Opinion: $47M Unmind, Best Fitness Tech Firm Wellbeats, Equinox SPAC Rumors, Luring Gym Members Back
Athletech News was created with one goal, to apprise our readers with relevant content that will help inform their business decisions. We strive to aggregate the latest trends and happenings on all things fitness related. Below is what our team at Athletech flagged as this past week’s most interesting reads in the world of fitness, tech and mental health.
This past week was another interesting one in the fitness, tech and mental health industries as mental health support app Unmind raised $47 million, Wellbeats was named best overall fitness technology company and investors reacted to Equinox SPAC rumors. Unmind will use the funds to continue research and development and expand its business reach.
Also, we offer our take on a Fortune article’s topic on what do gyms need to do to lure members back.
Unmind Raises $47M For a Platform to Provide Mental Health Support in Your Workplace
Business | Tech Crunch | May 12, 2021
Athletech’s Take:
The emphasis and attention on mental health continues to rise and the money behind it does as well. Unmind — a London startup that created a mental health platform for the workplace — has raised $47 million, a Series B that will be used to continue research and development and expand its business reach. The funding is being led by EQT Ventures,a very active investor at the moment in U.K. growth rounds with participation from Sapphire Ventures and previous backers Project A, Felix Capital and True. The company which has seen revenue grow by more than 3x in the last 12 months, has a growing list of customers including major retailers like John Lewis and M&S, high-street bank TSB, Uber, Samsung, Virgin Media, British Airways and Asos. Companies like these have pointed to the need to provide their employees with comprehensive benefits including mental health,now more than ever.
Wellbeats named Best Overall Fitness Technology Company in 2021 MedTech Breakthrough Awards Program
Tech | PR Web | May 13, 2021
Athletech’s Take:
Wellbeats, a national leader in on-demand, virtual wellness, has been named Best Overall Fitness Technology Company in the fifth annual MedTech Breakthrough Awards.
Wellbeats offers its users, who span all ages and fitness abilities, more than 800 on-demand classes across exercise, nutrition, and mindfulness. Over the course of the past yearmore than 1.3 million users recorded more than 29 million activity minutes using Wellbeats’ content. Key highlights include kids’ programming usage growing 2,067% from January to April, 2020 as parents looked for ways to help their children meet phys-ed requirements while learning from home. Use of mindfulness classes increased383% in the first four months of 2020 as the pandemic took a toll on mental health. Since its founding in 2008 Wellbeats has raised a total of $4.12M in funding.
Is Equinox a Good Target for Chamath Palihapitiya’s Social Capital SPAC?
Business | OPTO | May 13, 2021
Athletech’s Take:
The debate continues: is Equinox a good deal for Palihapitiya’s Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corporation? CNBC Squawk on the Street’s John Faber said that Equinox is targeting a value 22x 2023’s estimated EBITDA of $320M. Faber also describes Equinox’s business as being “crushed” with a loss of $350M in 2020. According to OPTO the strength of the deal all comes down to whether white-collar workers return to the gym, especially to gyms and fitness studios in the higher-end luxury market where Equinox plays…or will once loyal gym goers stick to their Pelotons and Mirrors? Only time will tell…
To Lure Members Back From At-home Workouts After the Pandemic, Gyms Have a Lot of Work to Do
Business | Fortune | May 13, 2021
Athletech’s Take:
Probably the hottest topic being discussed among the Athletech Team and our readers… What do Gyms need to do to get members to come back? As of today, capacity for gyms and fitness studios in New York remains capped at 33% not helping their plight to lure their once loyal members back…not to mention all the potential new “new year resolution” members they failed to acquire at the start of the year. It is widely agreed that brick-and-mortar gyms will need to go to new heights to stay competitive. While most have added touchless check-in, capacity trackers, virtual classes and personal training they will have to continue to reinvent themselves to compete against companies such as Peloton and Mirror along with their members’ new formed fitness habits.