the guesswork out of business to make it a profitable business for gym owners.
At first…
Pallav, who did his MBA at ISBM in Pune, had worked in a real estate company since 2015, where he learned about the startup culture. He met Deepak and Anand, all gym and fitness enthusiasts, at a gym in Baner and within two years launched their new business Gymshim.
“I used to go to the gym five days a week since my college days. While doing my job, I thought I was doing something in the fitness industry. Soon my conversations with Deepak and Anand turned into a business idea. Deepak being a gym owner himself and HNI, shared a common mission of bringing people closer to fitness and with a vision to ensure the growth of fitness centers,” recalls Pallav.
Pallav quit his high paying job and researched the fitness industry, its needs, the problems faced by gym owners, if it can be solved with technology and can it make the business more profitable gym.
Pallav said, “We started thinking about how to grow the business and attract more customers to fitness centers. More importantly, we have also thought about how to retain existing customers as this is one of the biggest issues facing gym owners across India. The results of our research led us to the development of customer relationship management (CRM) software for gyms and fitness centers. We launched this software as our first technology product in 2017 which is now used by over 1200 gyms across India.
Gym Operating Software (GOS)
At its core, the Gymshim helps gym owners better manage their daily activities and seamlessly integrate the app to realize better profits for their individual gyms.
Pallav said: “The app helps keep track of all members and their individual daily workout regimens. Members will also receive daily notifications that will help them plan their trip to the gym more systematically while motivating them to train more often. The app can also track each trainer’s performance and collect feedback on their individual methods. It’s a win-win situation for the owner as well as the member. Each member can also log in with this and make changes to daily diet plans to help get in shape faster.
“With this software, gyms can increase sales and renewals and monitor able-bodied members entering the gym on a daily basis. The CRM software is now in use across India in 45 cities. We have also entered global markets with some gyms in Mauritius using our software. With this initial success, we have gained the confidence to provide increased revenue for gym owners and that we should look for other opportunities as well,” he said.
Liberty membership – flexible and affordable gyms
In GOS, there was one feature that was used the least by gym owners and customers. This feature allowed customers to share videos and gym workouts with their family members. A gym owner from Punjab appreciated this feature which helped Pallav and his team realize the potential revenue model.
Pallav said, “In October 2021 we launched a website and listed all the gyms there. This platform allowed customers to use their membership duration guilt-free, meaning they could share their membership and sessions with family members or friends. This has made gym membership flexible and affordable for most customers. »
“So far, 70 gyms and over 5,000 customers in the Pune area alone have enjoyed the benefits of Lyberty membership. We are growing the gym-goer market significantly through this model. we observed that the participation is 77% among the members of Liberty compared to the regular members, moreover, the regularity of the ordinary customers is only one or two days a week, but in the case of the model of Lyberty membership has increased due to gamification and flexibility features, and as a result, gym renewals and new sales have increased by at least 20%,” Pallav said.
“Liberty membership offer is currently only available in Pune. We are planning a fit festival in December to further promote this model. Starting next year, we will also launch this feature in other cities “, did he declare.
Liberty Saanp Seedi (beta)
Monthly subscription-based game model to engage fitness enthusiasts and motivate subscribers to visit the gym at least 4 times a week
Reward athletes if they are consistent and motivate them if they are not
In the pilot project, 3.5 days corresponds to the basic participation of more than 350 participating subscribers
After the beta phase, 1.5 lakh members will get access to the Lyberty Saanp Seedi subscription
Receipt conversions
Explaining regular gym activity and how the Lyberty model works, Pallav said, “The one-time cost of setting up a good gym runs ₹70 lakh of which approximately ₹50 lakh is needed for equipment. In addition to interior fittings, security deposit and monthly rental fees, electricity bills, etc. represent operating expenses of up to ₹4 lakh per month. With spending increasing every day, the average membership fee is decreasing due to the competition to retain and win new customers. A decade ago, the size of a regular membership ticket was ₹15,000 but now it’s about ₹7,000. The gym industry has so far been unable to properly configure pricing.
“Any Category A gym typically receives 4-5 inquiries per business day. If we consider 25 days per month, a total of 125 inquiries are generated at the gym reception. Normally, the highest request conversion rate is considered to be 40%. Even considering a 50% conversion, only 60 customers are onboarded while the others are left out. Gyms lose business opportunities with every lost customer. If we consider ₹8,000 as the average monthly ticket per customer, i.e. a loss of ₹4.5 lakh per month at the gym. With the flexibility of Liberty, we ensure that at least 20% of conversions are increased,” said Pallav.
Corporate reconciliations
The gamification aspect was the biggest differentiator, Pallav said. He said: “The gym is such a place to stay in shape holistically. You can gain strength, endurance, fitness and flexibility in a controlled environment which is the safest and equipped with good equipment and trainers etc. Employees who attend the gym have shown improved attendance, productivity, and team spirit. Keeping this in mind, we have designed custom gamification for corporate clients where we offer packages to their employees. These employees can benefit from solo sessions (120 for one year) and use them at any time during the tenure. The pricing strategy is such that employees of the company can save up to 50% on their membership fees. We have also concluded a few mergers with IT companies.
Future plan
Sharing their future plans, Pallav said: “We are focused on profitability and believe in partnering with gyms to increase their business. Our success mantra has been that we have successfully prepared the gym sales team themselves to sell our products. Our competitors only focused on online commerce mode, while we also focused on offline mode. Therefore, we want to expand the Lyberty membership model all over India and reach every village in the country. Realistically, we would record an MRR of ₹50 lakh with a goal to achieve ₹1 crore. Other sources of revenue would include the sale of nutritional products, gamification and early use of sessions. »
