Silofit announced that it had raised US$10.25 million (CAD$12.75 million) in Series A funding with US$2 million (CAD$2.5 million) in debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank.
Whitecap Venture Partners led the funding round with participation from other returning investors Courtside Ventures and Alate Partners. New investors in this funding round provide Silofit with strategic fitness support and include hospitality entrepreneur David Grutman and Fitt Ventures, a new venture fund from fitness publisher Fitt Insider. Zumba Fitness founder Alberto Perlman and celebrity trainer and nutritionist Harley Pasternak both joined Silofit as strategic advisors, providing counsel related to personal training, gym design and certification.
The Series A funding brings the total funds raised by Silofit to date to CAD$19.4 million.
Silofit turns small office spaces into high-end, private micro-gyms (Silos) that are used by fitness trainers, their clients and individual gym-goers. Silofit currently has 20 Silos across Montreal and Toronto and “more than 12,000 users and 3,000 trainers who are active on the Silofit app.”
The company will use the new funds to support its expansion into the U.S. market, which includes opening 50 new Silos across five U.S. cities, beginning with Miami and Chicago. Silofit will also be building out its leadership team adding 25 new hires over the next year to its current team of 50 employees based in Montreal and Toronto and establishing its U.S. headquarters in Miami.
Silofit will also continue investing in the development of a fitness marketplace that enables gym-goers to use the Silofit app to book a trainer at the same time as reserving a Silo or purchase a workout program. The company is also developing its Silofit Pro platform for trainers to create profiles, keep track of their clients, manage their schedules, and sell exercise and nutrition plans.
“This is an exciting time for Silofit with three investors returning for this round of funding, plus the strategic and influential support of notable new investors such as David Grutman as we establish Miami as our U.S. headquarters and the first city for our U.S. expansion. They will play an important role by helping us with real estate and attracting trainers,” said Wilfred Valenta, CEO and co-founder of Silofit. “The team at Fitt insider will also provide us with strategic guidance on navigating the fitness industry as we execute on our plan to become a prominent player in the North American market.”
Strategic Partnership With Technogym
Concurrent with the funding, Silofit has also signed a commercial agreement with Technogym, a leading brand in fitness and wellness products and services, digital technologies and is the official supplier to the last eight Olympic Games. Under the terms of the agreement, Silofit will be exclusively using Technogym equipment in its Silos to align with its approach to creating and delivering a high-end fitness experience.
Silofit will also leverage Technogym’s Digital Connected Ecosystem to offer members a connected and personalized experience and to shape innovative business models aimed at creating a “Smart Gym” that collects a user’s exercise and health data from all Technogym equipment at each Silo. The information will be displayed in real-time in the studio space and in the Silofit app, to better understand performance and optimize workouts for gym-goers and trainers.
“Technogym believes in Silofit as a new fitness alternative in the market and a strong player with significant growth potential post-pandemic,” said Valenta. “Together, we’ll be creating Silos with a variety of equipment aimed at meeting the performance needs of trainers and movement needs of users. We will also collaborate with Technogym on innovative models for outdoor and mobile micro-gyms.”
“Silofit is very well positioned to become the largest fitness platform in North America,” said Shayn Diamond, partner at Whitecap Venture Partners. “Their unique approach to this market brings together bricks and mortar micro-gyms with a digital ecosystem that enables fitness trainers to run their business and provide a stellar user experience for their clients.”
Photo courtesy Silofit
