Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The healthcare market looks nearly ready for the next wave of IPOs.</li><li>Barclays' Jon Swope says IPO hopefuls should prepare by increasing the awareness of their companies.</li></ul>It's been a rough few years for healthcare initial public offerings. But the next wave of public healthcare companies looks to be on the horizon.At least two healthcare companies are considering public-market debuts in the not-so-distant future. The diabetes startup <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/exclusive-omada-health-confidentially-filed-s1-ipo-public-2024-10">Omada Health confidentially filed its S-1 this summer</a>. And the physical-therapy startup <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hinge-health-s-1-morgan-stanley-ipo-2024-9">Hinge Health has hired banks including Barclays</a> as it prepares to file its S-1 confidentially.Hinge and Omada likely aren't the only healthcare companies <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/healthcare-startups-ipo-public-markets-reopens-2024-1">weighing an IPO as market conditions improve</a>.Jon Swope, a managing director in Barclays' healthtech division, told me he expects a pickup in healthcare IPOs in 2025 after a three-year drought.<div type="image" title="A headshot of Jon Swope." height="1200" width="846" msid="114356715" hostid="261" sizebytes="24914"></div>I spoke with him about what the next wave of healthcare IPOs could bring — and which healthcare startups are in the best position to test the public markets.The following has been edited for clarity and length.In the past few years there have been a number of take-privates and near-delistings in healthcare, as well as plenty of healthcare companies that have otherwise struggled in the public markets. What can we learn from those companies' challenges, and how might they impact the next round of healthcare IPOs?The whipsaw of the public markets over the last five years has created a challenging backdrop, even with the overall market improving.From 2019 through 2021, nearly 20 companies went public through IPOs or SPACs in healthtech. At its peak, the total market cap for healthtech and digital health was over $300 billion. Through both take-privates and declines in share prices, that's down to just about $90 billion.Large take-privates like Change Healthcare, Nuance, Cerner, Inovalon, and others are part of the story. The other part is that, on average, the companies that went public or were already public are down by about 80% — names like Teladoc, Accolade, and Health Catalyst.The enthusiasm that supported the last wave, with respect to the positive and innovative business models in healthtech and digital health, is not gone. It's just that these companies haven't been able to achieve growth with profitability. When there's a next set, there's going to be more of a focus on growth and profitability.You see that in the IPOs that happened this year: Waystar and Tempus. Waystar is large-scale, profitable, with growth, and Tempus has the promise of AI, high growth, and emerging profitability. Both have performed since their public debut.In the private sphere, many investors have leaned away from healthcare services and into healthcare AI. What models do you expect the healthcare market to favor in this next round of IPOs?There are three general categories that are investible in healthtech and digital healthcare. One is simply data and then technology and healthcare. Healthcare is arguably two decades behind every other industry in the adoption of technology. Whether it's software, tech-enabled models, or, importantly, the data opportunity and AI opportunity, tech and data infrastructure for healthcare is No. 1.No. 2 is consumer-centric models, such as some B2B2C models, the employer and payer digital-health models, or even direct-to-consumer models. Look at <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-hims-founders-journey-to-go-public-via-spac-2021-1">the performance of Hims</a>, which has emerged from its post-SPAC purgatory.Consumer-centric healthcare is the future of healthcare, and it's becoming more of our collective reality. The companies with consumer-centric business models that deliver longitudinal engagement and outcomes, financial and clinical, for consumers and the payers of healthcare, both employers and insurance companies, are certainly on the list.No. 3 is value-based care. Much has been made of that as a category, tying together costs and outcomes. And while some of the brick-and-mortar value-based care companies have had their own challenges, support for the adoption of value-based care by providers will continue to be where healthcare is going.Are there models in healthcare that you think are perhaps not the best fit for the public markets right now?The less complex the elevator pitch, the better. While I can't say there's a model that's not a fit, what we heard from investors as things were bending in the wrong direction last boom cycle was: "Wait, what did I just buy? I'm not sure I fully understand this company's business model."Now you have to juxtapose that against the reality of healthcare, which is complex. So it's companies that can articulate a clear and simple story while also navigating the layers of the healthcare ecosystem in executing on their business model.That includes riding the existing rails. In the last five-plus years we've seen companies figuring out how to work with the payers and providers that make up the healthcare ecosystem to bring innovation and disruption to how we experience healthcare.Given the major slowdown in SPAC deals in the past few years and Nuvo's poor performance (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-08-22/newly-public-pregnancy-care-firm-nuvo-files-for-bankruptcy">and bankruptcy</a>) this year, could we see more SPAC deals for healthcare startups next year?It's a four-letter word for the foreseeable future. I imagine there will be SPACs created, and there are still others that haven't run out of time, but it's unlikely that we see companies using that vehicle that could go public the regular way.For startups that don't go public, will we see M&amp;A pick up in 2025? With large retailers like Walmart pulling away from healthcare, who are the potential buyers?M&amp;A is picking up already, as evidenced by volume this year, and it will continue to, particularly in an easing financing environment and macro backdrop where bid-ask spreads are narrowing.The consolidation activity is in three categories. First, there are the large-cap consolidators including retailers, payers, and Big Tech. There will be deals there, but there are only so many that will be done by that group, which is not much more than a dozen companies.The next is large-cap, and often private-equity-backed, healthtech consolidators. A number of them are private and will continue to be buyers.The third category is just smaller mergers of equals. Especially for enterprise sales, selling into payers or selling to providers, scale matters, and so size matters. We'll see small companies merge with other small companies to get there.Anything else startups should know that might impact this next cycle of IPOs?While these companies that went public in the last cycle may not have fulfilled their promises, they set the stage for an attractive IPO market by going public the right way — executing on the business and growing it, and increasing awareness around the company well in advance of an IPO.At the back end of the last boom wave there was a rush to go public, and SPACs were examples of that. I think that in the 2025, 2026, and 2027 IPO classes, there will be a number of companies that think about it the right way, not rushing to get to the public market.

2025 could bring a wave of healthcare IPOs. Here's what startups should know, according to a top banker.

<ul><li><keyword id="1165142" type="General" weightage="90" keywordseo="practo" source="Orion">Practo</keyword> has laid off 41 employees, mostly engineers, as part of the company's continuous performance management and planning process.</li><li>The company said in a statement that upholding a high bar for performance and productivity is crucial to maintaining this level of growth.</li><li>Practo, however, clarified layoffs and the business's financial performance have no connection.</li></ul>Leading digital healthcare platform Practo has laid off 41 employees, mostly engineers, as part of the company's continuous performance management and planning process, as the funding winter continues. The layoffs affected the engineering department the most, especially roles like product managers and software engineers, etc. The company said in a statement that upholding a high bar for performance and productivity is crucial to maintaining this level of growth. "Therefore, as part of our continuous performance management and planning process, we had to part ways with 41 employees in accordance with their employment contracts," a Practo spokesperson added. Practo, however, clarified layoffs and the business's financial performance have no connection. "Our revenue, margins, and profits are at an all-time high," said the company. "In the past year, we have hired over 500 talented individuals, and we plan to add another 500 'Practeons' to our team in the next 12 months, including backfill," it added. Practo has raised more than $228 million so far. In August 2020, the healthtech platform received $32 million led by Hong Kong-based <keyword id="154704" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="aia-group" source="Orion">AIA Group</keyword>. The platform is present in more than 20 countries, helping over 30 crore patients, by connecting them with more than one lakh verified doctor partners. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/cert-in-warns-of-high-severity-vulnerabilities-in-apple-products-urges-immediate-action/articleshow/99231900.cms">CERT-In warns of high-severity vulnerabilities in Apple products, urges immediate action</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/googles-new-features-to-simplify-travel-planning-including-a-mobile-friendly-hotel-browsing-feature-a-price-guarantee-badge-for-flights-and-more/articleshow/99235884.cms">Google’s new features to simplify travel planning, including a mobile-friendly hotel browsing feature, a price guarantee badge for flights, and more</a>

Healthtech platform Practo lays off 41 employees, mostly engineers

<ul><li><keyword id="7716660" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="pristyn-care" source="Orion">Pristyn Care</keyword>, a Gurugram-based health-tech startup, has reportedly laid off 300 employees.</li><li>The company has recently fired 45 employees, citing underperformance.</li><li>Pristyn Care is backed by investors such as <keyword id="122716" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sequoia-capital" source="Orion">Sequoia Capital</keyword> and <keyword id="526777" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="tiger-global" source="Orion">Tiger Global</keyword>.</li></ul>Gurugram-based health-tech startup Pristyn Care is the latest to join the list of companies laying off its workforce. In its latest round of layoffs, the company has fired 45 employees. The layoff wave has been arriving in ripples across the Indian companies after affecting thousands in the global market, including big names like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/elon-musks-twitter-laid-off-more-than-90-of-staff-in-india-now-only-about-12-employees-remain-report-says/articleshow/95383606.cms">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/meta-says-it-will-lay-off-more-than-11000-employees/articleshow/95405068.cms">Meta</a>, among many others. According to a<a href="https://inc42.com/buzz/exclusive-healthtech-unicorn-pristyn-care-trims-workforce-gst-officials-seek-clarity-on-biz-model/"> report</a> by Inc42, the Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global-backed health-tech firm has fired around 300 employees across departments in the last two months. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="What does Pristyn Care do?" comment="subhead" text="What does Pristyn Care do?">What does Pristyn Care do?</cmsannotation> Pristyn Care is a health-tech company founded in 2018 by Dr <keyword id="345234" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="vaibhav-kapoor" source="Orion">Vaibhav Kapoor</keyword>, Dr <keyword id="12305824" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="garima-sawhney" source="Orion">Garima Sawhney</keyword>, and <keyword id="11127890" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="harsimarbir-singh" source="Orion">Harsimarbir Singh</keyword> that offers advanced secondary care surgeries across 800 hospitals, 200 clinics, and over 400 super-specialty surgeons. The company has so far <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/surgical-care-startup-pristyn-care-is-the-42-startup-to-be-valued-over-1-billion/articleshow/88157965.cms">raised</a> $177 million from Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global, Winter Capital and others. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="15% of employees laid off" comment="subhead" text="15% of employees laid off">15% of employees laid off</cmsannotation> The fired employees make up around 15% of the company’s total workforce. The fired employees were junior and mid-level employees working in sales, administration, city teams, and others. The company has claimed that it has fired only 45 employees, and they were let-go due to underperformance. "We have a comprehensive performance evaluation process that helps us understand the efficiency levels across the board. This is a regular process and we found around 45 employees across the organization who were performing consistently below expectations and we had to part ways," a Pristyn Care spokesperson told Inc42. The company has, however, denied claims about a mass layoff and has claimed that it has hired over 300 employees in the last four months. The layoffs come at a time when the company is<a href="https://yourstory.com/2023/03/sequoia-backed-pristyn-care-lays-off-300-employees-shuts-medical-tourism-vertical"> reportedly</a> scaling down its international expansion segment focused on medical tourism. The segment reportedly failed to generate sufficient revenue. Pristyn Care is not the only healthcare startup that has laid off employees. Companies like PharmEasy, MediBuddy, and Innovaccer have recently announced layoffs. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/you-are-not-safe-from-air-pollution-anywhere-in-the-world-finds-a-new-study/articleshow/98471370.cms">You are not safe from air pollution anywhere in the world, finds a new study</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/wedding-bells-ring-in-16-rise-in-february-auto-sales-2-wheeler-sales-yet-to-hit-pre-pandemic-levels-fada/articleshow/98443213.cms">Wedding bells ring in 16% rise in February auto sales, 2 wheeler sales yet to hit pre-pandemic levels: FADA</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/gadgets/news/noise-and-fire-boltt-entered-in-top-five-in-global-smartwatch-shipments/articleshow/98171390.cms">These two Indian brands have together sold more smartwatches than Samsung in 2022</a>

Health-tech startup Pristyn Care has reportedly fired 300 employees in the last two months

<keyword id="2534058" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="healthtech" source="Orion">Healthtech</keyword> unicorn <keyword id="2848710" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="innovaccer" source="Orion">Innovaccer</keyword> has sacked nearly 245 employees, or about 15 per cent of its workforce, across teams in <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> and the US, the media reports said on Tuesday. Innovaccer cofounder and CEO <keyword id="3561958" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="abhinav-shashank" source="Orion">Abhinav Shashank</keyword> cited an "uncertain macroeconomic environment" as the reason behind the job cuts, according to an internal mail sent to employees and accessed by leading startup news portal Inc42. "Innovaccer has always believed in empowering its customers to accelerate their transformations, leading to higher quality care for patients and populations, improved patient experiences, and better financial and operational performance," <keyword id="3452" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="shashank" source="Orion">Shashank</keyword> was quoted as saying in the email. The startup said it will provide severance packages to affected employees, as well as transitional health insurance benefits and job placement assistance. This is the second layoff at the company in around 4-5 months' time amid the deepening funding winter and recession fears. In September last year, Innovaccer laid off nearly 120 employees, or less than 8 per cent of its workforce, owing to "tough economic conditions", and most of the layoffs occurred within its tech teams. Innovaccer had said that its business fundamentals are still strong. However, "given the current economic conditions, we implemented a small workforce reduction to optimise our cost structure", said the company. The startup raised $150 mn in its <keyword id="45633" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="series" source="Orion">Series</keyword> E round at a valuation of $3.2 bn in February 2022. In December 2021, Innovaccer raised $150 million, driven by rapid customer adoption of the <keyword id="16233858" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="innovaccer-health-cloud" source="Orion">Innovaccer Health Cloud</keyword>. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/egyptian-researchers-digitally-unwrap-2300-year-old-mummy-to-find-gold-and-other-amulets/articleshow/97297512.cms">Egyptian researchers digitally unwrap 2,300-year-old mummy to find gold and other amulets</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/equity-markets-have-usually-been-nervous-ahead-of-budget-but-a-relief-rally-is-likely-post-budget/articleshow/97286146.cms">Equity markets have usually been ‘nervous’ ahead of budget but a relief rally is likely post budget, say analysts</a>

Healthtech unicorn Innovaccer lays off 245 workers, 2nd job cut in 5 months

<ul><li>The company said in a statement that it "had to take the tough decision to let go 150 of our team members".</li><li>The platform offered a severance package of two months to the laid-off employees, with two weeks per year served at the startup.</li><li>According to the company, it caters to more than 30 million users in over 300 cities with over 2,000 coaches.</li></ul>Leading AI health and fitness platform <keyword id="2698623" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="healthifyme" source="Orion">HealthifyMe</keyword> has sacked at least 150 employees as the company's growth did not "keep pace with expectations and hiring". The company has a physical presence in Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Singapore. The company said in a statement that it "had to take the tough decision to let go 150 of our team members". "Like much of tech, growth hasn't kept pace with expectations and hiring," the company added. The platform offered a severance package of two months to the laid-off employees, with two weeks per year served at the startup. "As a part of our severance and support to those impacted, we will offer 2 months' salary severance with 2 weeks per year served at HealthifyMe, vested stocks till March 2023, and medical insurance continuance till June 2023, along with counseling and outplacement support," said the company. According to the company, it caters to more than 30 million users in over 300 cities with over 2,000 coaches. The <keyword id="2534058" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="healthtech" source="Orion">healthtech</keyword> platform in July this year raised $75 million (nearly Rs 560 crore) in a Series C round led by <keyword id="15700419" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="leapfrog-and-khosla-ventures" source="Orion">LeapFrog and Khosla Ventures</keyword>. The company aimed to use the funds to expand in <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> and <keyword id="53564" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="southeast-asia" source="Orion">Southeast Asia</keyword>, make inroads into <keyword id="6378080" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="north-america" source="Orion">North America</keyword> as well as to acquire relevant companies in the digital health and fitness space. "We are already the market leaders in India and Southeast Asia and by combining AI and human empathy, we can deliver results in weight and lifestyle disease management at a fraction of the cost possible today," Tushar Vashisht, Co-founder and CEO, HealthifyMe, had said in a statement. While HealthifyMe's base has been India, it has been expanding internationally and now nearly 25 per cent of its revenues come from outside the country like Malaysia and Singapore, it had said in July. The company had also said to hire over 1,000 trainers and coaches this year. "We are also undergoing an evolution with our new vision around metabolic health (HealthifyMe 2.0) which requires different resources. In view of this and changing market dynamics, it made sense for us to steer toward profitability, despite a comfortable runway," the company spokesperson said in the latest statement. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/ayushmann-khurranas-doctor-g-set-for-ott-debut-on-netflix/articleshow/95995391.cms">Ayushmann Khurrana's 'Doctor G' set for OTT debut on Netflix</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/expect-nifty-to-end-the-december-series-on-a-positive-note-reach-a-target-of-18900-19000-says-r-venkataraman-of-iifl-securities/articleshow/95992944.cms">Expect Nifty to end the December series on a positive note, reach a target of 18,900-19,000, says R Venkataraman of IIFL Securities</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/dharmaj-crop-guard-ipo-how-you-can-check-the-allotment-status/articleshow/95992589.cms">Dharmaj Crop Guard IPO : Here’s how you can check the allotment status</a>

HealthifyMe sacks about 150 employees, says growth didn't keep pace with hiring

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Whoop's CEO, Will Ahmed, discussed how he thinks about productivity and the future of work.</li><li>Whoop encourages employees to look after their health with offerings such as meditation areas.</li></ul>The impact of remote work and artificial intelligence on jobs has never been more scrutinized.One company thinking about this is Whoop, a Boston healthtech startup that makes a popular wearable health tracker. The company has tried differentiating itself in a busy wearables market by targeting athletes and serious fitness enthusiasts. As its CEO, Will Ahmed, said, Whoop aims to "unlock human performance."In 2021, the company <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/whoop-cfo-tricia-gugler-shares-how-new-capital-can-innovate-2021-12">raised $200 million</a> at a $3.6 billion valuation in a funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. A spokesperson said Whoop, which was founded in 2012, has about 500 employees.Business Insider spoke with Ahmed about how he thinks about productivity at the company. Here are five key takeaways from the interview.<h2>Ahmed believes in-person work is best — but that location and well-being are important.</h2>"We have a clear point of view that in-office work almost always leads to more productivity," Ahmed said. "We've seen how <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/employees-back-to-the-office-what-the-data-really-says-2023-9">collaborating in the office</a> has positively contributed to performance."Ahmed said he also thought carefully about the locations of Whoop's offices. Whoop's global headquarters in Boston is close to Fenway Park and some of "the best hospitals in the United States," he said."We're literally in the center of the most influential health, fitness, and performance advancements in the world," he said.Whoop also believes <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/employee-productivity-booming-workers-jobs-ai-stock-market-gdp-2024-3">employees are more productive</a> when they look after their physical and mental health. Last year the company opened an office in Boston's Kenmore Square that includes designated areas for staffers to relax and meditate."We want Whoop to be a place where our team loves to come to work," Ahmed said. "We like to practice what we preach by encouraging employees to take the best possible care of their physical and mental health with flexible vacation time and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-build-company-wellness-program-employees-healthy-motivated-2020-8">innovative wellness benefits</a>."<h2>Nurturing new hires and hearing user feedback are key.</h2>Ahmed said he likes to meet with employees to discuss the feedback they get from Whoop users."Every week during our company lunch, we share testimonials we've received about how Whoop has saved lives and helped people achieve their goals," Ahmed said.Ahmed also said he takes time to sit down and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tim-ferriss-productivity-tips-for-small-business-owners-2013-11">talk with new employees</a> at the company and learn why they joined."Whoop has grown, and over time these welcome sessions have grown larger," he said. "But they've also become more important."<h2>Whoop pays bonuses to employees who sleep more.</h2>It's probably unsurprising that a startup such as Whoop encourages <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-companies-boost-employee-wellbeing-build-healthy-culture-2021-11">employees to live healthier lives</a>.All employees receive a Whoop band and membership, as well as an additional band to give to a loved one."It's important to us that every member of our team has a deep appreciation for our technology," Ahmed said.His favorite perk is that the company pays its employees to sleep more."This is about practicing what we preach," Ahmed said. "Any employee whose average sleep performance is 85% or more receives $100 each month."<h2>Employees are encouraged to use AI tools at work.</h2>Whoop has been <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-saving-sales-teams-hours-work-daily-survey-says-2024-1">thinking about AI</a> for a while. Last year, it launched Whoop Coach, a personalized AI fitness coach, in partnership with OpenAI."Every member of our team is encouraged to use approved AI tools in their work," Ahmed said. "We have a stellar team at Whoop, but using these tools just enhances their productivity."Ahmed said OpenAI can't store or use any of the anonymized data it gets from Whoop to train its own <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tried-best-ai-productivity-tools-chatgpt-notion-ottor-brainfm-2023-3">AI models</a>. He added that Whoop prohibits other AI apps from using its membership data without authorization.<h2>Ahmed doesn't want to lose the advantage of being nimble.</h2>Ahmed said he liked to embrace the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/habits-entrepreneurs-can-use-to-be-more-productive-amazon-small-business">advantages of being a relatively small company</a>, including the autonomy it gives teams."Many startups are in a race to become a big company and in the process lose sight of the advantages of being smaller and more nimble," he said."Lots of big companies lose sight of what matters," he added. "We're not letting that happen at Whoop."

Whoop's CEO on staying nimble as a company &mdash; and why the startup pays employees to sleep more

<ul><li>As the whole country became more health-conscious and ‘immunity’ became the talk of town after COVID, Indian <keyword id="3224780" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Healthtech-startup">healthtech startup</keyword> <keyword id="4506924" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="cure-fit">Cure.Fit</keyword> added 1.5 million users post-pandemic. </li><li><keyword id="4157434" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="naresh-krishnaswamy">Naresh Krishnaswamy</keyword>, Growth &amp; Marketing Head, Cure.Fit speaks to us about fitness industry’s future, Cure.fit’s growth trajectory, changing consumer sentiment, and goals for 2021. </li></ul>Health, immunity and fitness have become one of the top concerns for Indian consumers post COVID-19. And those who were already battling with other problems like anxiety or depression—have found their stress levels kicking through the roof and struggles intensified. Fitness apps and on-ground gyms rose to the occasion by shifting their focus online and providing personalised services based on different body types. With this, the Indian healthtech space saw a surge in user traffic and became a part of the new normal. According to Valuates Report, the Global Fitness App Market size is expected to grow from $3,312.58 Million in 2019 to $13,016.77 Million by the end of 2025 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 25.61%. As the demand for healthier living records a drastic rise, Cure.fit is aiming to occupy 50% of the offline fitness market in a few years. After the pandemic, Cure.fit added 1.5 million and out of these 1.5 million, 1 million users joined the platform during the lockdown in April and May. Elaborating on the growth trajectory during lockdown, Naresh Krishnaswamy, Growth &amp; Marketing Head, Cure.Fit said, “The spike came in a very big way, in the two, three months post lockdown. We used to have about 250,000 paid subscribers on Cult and within a matter of two months, we were able to get 1 million completely new customers to try the digital products, which was quite heartening to see. And we launched a paid version of the product only in May. So this 1 million base that tried our product was free, and eventually, we've managed to acquire about 100,000 paid subscribers on specifically our <keyword id="10404706" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="fitness-digital-offerings">fitness digital offerings</keyword>.” Transition from lockdown to unlock Cure.fit was quick to realise that digital was here to stay and focused on improving its app to woo its users. It launched 10-12 new online services during the lockdown period to help its users transition from offline to online. Sharing how the lockdown impacted its business, Krishnaswamy said, “We always had this vision that at some point, digital fitness will become important, but the first implication was making that product live immediately. Later, there was a good shift over to lots of forms of digital health like fitness class online, consulting doctors, nutritionist. So the next thing, we launched a huge bunch of products in the April-May timeframe to leverage the fact that people now don't have access to many of these services offline, and will want to consume them digitally. We had to reimagine all of us services, whether it's mental wellness, primary care or fitness. We realised that digital is going to grow massively. We also did a lot of marketing around that time with celebrity classes and some television ads, etc. ” While the offline fitness industry hit a major roadblock during the lockdown, Cure.fit started planning for its comeback. It focused on improving its strategy for offline services and once the country started walking again, Cure.fit sped up the pace at which the industry is evolving. “We decided to focus squarely on two things. One, our offline fitness business: how do we preserve it? And second, once we are allowed to reopen, how do we grow faster? And how do we take advantage of industry as well, because right now a lot of people will have concerns on physical centers, safety, quality, etc. So we felt that was a great opportunity for us as a brand to expand physical centers once the time is right because there'll be a lot of customers wanting to join in and looking for better quality of service. While the fitness business has taken a temporary sabbatical, we potentially can come back a lot stronger, which is something that we are seeing as well because we have grown so much in a short time,”said Krishnaswamy. However, consumer demographics adopting digital services were different than offline. More women felt safer to use digital services and boomers used yoga and doctor consultation services. So, Cure.Fit also pivoted its marketing strategy to speak to a wider set of audience and its media plan did not change much as it has always been a digital-heavy company. On how the demographics have changed after lockdown and new surge in users, Krishnaswamy said, “With digital products, to acquire customers from everywhere around the country, we had to change our marketing strategy to target a wider audience base. Young people are more comfortable with gyms and with digital, any walk in age could consult a doctor or do a yoga workout. So, there's a bit of a change in what kind of segments of customers we see -- whether it is age, city, gender, income groups. Our gyms are fairly expensive, like 18,000 rupees a year and digital products are a lot cheaper, which has given us more access to other economic segments of customers as well.” Now that gyms have opened up, Krishnaswamy told us that around 35% of customers are coming back to gym. However, smallers gyms that don’t have the resources for following government protocol and winning consumers with a marketing campaign, are still struggling. Fitness enthusiasts are, therefore, choosing the gyms they can trust. “I think one thing is clear is that a lot of people are waiting to come back to the physical centers. And the reason being, they are missing working out with the equipment with a social group. There are, of course, a good number of people that want to come back, but are just waiting for the right time. So broadly, you can assume that about 30-35% of people have come back. There is a section of the population that is just saying that they'll wait for the vaccine. We didn't expect anything different. We also spoke to a lot of local gyms, they are not seeing as much recovery as Cult and that is because of our ability to communicate safety to users and fine equipment. So, we have been seeing a good influx of new users for offline gyms as well because they trust us,” said Krishnaswamy. Future of <keyword id="7829777" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cult-Fit">Cult.fit</keyword> and the fitness industry In the future, Cult.fit is going to focus on improving its online group classes, polish its hybrid model and consolidate local gyms under its network. It is aiming to aggregate demand for all its gyms by giving its members access to different kinds of equipment and training across the city they live in through one pass. The model is in process and soon to be launched in Bangalore. Explaining its consolidation plan, Krishnaswamy said, “At Cult, we want to now participate in the overall offline fitness business. We have predominantly been doing group classes, and disrupted the gym model with that but we want to get into gyms as well because there's a segment of people who want to do machine-based workouts. So, we are tying up with a lot of gyms. We are going to create a one membership card, which gives you access to all the good quality gyms in your city. For example, you buy a membership in Bangalore, you'll have 14-15 options in the same city you can go to. As a user, you may decide to attend a few gyms that have good equipment one day and go to another gym that offers great Zumba classes. It just gives users a tremendous amount of choice and freedom.” Cure.fit will also resume its expansion plan later next year once the world starts inching towards normalcy or demand comes back to 50%. Meanwhile, it is focusing on improving the quality of online workouts and investing in technology to identify different body types and body movements as users workout. Throwing some light on the company's tech model, Krishnaswamy said, “In our digital product, with the user's permission, the camera turns on and it can detect your movements and give you an Energy Score. We are investing behind that. In the future, if you're working out in front of a screen, with your permission, our software can calculate what number of reps you've done, or it can correct your posture, etc.” As we enter 2021, Cure.fit’s focus will be on reviving its business and winning in the offline fitness business and gym aggregation. It aims to onboard 300-400 gyms by the end of next year into its network. Sharing the company’s vision, Krishnaswamy said, “We want to stay in a dominant market share of all kinds of fitness. So our ambition is to gain 50% market share of all forms of fitness in the next few years. That will happen if we expand our current Cult centers and aggregate a large number of gyms on our platform. That means a big change from what we've been doing so far, which is focusing only on online to now focusing on gyms as well. Also, I think it's not enough to just partner with gyms. We are working very closely with these gyms to improve their safety and quality of housekeeping, trainer and equipment, etc.”

You Searched For "healthtech startups" and got 7 results

2025 could bring a wave of healthcare IPOs. Here's what startups should know, according to a top banker.

Rebecca Torrence

Healthtech platform Practo lays off 41 employees, mostly engineers

IANS

Health-tech startup Pristyn Care has reportedly fired 300 employees in the last two months

Sourabh Jain

Healthtech unicorn Innovaccer lays off 245 workers, 2nd job cut in 5 months

IANS

HealthifyMe sacks about 150 employees, says growth didn't keep pace with hiring

IANS

Whoop's CEO on staying nimble as a company and why the startup pays employees to sleep more

Hugh Langley

Cure.fit wants to dominate the fitness industry, here is its roadmap behind its vision

Karuna Sharma

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides