ClassPass Acquires Competitor FitMob

If you were curious about potential consolidation in the fitness space (which I’m sure you were), look no further than this very article. ClassPass, the subscription service for unlimited monthly fitness classes, has acquired direct competitor FitMob for an undisclosed amount.

ClassPass, a company that has raised more than $54 million in the past three years, is a subscription service that gives users unlimited monthly access to various fitness and health classes at gyms and boutique studios. The model, which buys discounted/wholesale inventory from gyms and boutiques and then sells a re-bundled subscription to that inventory, has proven wildly successful.

As of February, ClassPass was tracking to a $60 million revenue run rate for 2015.

But ClassPass wasn’t the only one benefitting from the subscription model. FitMob, which originally launched as a marketplace where trainers could sell outdoor classes to the FitMob community, caught wind of Classpass’s growing popularity and pivoted to the subscription, studio-based model, as well.

The acquisition comes as a bit of a surprise given how young both companies (and the tech fitness space) are, but the consolidation should pave the way for ClassPass to plow its way into new markets.

ClassPass surged well ahead of FitMob in terms of growth over the past two years, with a presence in more than 34 cities across the country (as opposed to FitMob’s eight markets).

Those on the Fitmob platform will now become ClassPass subscribers and the Fitmob site will soon redirect to ClassPass for all new sign-ups. Those on Fitmob will also gain access to ClassPass studios in the 34 markets in which ClassPass is offered. Not all studios are working with both platforms, so ClassPass will have to work on separate deals with each of the Fitmob studios not currently on ClassPass.

ClassPass originally launched out of TechStars as a search-based marketplace where users could find any type of class (guitar lessons, ballet) and sign up instantly. Turns out, gym memberships exist because most folks aren’t motivated to go out and find a class if they haven’t already made the up-front monetary investment.

Then called Classtivity, the company spent an 18-month period receiving less than 100 total reservations on the platform, leading cofounder and CEO Payal Kadakia to rethink the system.

She launched the Passport (a bundle of classes sold only to new users) as a way to get users on the platform. She quickly learned, however, that the wildly successful Passport product could actually function as the business model altogether, eliminating the need for the search tool.

With the transition to monthly subscription, Classtivity rebranded to ClassPass and hit the ground running.

FitMob marks Classpass’ first acquisition.