Why your next great role lies within fit-tech, health-tech or well-tech...
Ask any general manager in a successful sporting franchise to describe their role and they’ll talk about keeping one foot in the present and one in the future; focusing on the current roster while simultaneously planning to gain an edge tomorrow. The same applies to ambitious business go-getters. As they focus on kicking ass in their current roles, they also have optics on next-level opportunities to catapult their careers. And boy, is there a hockey stick ahead for those motivated to make their dent in the wellness world...
The fit-tech, health-tech, and well-tech industries are EX-PLO-DING! Check your heart rate as you absorb some of the recent evidence-based media headlines and stories from the newly minte
Given the eye-popping figures, it’s clear to see that the race to bank blank checks is on, with venture capitalists going full Usain Bolt to get in on the action and grab a slice of these transcending, lucrative markets.
And, of course, where there’s some serious wonga to be won, the big boys (and girls) are moving in and flexing their money muscle, positioning the pieces on their tactics boards and making some aggressive plays.
Last year alone, we witnessed the launch of Apple Fitness+ (the first fitness experience built around the Apple Watch), Amazon Halo (a health and wellness band), and TV juggernaut Sky teaming up with the popular fitness training platform, Fiit, to bring cardio, strength and yoga workouts into people’s living rooms.
Leveraging partnerships became the name of the game. High-end fitness apparel brand, Lululemon, bought Mirror, an at-home fitness start-up, for a whopping $500 mill, and Peloton was hot on the heels with their purchase of Precor, a major provider of workout machines to gyms and hotels, for an equally stellar $420 million – bulking up its manufacturing and delivery arm.
Overall, digital health, education technology, and fitness technology startups raised record amounts of capital in 2020 — raking in a combined $41.4 billion in funding, as reported by CNN Business.
Talent that’s been where you’re going
With a tsunami of investment flooding the worlds of fit-tech, health-tech, and well-tech, there’s now an astronomical need for businesses to hire people who have been where they’re going. Good souls, with matching passions and skill sets, to explosively grow their impact.
Owner and Co-Chairman, Joel Glazer, summed this up perfectly after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won Super Bowl XXXVII: “My father had an expression; if you want to know the road ahead, ask the person that’s been there. We found that person. 10 Super Bowl appearances, seven victories, Tom Brady.”
For the start-ups and scale-ups looking to make waves in fit-tech, health-tech, or well-tech, it’s about adding that next layer of top-tier talent to help their businesses reach new heights.
Flip to the traditional fitness industry and those same accelerants are needed to claw back ground on other sectors (such as fashion, retail, hospitality, and finance) which, for years, have been actively advancing through tech, using it to both reimagine and redefine business operations and customer relations. And given that McKinsey & Company states a *shocking* seven years of pandemic-induced digital progress in one year, the time for picking up the pace is now!
There’s no doubt that the fitness industry has stepped up its digitization as a result of Covid-19, a side effect of the social restriction measures enforced around the world which caused gyms to temporarily close their doors and adapt their models to interact with members in their homes and on the go. However, there’s still a lot of track to run.
According to research by Mindbody Business, “53% of exercisers have adopted a hybrid routine, including in-person workouts at a studio or gym and virtual workouts from home.” In addition, Online Fitness Market growth is predicted at 30% through 2026. This suggests that gyms and studios will need to rethink their value proposition moving forward to become an integral part of their members’ omnichannel routines. To do this, they will need to find ways to integrate and harness new and emerging technologies, including the likes of digital/virtual platforms, apps, wearables, and connected fitness equipment, to create “clubs without walls.” What the industry needs is “phygital rock stars” who know how to create killer physical + digital (joined up) offerings and shit-hot member experiences for a new era of fitness.
“I don’t wanna win the game, I wanna change it.” – Hakeem Lyon, Empire
Reaching outside the industry
To get the right souls in the right roles, more and more companies are beginning to realize that hiring candidates from outside their sectors opens the door to innovation and offers unique value to their workforces. At Good Soul Hunting, we’re seeing, first hand, that an increasing number of fit-tech, health-tech, and well-tech brands are turning to adjacent industries to unearth the game-changing talent capable of placing them on the fast track to success.
As Ahmed Mazhari, Microsoft Asia’s president and corporate vice president told CNBC Make It, “Skills [not experience] will be the new currency in the post-pandemic world.” And there’s good reason… Organized fitness at scale is a relatively new phenomenon (around 50 years) so new entrants to key leadership roles who have cut their teeth in more progressive industries are well placed to traverse into fitness. Newcomers are also less likely to suffer fitness industry fatigue freeing them up to bring new and fresh ideas into the workplace, as well as a more adaptable approach, which could lead to those inventive, dynamic acts that enable a business to skyrocket. Why wouldn’t you want to use the skills and expertise of a growth hacker who’s worked for one of the globe’s biggest retail brands to catapult your fit-tech business into the stratosphere? Gamechanger.
The message in all of this is clear... If you’re a high-flying exec, eyes up and take notice because some of the most exciting, progressive, and opportunity-laden industries to be in right now are fitness, health, and wellness, and your skills are very much in demand (virtual fist pump). Personally, professionally, and financially, you could be going for gold. Whether it’s supercharging the growth of a future-forward well-tech company or helping to transform and rejuvenate the traditional fitness sector, it’s a race you want to be in. Finally, following your passion can become your paycheck.
We’re seeking good souls.
Are you ready to change gears, switch lanes or put your foot to the floor in the exploding health and fitness sector?
We’re here to help you pursue your passion, positioning you at the sweet spot between dream and job.
With a focus on c-suite and senior specialist roles, we don’t just place you. We stick around to build a framework in which you’ll flourish.
So, get off the bleachers and have a conversation about joining the biggest sporting game in the world.
Sign up to our candidate portal today: https://gsh.vincere.io/careers/candidate/login