Top SaaS VCs Back Glofox with €2M to Meet Global Demand

Highlights:

Notion Capital, Partech Ventures, Tribal VC, Enterprise Ireland
Team growing 25 to 40, US offices, 40% of business in US
To build on pure organic growth – 500 existing gyms and studios

About Glofox

Glofox is the complete management software for gym, yoga and fitness studio owners who want to save time, increase revenue and drive member retention. The business was founded in 2014 by myself (Conor O’Loughlin), Anthony Kelly and Finn Hegarty. We have since grown to a team of 28, servicing over 500 customers in 20 countries.

The software itself provides automations that keep gym and studio owners in control of their business: from class scheduling and membership management right up to billing, reporting and marketing. Coupled with a branded Mobile App & Website Portal this ensures members can book and pay for services anytime, anywhere.

As a team we are on a mission to make fitness business management easier, giving business owners the tools to retain and grow their fitness community.

The Market

Our focus is on servicing small to medium scale boutique gyms and fitness studios whose core offering consists of group exercise classes (like yoga, pilates, TRX, spin and crossfit for example). These gyms and studios are bucking the trend for fitness by tapping into the social aspect of training, the desire for social inclusion, social status and social acceptance. They also provide a deeper domain expertise by focusing on what is usually only one discipline, allowing them to achieve more effective results for their customers by having more knowledge in a particular domain.

Our positioning is tailored for these exact segments of the fitness industry, as opposed to the more horizontal or generic offerings that many competitors have, often servicing a range of industries.

Taking advantage of the fitness industry turning mobile, we have built a platform that allows its customers to design, configure and deploy their own branded mobile app. This app allows their customers to engage with their business when booking and paying for services. Identity is so important to these businesses, so they develop an app that is completely tailored to their brand allowing them to strengthen their bond with their members.

Why now?– 27% of the world’s population use some kind of health and fitness facility.- That market is growing by around 12-17% per year.- 36% of current users prefer class based exercise.

This is a critical time for the growth of the market. As more and more fitness business owners realise the opportunities associated with running group exercise classes, the boom of specialised studios will continue to increase.

What We’ve Achieved to Date

By combining fitness and technology, our customers have seen significant time savings, growth and efficiencies across the board:Increase revenue: On average, Glofox clients increase revenue by 33% by taking advantage of online and mobile booking channels.

Save time: Glofox clients have seen an average time saving of 2 hours a day by automating repetitive, time consuming admin tasks e.g. managing bookings and payments.

Drive member retention: Glofox clients have increased member retention by an average of 25%, by taking advantage of mobile engagement tools, such as automated push notifications.

Why Top Vc’s Believe in Us

Boris Golden at Partech Ventures explained why they decided to support Glofox at this key time:

“We were instantly attracted to Glofox’s virtuous value proposition, making it possible for both fitness studios & their customers to focus on just one thing: improving health!”“Furthermore, we’ve been very impressed by how efficiently Glofox is building a global customer base from Dublin, thanks to their superior product and light touch sales process. We are looking forward to using our transatlantic experience to support them in future growth.”

On the Notion Capital blog, Jos White also adds:

“The latest generation of SaaS products are lovable. They have taken their cues from consumer apps and are optimized for mobile. They think well beyond the functionally and deliver a great user experience that drives engagement and retention.”“Glofox very much falls into this category, something that is reflected in the levels of customer satisfaction, engagement and growth that the company is seeing.”

What We’ll Do with the Funds

This funding will provide us with the fuel to provide gym and studio owners globally with more free time and value than ever. To date, 40% of Glofox’s business already takes place in the US. We plan to further invest in the expansion of their US based team moving forward. By establishing a base in our fastest growing market, we can give more customers the direct attention they need.Of course, this growth plan also includes our existing customer base. We plan on introducing a constant stream of new product enhancements and continually innvoate to drive revenue and improve retention rates of our install base.Moving forward, we will continue on our journey to making more fitness entrepreneurs more successful, so they can help improve the health and fitness of their communities globally. As a company we are just getting started, and our mission will only grow in importance in the years ahead. We want to thank everyone who supported us on our journey to date and look forward to the next chapter of our growth.

– Conor O’Loughlin