Startup Success Journey about Sanmati Pande, Founder of GrowFitter

Growfitter is a startup in the health and fitness space that is developing core AI and Machine Learning technology. They focus on creating a complete preventive healthcare ecosystem, said Karan Chellani, the Managing Partner at SQue Capital.

Growfitter wants to gain a competitive advantage by adding a payment system. Because the owner rarely sits in the gym because it is cash-only, it has been a major pain point. Owners of gyms get real-time tracking of all gym payments via our online portal, whether they are cash, cards, checks, or any other method of payment.

Growfitter provides its gym partners with a SaaS solution that allows them to manage their leads and members in one place and with timely updates and notifications. Through targeted marketing, the app can even help acquire new clients.

Also with GrowFitter, you get rewarded when you download the app and go cycling or walking for 30 minutes. You would be eligible for a free protein shaker after five or seven days, a gym bag after 12 days, and perhaps an iPhone 11 after 30 days if you continued it. Mumbai-based health-tech platform, GrowFitter, provides just that. And the motto of the company is to get rewarded for burning calories!

Growingfitter was one of 50 startups invited to South Korea in 2020 for the purpose of building a prototype of their platform in Korean, according to Sanmati Pande, a qualified Chartered Accountant and the Founder of the gamified health reward platform. Harshit Sethy, an IIIT Hyderabad alumnus and the co-founder of GrowFitter, recalls how he built the prototype in four months between August and December.

Harshit and Sanmati were also authors of a white paper that was published by the World Health Organization and the American Heart Association. According to the findings of their study, they developed a mobile app that offers tangible financial rewards for physical activity. Study findings show that myocardial infarction, diabetes, COVID-19, and death can be reduced by 46-76 percent by doing 30 minutes of physical activity every day.

“Motion-sensing technology is used to launch the app as a game that users can choose from rewards. Sanmati Pande while researching found out that people find it difficult to commit to long-term wellness programs until they receive rewards. For example, exercising once or twice a week is relatively easy,” explains Sanmati Pande.

This app tracks exercise data and offers discounts on gym memberships, airline tickets, movie tickets, and more based on the number of workouts you do on a daily basis. This startup led to more transparency in fitness pricing. Because the manager can enter any price in the book even after you have negotiated a better deal.

Over 100,000 fitness memberships were sold by Pande’s company in 2017-18 and the company generated revenue of $4.5 million. The company has tremendous growth potential according to Cure.fit revenues will reach $40 million this year, up from $20 million last year. Almost 70,000 people subscribe to it and enjoy services such as ordering healthy food, going to yoga and meditation classes, and consulting with doctors.

The two co-founders of Flipkart attempted to disrupt a sector with technology in February 2016. A largely unorganized sector ripe for disruption, health, and wellness, was their first target. Cult Fitness, based in Bangalore, was acquired by the duo, which built a layer of technology into it and then expanded it across the country. Its parent company, Cure.fit, has experienced rapid expansion, both organically and through acquisitions.

Pande says that B2C is the primary target of most players in this space. He explained that this helped the company keep its cash burn intact and reduce customer acquisition costs.

Also, the startup provides its partner gyms with backend POS cloud software to manage day-to-day activities, in contrast to its competitors. We also help keep attendance records, keep track of trainers and clients, and send bulk SMS.