Startup Spotlight #156: Redprint

Redprint converts regular gyms into smart gyms by augmenting existing equipment to interact with their app.

Sep 09, 2021

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I got the chance to speak with Michael Heitz, co-founder and CEO of Redprint, about what he’s working on at his startup, and any advice he has for emerging entrepreneurs.

Redprint converts regular gyms into smart gyms by augmenting existing equipment to interact with their app, drive better engagement and reduce member churn. By tapping their phone against a Redprint tag placed on all equipment in a gym, a Redprint user can watch an instructional video-on-demand to learn about that equipment/exercise, add that exercise to their log to track activity as they go, quantify their progress with metrics, graphs, and achievements, and share their accomplishments with others in their gym community.

Heitz’s background is in architecture, which has contributed a lot to Redprint’s branding and design, but it’s his own personal experience with learning how to workout that inspired him and his co-founder to pursue a solution that enhances the overall experience in a membership-based gym. He was working out in gyms for a year or two without really knowing what I was doing. Heitz ended up injuring my shoulder over a long period of time because he wasn’t bench pressing with the correct technique.

It wasn’t until he started working out with his co-founder when he helped him make this correction. This experience led the two to brainstorm ways to make it easier for people to learn how to work out without being lucky enough to have an experienced friend to guide them in person or without spending thousands on a trainer. After then getting an idea for how many people attempt to become consistent gym-goers only to cancel their membership a few months later, the two realized there was room for improvement and an opportunity to help both gyms and their members.

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Startup Spotlight: Redprint

Problem: Learning how to workout and stay consistent in a gym is hard to do, especially if you aren’t lucky enough to have a workout partner or trainer as a resource of knowledge and a catalyst for accountability. Pre-pandemic, this struggle led to 34% of members canceling their gym memberships annually, which significantly affects a gym’s bottom line.

Market: As gym members return to their gyms, the industry hopes to return to its total numbers of 64 million members and 41 thousand membership-based gyms. With a two-sided market business model, these two numbers define Redprint’s market opportunity (TAM: $21.3 billion. SAM: $7.4 billion.).

Solution: Redprint provides a tool to help gyms enhance the experience they can provide their members. By providing on-demand learning via instructional videos, quick activity tracking to increase consistency, and a method to engage the community within each gym, Redprint can turn any gym into a smart gym.

Team: My co-founder and I became friends in high school and then roommates in college. We came up with the idea for Redprint after spending a lot of time working out together.

Recent Success:

Heitz: Redprint is only a few months old and still in its infancy, but one thing we’ve been successful at is engaging our initial users and getting great feedback from them. Because we have to first set up our Redprint tags in gyms, we know that those gyms are exactly where we need to go to find the right users. We’ve spent countless hours setting up stand, talking to members as they come into these gyms, and building personal relationships. As we maintain constant communication with them, we’re able to work towards features we know are going to best serve them while also building loyalty to the brand. So far Redprint users are passionate and finding a lot of value in different ways.

Recent Struggle:

Heitz: When introducing a product to market, a key way to increase your chances of success is to be truly unique from the competition. While there are a lot of competitors in the fitness app space, Redprint is a unique solution that has never been tested. While this is an advantage, it means there isn’t really a road map for what this will become. We have many exciting ideas for Redprint that will undoubtedly change and iterate with every new learning, but it’s hard to forecast its future without testing our ideas first.

Founder Advice:

Heitz: Prioritize passion. Creating a tech company from scratch is an extremely difficult task, and the formula for success is never the same for any company. However, the one common denominator between all successful companies is their passion to solve a specific problem. You have to have an obsession for solving said issue, so much so that it consumes a majority of your thoughts. The more you think about it, the faster you generate ideas, identify issues, and execute. If you identify a market opportunity that you don’t truly care about, you will certainly burnout. You’re going to need a lot of fuel for this long journey.

One Cool Founder You Should Know About:

Heitz: Here is one founder you should check out next!

Tom Jaklitsch, Founder of Negotiatus: Negotiatus is purchasing software that is transforming the way business administrators and users place orders, control spend, and submit payment across their vendors.

Who should I profile next? Leave your suggestion in the comments:

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