Which entrepreneur does not want to come up with a solution or product that no one had thought of before? In this series, entrepreneurs talk about the gap in the market they discovered and their way there. This time: Lars came up with a sensor and app that allows you to track your progress in the gym.
- What: Gymstory, a digital fitness platform that keeps track of how much progress you are making via sensors on fitness equipment
- Creator: Lars van der Wal
- Ever since: 2018
How did you come up with the idea?
“Fitness is the largest sports activity in our country, more than two million Dutch people have a gym subscription. But people find it difficult to keep track of their results. Almost everything is analog, with note books and fill-in forms. Almost nothing in the gym is digital, only the cardio machines, while you do have digital resources for outdoor sports such as running and cycling, such as tracking apps.”
“When I wanted to lose weight, I discovered how useful a running app is. I couldn’t get fit in the gym. But when I started with that app, I lost 15 kilos in a short time. hire a personal trainer who can help you, but not everyone is willing or able to afford that. Then I thought: there must be something that can be done.”
From an idea to a product: how does that work?
“I knew there had to be a sensor that can register how much weight you move and how often you do that, but I’m not a technical person myself. Then I started asking around friends from high school who I knew went to technical universities. One of those friends, Mathieu Wernsen, liked the idea. With Michael Fahim the team is complete, he designs the software. Together we developed a sensor that can be placed on equipment in the gym. And a app that can communicate with it.”
“We first conducted tests for a year. We are now ready for the platform to be ready for the market. We have also found a sports chain that wants to work with us. We are going to install sensors on devices there.”
“I never see bears in the road, I always think in possibilities.”
–
–
–
Has the process always gone smoothly?
“Since the corona crisis, there has been a major shortage of computer chips. As a result, much more time has been spent in the production of the sensors. The costs of the chips have also risen considerably a number of times. We did not see that coming. be creative, because you want to find a cheaper solution.”
“In the end I never see bears on the road, I always think in possibilities. From the beginning I always thought this would work out. Our product is scalable, we can easily grow. Our inspiration is Strava, their running and cycling app is now used by 100 million people worldwide. If we get 10 percent of that number of users, it will be a great success.”
What has entrepreneurship taught you so far?
“Before I started this, I worked at large companies. There I had much less freedom to fill in my work myself. In a starting company you do almost everything yourself and you continuously learn new skills, which I really enjoy. Now I know what it’s like to really enjoy your work. During my vacation I felt like going back to work, I hadn’t before.”
“The great thing about the Netherlands is that it is a perfect market to test your product.”
–
–
–
What are your future plans?
“Our platform will be officially launched soon, from then on we will really go wild. I expect it will be crazy and that we will have to produce a lot more sensors. We know that can take a lot of time and the sensors also have to be installed.”
“If everything goes as we hope, we eventually want to cross the border. In the Netherlands there are only a small number of sports chains that have the means to innovate. The great thing about the Netherlands is that it is a perfect market to test your product If it works here, you know it will probably work in other European countries as well.”
