As part of the startup Interview series, we are going to interview Mrs. Lauren Wellinger from Arena, a fitness startup headquartered in San Francisco, US that recently closed its Seed Round.
Lauren, thanks for taking the time to catch up with us. Can you briefly outline the company’s story, what is Arena’s key goal? Who are the founders and how it all became what it is today?
ARENA was founded in June of 2020 with a core mission to provide a high-quality experience for people to pursue a better version of health through strength training. ARENA’s technology allows a user to train how they would at the gym with similar movements and resistance, except now they can take the gym with them. ARENA’s team is the quintessential intersection of the top talent in engineering as well as the most sought after minds in the fitness industry. Krisna Bhargava is the CEO, Albert Matheny is the VP of Performance, and Chris Howell is the head of business development overlooking Sales & Marketing.
What kind of products and services does your company offer?
The motorized resistance training ARENA platform is available for pre-order. The unit weighs less than 60lbs, and generates up to 200lbs of resistance. The ARENA uses BlueTooth to connect to the ARENA app to manage the weight. You’re in control to use anything from 5-200lbs of resistance. The app has several different metrics, modes and 300+ different exercises in the app library. Over the next months we will be working on releasing programs, challenges, leaderboards and more on the app.
What’s the latest progress in the project, and what are you focusing on right now?
The primary focus is finishing production on the first few hundred units. Similar to other industries, production has been hugely affected by COVID, but we’re excited to be in the home stretch. The first units are scheduled to ship in September.
What pain of your customers are you helping solve? What is your company’s offering and what kind of customers and partners are you looking for?
The industry has done a great job of giving customers a slew of options for training cardio, but there are very few standalone connected strength platforms, let alone, one that is completely mobile. We’re making strength training more accessible for the consumer. Our customers are looking for the next best thing, and ARENA can take the user from guided workouts, to an advanced freestyle mode to do the workout of their choice. The amount of guidance is completely up to the discretion of the user. We wanted ARENA to be simple to use, like your phone.
What differentiates Arena from its competitors?
It’s what’s on the inside that counts! Unlike competitors, ARENA isn’t another flywheel-based system and it isn’t a bulky machine you need to screw into your wall. The motor is powered by a lithium-ion regenerative battery, similar to the technology of a Tesla. The ability to use ARENA how you’d like whether that’s your living room, your garage or at the park, sets us apart. The cordless freedom ARENA offers to give our customers the opportunity to train on their own terms, and then store it under the bed or in the closet. This is a game-changer for anyone, especially those living in small spaces. Finally, we are extremely proud to say we make this product in the USA.
Do you use AI technology in your product? How does it work for you?
In a way, yes. In addition to counting repetitions, the ARENA app also has a spotting mode, which will automatically drop weight off until you complete the exercise. ARENA has several different modes which enable the unit to react to the user.
What is your business model and how are you planning to get early customers onboard? Have you already raised money for your operations and building the platform? What milestones have you had in fundraising and where are you now?
We have raised $5.2M to date with contributions from Courtside Ventures, Powerhouse Capital, Wellness Holdings, and professional athletes. The capital has been allocated to product development and other engineering efforts with the focus on creating the best product possible. Currently, we are investing time and resources in marketing as well as keeping an eye out for top talent with our company values in mind. As we approach our ship date later this year, it’s important we manage our growth.We are also excited to announce we will be hosting live demos in our ARENA Performance Institute in New York, NY.
What was it like growing your team? What are the challenges and surprises you encountered? What tips do you have for building a solid team?
As with any start-up, the hiring process was slow. Krisna is on a mission to hire experts in their respective fields and he personally interviews each new hire. His willingness to bring fitness experts, entrepreneurs and those with investment and marketing experience into the company is what has ultimately led to a very cohesive and trusting team.
What are your company’s plans for the future, your major dream in 2021?
As authorities in strength, we plan to lead the charge on educating the public on the benefits and importance of strength training. While we’re currently seen by most as an at-home solution, we’re confident that ARENA will reinvent the way strength training is perceived across the industry. We would love to see ARENA in homes all over the country by the end of 2021.
To summarize our interview I would like to ask your opinion about the future of the HealthTech industry, especially considering the impact of pandemics and all this economic turbulence.
This industry has no doubt been affected by the pandemic. What we’ve found during COVID, is the majority of people who workout are moving towards a hybrid model. They’ve found solutions that they enjoy doing at home but still get a thrill and a sense of community from the gym or group fitness. We’ll be seeing more fluidity in the equipment suitable for both environments, or in ARENA’s case, wherever the user chooses.
