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Prepare for Weapons of Ass Reduction as Snapfish Founder Raj Kapoor and Ness Co-founder Paul Twohey Launch fitmob to Ignite a Movement in Neighborhood Fitness

Backed by Series A funding from Mayfield Fund and Silicon Valley Bank, fitmob connects neighborhood communities with top trainers for amazing group fitness experiences


San Francisco, CA – WEBWIRE

SAN FRANCISCO – (January 23, 2014) – Today a new company, fitmob, is launching to redefine the gym in the digital age by creating neighborhood fitness communities with fun, convenient and affordable workouts. fitmob aims to disrupt the $75 billion global gym industry. Founded by notable technology and fitness veterans, the company believes the key to the next fitness revolution is all about people, not fancy equipment or expensive real estate. fitmob is connecting neighborhoods with amazing trainers for live outdoor and indoor group workouts built on a new economic model that makes sense for everyone. fitmob officially launches today in San Francisco and is announcing it raised Series A funding from VC Mayfield Fund, Silicon Valley Bank, and prominent individuals.
 
The startup’s business model is as unique as the workouts themselves. While typical classes with top trainers run $20-$30 each and gym memberships charge monthly fees, fitmob’s drop-in workouts start at $15, and the more you use fitmob every week, the less you pay per workout. Rewarding everyone for getting their sweat on, participants who come twice a week pay $10 per workout, and those who come three or more times a week pay only $5 per workout. January workouts are free, and anyone can join, pay for workouts and chat with the community and trainers at www.fitmob.com or via the iOS app.
 
With the help of mobile devices and the Web, fitmob is building a community that enables fitness trainers to earn a more significant living and have less downtime as the majority of the 250,000 trainers in the US alone are struggling to get by and undervalued by gyms. Each certified fitmob trainer is a rockstar in his or her own right, with their own signature workout experiences like Weapons of Ass Reduction, Sweat Soiree, Twerkout Conditioning and Guru Gone Wild.
 
“Fitness is a passion of mine, but the current model is broken – with 30 million Americans wasting billions of dollars per year on memberships they don’t use, and hundreds of thousands of personal trainers underemployed,” said fitmob CEO Raj Kapoor. “It was time someone created an easy way to bring fitness and community together, and provide amazing neighborhood workouts on a simple, pay-as-you-go model.”
 
This model was pioneered by a powerful team: beyond serving as CEO of Snapfish, Raj Kapoor is also a board member for ride-sharing company Lyft and no stranger to building companies with a focus on community. Paul Twohey brings with him technical expertise from his work as co-founder of Ness Computing and as an early engineer at Palantir, a complement to Raj’s work creating marketplaces.
 
To help make fitmob’s vision a reality, Mayfield Fund, Silicon Valley Bank and others have backed the company in Series A funding and debt financing.
 
“We’re excited to partner with Raj as we’ve had a long history of working together at Mayfield and Snapfish. He has unique insights into mobile-enabled marketplaces through his work as an early investor in Lyft and Redbeacon,” Said Tim Chang, Managing Director at Mayfield Fund. “We believe that fitness is a massive and broken $75B opportunity in need of disruption and can benefit from many of the ‘4Cs’ elements of Content, Curation, Commerce and Community that we look for in marketplace investments"
 
For now, fitmob will offer 30 workouts per week in San Francisco at the Brannan Street Wharf in SOMA, at fitmob’s HQ on 5th Street and in Dolores Park, focusing on strength, cardio and yoga fusion. Workouts are now officially open to the public with the first week free for new members, but space is limited, so early sign-up is encouraged. fitmob will continue to expand to new neighborhoods and cities over the next year. To reserve a spot, simply visit www.fitmob.com or download the fitmob iOS app.
 
About fitmob:
fitmob is redefining the gym in the digital age delivering unique group workouts with top trainers in your neighborhood. fitmob is founded by Paul Twohey, previously co-founder of Ness Computing & early engineer at Palantir, and Raj Kapoor, previously co-founder/CEO of Snapfish, MD at Mayfield Fund and current Lyft board member. fitmob’s mission is to empower an active, global community through wellness and change the fitness industry. The company is based in San Francisco.
 
For more information, visit www.fitmob.com



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 fitness
 Raj Kapoor
 San Francisco
 workout
 mobile


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