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Amidst the ongoing pandemic, the general population’s outlook towards being fit and healthy has seen immense change. Consumers are more aware and concerned about their health, fitness and wellness.

But ironically, due to the pandemic and safety measures like social distancing, lockdowns, etc., it has been almost impossible for people to pursue their fitness goals at a gym. 

With a mission to address this situation, Synq.Fit was co-founded in June 2020 by Pratik Sud, Rajat Sahni, and Sameer Joshi. Their product, Synq.Fit Bike, is touted to be a complete gym for the entire family. Lunched in January 2021, it can be installed at residences and users can work out from the safety and comfort of their home.

The backstory

Pratik had previously co-founded two healthtech solutions  – Doctor On Call and QuickDoc, and then founded Synq.work, which helps with incubation and collaborative workspaces for startups and SMEs. 

Rajat is an experienced founder, with a demonstrated history of working in the market research industry. He has led two global research firms in the custom and syndicated research space with over 200 employees. He has also launched a pan-India cloud kitchen platform for young entrepreneurs and budding chefs. 

Sameer had worked with companies such as Evalueserve, LG Electronics, IBM Daksh and CMS Computers, and was a part of GlobalData (a leading research and analysis firm) as one of its early members. 

The three co-founders have always shared a passion for health and wellness – this led to the formation of Synq.Fit. They have known each other for a long time through other business initiatives, and share the same core values and vision for the connected fitness space in India.

Building on the experience of founding two technology solutions related to healthcare – Doctor On Call and QuickDoc, Pratik Sud joined hands with Rajat Sahni and Sameer Joshi to bring something new in the connected-fitness space in the country. 

The startup presently has eight fitness trainers, and nine in the technology and operations team, which is growing on a monthly basis.

What does it solve? 

“In the last few years, work from home has gained momentum in India, but this nature of work has also blurred the lines between personal and professional lives. While work from home is fabulous for work-life balance, it can lead to many fitness issues in individuals. I believe that technology has an answer for this situation,” says Pratik. 

“The Synq.Fit bike  is a high-end indoor cycle for those who are interested in on-demand classes at home at any time they want,” he adds.

It has a 21.5-inch  interactive, full HD touchscreen display/ tablet along with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. The bike components are manufactured in Taiwan and China, and is put together in India.

It comes with an on-demand video library of fitness routines and provides curated, instructor-led fitness activities and live sessions every day. The platform also helps users to engage with like-minded individuals from across the country.  

“We have built a state-of-the-art studio, and have hand-picked our trainers, technology, and hardware to do so,” mentions Sameer. 

The bike has been specifically designed for the Indian home with its highly compact, low-maintenance design. 

The challenges

“Our product was envisioned and planned during the COVID-19 outbreak period. Numerous delays in research and development along with sourcing definitely impacted us,” recalls  Rajat.

“Identifying and sourcing different components that make up the bike were all quite challenging. Our 21.5-inch smart screen tablet was the toughest of all. After several rounds of testing and rejection, we finally settled on one we were confident our users would love and enjoy using every day,” he says. 

Target audience and revenue model

As per the Home Fitness Equipment Global Market Report 2020-30: COVID-19 Implications and Growth,  the home fitness equipment market stood at 7.6 billion in 2019, and grew to $9.49 billion in 2020 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40.4 percent.

The growth can be attributed to constrained movement, social distancing, work at home, restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and improvement of online fitness content. The market is expected to stabilise and reach $8.62 billion in 2023 at a CAGR of 3.16 percent.

“We are aiming at individuals and households who are serious about their fitness. At those people who are looking for an immersive, engaging and no-excuse solution fitness regime at their homes. We offer our users a much-needed platform to adhere to their workout routines, regardless of time constraints and outside conditions, be it the weather or high pollution levels. All this while remaining connected to other community members. Users can make friends through the Synq.Fit app by staying at home,” says Pratik.

“The bike also comes with a paid subscription for premium unlimited live training every day. Each subscription can have up to four unique profiles. Our new users will get up to six months of this premium subscription for free. Post this, it will be available for yearly subscriptions of Rs 18,000 or monthly at Rs 1,500,” Pratik says. 

The sticker price for the bike is Rs 1,20,000. The platform claims to have received 180+ pre-orders, of which 165 have received the bike and are active users. It is taking pre-orders for the second tranche currently.

“We are currently offering a discounted price of Rs 85,000 for the first 500 units,” he says.

Based out of Delhi-NCR, the startup plans to expand its reach pan-India by September 2021.

Future plans

Synq.Fit has been entirely self-funded so far. The three co-founders have all invested, but decline to  disclose the amount.  

The team envisions a connected future for fitness where people are not constrained by availability of engaging, trainer-led workout solutions around them. 

 “We plan to have a strong community of fitness enthusiasts across India, who are connected with common goals of improving their lives and well-being through fitness. We plan to continue to leverage the latest technology and design, empowering people to be the best versions of themselves anywhere, anytime. We plan to be pan India by mid-2021, with over 1,000 members,” Pratik says.