Personal fitness coach app Orobind raises pre-Series A funding

Bangalore-based Orobind Fitness Technologies Pvt Ltd, which offers access to fitness experts through the curated marketplace model, has secured an undisclosed amount in a pre-Series A fundraising.

It's existing investors Harpreet Singh Grover (co-founder, Cocubes), Lalit Mangal (co-founder, CommonFloor.com) and Toppr.com co-founder Zishaan Hayath also participated in this round, along with a new set of unnamed investors, said Satya Vyas, co-founder of Orobind Fitness.

Orobind, an app-only player, will use the money to launch a new subscription service named Orobind Access, which enables users to join group workouts and sessions near their location. It will also invest in curating the supply of hyperlocal fitness options.

Founded in June 2014 by IITians Vyas and Shubhanshu Srivastava, Orobind assigns experts based on the user location, preferred workout time and preferred workout days. Prior to subscribing, it allows users to get access to detailed profiles of experts. The company claims to offer police-verified curated experts who have undergone stringent background checks.

While the app is freely downloadable, the company charges a fee for fitness coaching sessions.

Vyas had previously worked with a food chain Mountain Trail Foods and oilfield service company Schlumberger, while Srivastava was employed with Snapdeal and Newgen Software Technologies.

In March, Orobind had raised $200,000 (about Rs 1.26 crore) from a group of angels, including the above mentioned entrepreneur-turned investors.

Vyas claims that the company has recorded strong growth since the last round of funding. Back then, it was facilitating about 20 sessions per day which has grown to 200 daily sessions.

He expects app downloads to touch the 10,000 mark soon. "We are extremely bullish on the hyperlocal nature of fitness as a service," Vyas added. It has on-boarded nearly 200 coaches so far.

The company is planning to launch its services in two more cities this year so that it can increase the number of fitness communities to 200 and on-board up to 600 coaches. Orobind is also partnering with gymnasiums, studios and other groups to bring them on its platform.

In January this year, another marketplace for fitness service providers Gympik.com, had raised $135,000 (about Rs 86 lakh) in seed funding from Capvent's managing partners Tom Clausen and Rohan Ajila and manufacturing firm Haldyn Glass.