In the midst of the ongoing pandemic, people’s attitudes towards fitness and health have changed immensely. Consumers are more aware and concerned about their health, fitness and wellbeing.
Ironically, due to the pandemic and safety measures like social distancing, lockdown, etc., it was almost impossible for people to pursue their fitness goals in a gym.
With the mission to address this situation, Synq.Fit was co-founded by in June 2020 Pratik Sud, Rajat Sahni and Sameer Joshi. Their product, Synq.Fit Bike, is a complete fitness studio for the whole family. It was eaten for lunch in January 2021 and can be installed in dormitories. Users can exercise from the safety and comfort of their home.
The backstory
Practically had previously co-founded two Healthtech solutions – Doctor on call and QuickDocand then founded Synq.work, which supports startups and SMEs with incubation and collaboration.
Limits is a seasoned founder with a proven track record in the market research industry. He has led two global research companies in custom and syndicated research with over 200 employees. He also launched a pan-Indian cloud kitchen platform for young entrepreneurs and aspiring chefs.
Sameer had worked with companies such as Evalueserve, LG Electronics, IBM Daksh and CMS Computers and was one of its early members in GlobalData (a leading research and analysis company).
The three co-founders have always shared a passion for health and wellness – this led to the founding of Synq.Fit. They have known each other for a long time through other business initiatives and share the same core values and visions for the connected fitness room in India.
Building on its experience of creating two healthcare technology solutions – Doctor On Call and QuickDoc – Pratik Sud worked with Rajat Sahni and Sameer Joshi to bring something new to the nation’s connected fitness space.
The startup currently has eight fitness trainers and nine on the technology and operations team, which is growing every month.
What does it solve?
“In the past few years, working from home has gained momentum in India, but this type of work has also blurred the lines between personal and professional life. While working from home is fabulous for work-life balance , it can lead to a lot of fitness problems I believe technology has an answer to this situation, “says Pratik.
“The Synq.Fit bike is a high-end indoor bike for anyone interested in on-demand courses at home at any time,” he adds.
It has an interactive 21.5-inch full HD touchscreen display / tablet, as well as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. The bicycle components are made in Taiwan and China and assembled in India.
It comes with an on-demand video library of fitness routines and features daily curated, instructor-led fitness activities and live sessions. The platform also helps users connect with like-minded people from across the country.
“We built a state-of-the-art studio and handpicked our trainers, technology and hardware,” says Sameer.
With its extremely compact and low-maintenance design, the bicycle was specially developed for the Indian home.
The challenges
“Our product was designed and planned during the COVID-19 outbreak phase. Numerous delays in research and development as well as procurement definitely influenced us, ”recalls Rajat.
“Identifying and sourcing the various components that make up the bike was a huge challenge. Our 21.5-inch smart screen tablet was the toughest of them all. After several rounds of testing and rejection, we finally decided on one that we believed our users would love and enjoy every day, ”he says.
Target group and sales model
After this Global Home Fitness Equipment Market Report 2020-30: Impact & Growth of COVID-19The home fitness equipment market was 7.6 billion US dollars in 2019 and grew to 9.49 billion US dollars in 2020 with an average annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40.4 percent.
The growth is due to restricted mobility, social distancing, working from home, restrictive containment measures like social distancing, remote working, and improving online fitness content. The market is expected to stabilize, reaching $ 8.62 billion in 2023 with an annual growth rate of 3.16 percent.
“We are aimed at individuals and households who take their fitness seriously. With people looking for a comprehensive, engaging, and apologetic fitness regime in their homes. We offer our users a much-needed platform to keep their training routines, regardless of time constraints and external conditions, be it the weather or high levels of pollution. All of this while staying connected with fellow community members. Users can make friends via the Synq.Fit app by staying at home, ”says Pratik.
Photo credit: YS Design Team
“The bike also comes with a paid subscription for unlimited premium live training per day. Each subscription can have up to four unique profiles. Our new users receive up to six months of this premium subscription for free. When you post this it will be available for annual subscriptions of Rs 18,000 or monthly for Rs 1,500, ”says Pratik.
The sticker price for the bike is Rs 1,20,000. The platform claims to have received more than 180 pre-orders, 165 of which received the bike and are active users. Pre-orders for the second tranche are currently being accepted.
“We are currently offering a reduced price of Rs 85,000 for the first 500 units,” he says.
The Delhi, NCR-based startup plans to expand its reach across India by September 2021.
Photo credit: Synq.Fit
future plans
Synq.Fit has so far been financed entirely from its own resources. The three co-founders have all invested but refuse to disclose the amount.
The team envisions a connected future for fitness where people are not constrained by the availability of engaging, instructor-led training solutions in their environment.
“We are planning a strong community of fitness enthusiasts across India who share a common goal of improving their lives and wellbeing through fitness. We plan to continue using the latest technology and design to enable people to be the best versions of themselves anywhere, anytime. We plan to have over 1,000 members across India by mid-2021, ”says Pratik.
