ForActive, a company developing a payments and communication app for independent sports instructors, has raised over $1.6 million in a pre-seed round, led by the New York-based ff Venture Capital and Movens Capital, along with business angels, including Booksy co-founder Konrad Howard and Flyer One Ventures general partner Vital Laptenok. The company will use the funds to develop the product and expand its presence in the US market.
ForActive’s goal is to help independent service providers, such as gym, fitness, yoga, swimming, and dance instructors, by addressing two of the biggest issues they face – collecting payments and communicating with their clients.
Collecting payments is a major challenge for sports instructors due to a fragmented market, ranging from enterprise solutions to peer-to-peer apps like PayPal or Venmo. Additionally, independent trainers face issues with overdue payments and late cancellations. ForActive addresses these problems by automating payments within the app, making fitness professionals financially sound, and their clients happy and focused on their fitness goals, rather than stressing about the transaction.
ForActive is also a communication platform, both between the instructors and their trainees, and sports enthusiasts themselves. Service providers can use a single tool to contact their clients, without having to repeatedly copy-paste the same messages across different apps and answer calls from trainees who missed important information. In addition, members of training groups can chat with each other, thus creating communities of people with similar passions.
“As societies have embraced sport and broadly defined physical activity as ways to live longer, happier, and healthier lives, they have also discovered it’s a platform for strengthening relationships and creating opportunities. This is especially noticeable in the US, filled with independent sports instructors. For many, sport is an opportunity for a brighter future, second only to top-tier education. Our detailed market research revealed that the biggest challenge instructors face is dealing with payments. If clients are consistently late in paying or fail to pay altogether, it can cause financial strain and disrupt the trainer’s ability to manage their business and personal expenses. We aim to provide relief by giving them control over their finances,” says Maciej Biegański, founder of ForActive.
The company was founded by Maciej Biegański, a former VP Product & Head of UX at Booksy, an appointment booking software for the health & beauty industry. He has spent over 10 years building the app and gaining insight into the needs and behaviors of independent service providers in the USA. For years, Maciej had also been a client of diving and climbing instructors himself. These experiences allowed him to gain in-depth knowledge and understanding of the shared issues that members of this community face every day.
“Our goal is to build the largest app for active people in the USA, and I feel very confident facing this challenge together with Maciej. We both have experience from Booksy, where we’ve been building a product that empowers small business owners around the world helping them manage appointments. However, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for all industries. Sports and fitness coaching require developing and maintaining relationships, often not at an individual level but across groups of like-minded people. ForActive is a product addressing exactly these needs,” says Dawid Kowalski, VP Marketing at ForActive.
“Investing in ForActive, I was drawn by Maciej’s extensive experience gained from a decade at Booksy, deeply understanding the challenges of US service providers. Coupled with targeted market research revealing that over 52% of US sports instructors struggle with payment collection, ForActive’s approach is both innovative and essential. It’s crafted as a comprehensive solution, not just addressing payment issues but also enhancing overall service delivery for wellness professionals. This investment signifies more than capital; it’s a commitment to a venture poised to reshape the wellness and fitness industry with significant impact,” says Mariusz Adamski, Partner at ff Venture Capital.
“At Movens VC, we firmly believe in the power of investing in the right team, at the right time, for the right market. Our decision to support ForActive with a substantial investment, even before their product launch, was made with confidence, thanks to the team’s deep industry experience and meticulous market preparation. The team at ForActive has demonstrated not only a profound understanding of the challenges faced by independent sports instructors in the US market but also the potential for significant market impact. We are pleased to have attracted such well-matched co-investors to the deal, who align closely with the company’s needs.” says Michał Olszewski, Partner at Movens VC.
