SWEAT

How Kayla Itsines Built An App Empire Sold For $400 Million

December 15th, 2024

Founded By

Kayla Itsines

Monthly Revenue

$8.33M

Founders

Profitable

Yes

Year Started

2015

Customer

B2B & B2C

Founded By
Kayla Itsines: Monthly Revenue
$8.33M

Founders
2: Profitable
Yes

Year Started
2015: Customer
B2B & B2C

Who is Kayla Itsines?

Kayla Itsines, hailing from Adelaide, Australia, is a personal trainer who transformed her fitness journey into a global brand through social media, co-founding the Sweat app with her ex-fiancé Tobi Pearce. Her focus on empowering women and maintaining authenticity has garnered her a massive online following, contributing to the app's success and its eventual acquisition for $400 million.

What problem does SWEAT solve?

SWEAT, founded by Kayla Itsines, solves the problem of making fitness accessible and achievable for women daunted by traditional gyms. By offering flexible, manageable workouts through a highly popular mobile app, women can train confidently in their own spaces, removing the intimidation factor and fitting exercise into their busy schedules, making it a compelling proposition for a global community seeking support in their fitness journey.

How did Kayla come up with the idea for SWEAT?

Kayla Itsines, a personal trainer from Adelaide, Australia, began her journey by training women in her local community. She observed that many of her clients felt intimidated by traditional gym environments and had various personal constraints that prevented them from accessing consistent fitness support. This inspired her to create accessible workout guides that women could follow at home, which eventually developed into the popular Bikini Body Guide (BBG).

Observing the desire for convenient and relatable fitness options, Kayla listened closely to her clients' needs. She noticed the global demand for flexible workout solutions and saw potential in translating her in-person training experience to a digital format. She validated her idea by sharing transformation photos and testimonials on social media, which quickly gained traction and credibility, leading her to launch the Sweat app.

Throughout the development of her business idea, Kayla remained focused on making fitness approachable and empowering for women. She avoided trends that contradicted her values, such as promoting products she didn't believe in. Her commitment to authenticity and community-building underpinned Sweat’s success and helped overcome initial challenges, such as technical issues with the app launch.

How did Kayla Itsines build the initial version of SWEAT?

The Sweat app, initially developed by Kayla Itsines and Tobi Pearce, was a response to the popularity of Itsines' Bikini Body Guide (BBG), which started as a PDF distributed online. The first prototype of the app was built to offer users a personal trainer-like experience on their devices, streamlining its content from PDF to a mobile-friendly format. This transition was both ambitious and challenging, as the app initially faced server issues upon launch due to an unexpected volume of users. The team had to address these technical difficulties by involving remote developers to ensure stability and capacity, all while managing user complaints and expectations. Despite the challenges, including transitioning from one-time product purchases to a subscription model, the app evolved into a comprehensive fitness platform offering various workout programs catered primarily to women.

What was the growth strategy for SWEAT and how did they scale?

Instagram

Kayla Itsines' journey with SWEAT largely began on Instagram, where she shared before-and-after pictures of herself and her clients. Gaining over 13 million followers, her posts provided a sense of community and inspiration, driving significant traffic to her content. The emotional connection and trust built with her audience on this platform were integral to SWEAT’s growth.

Why it worked: Instagram allowed Kayla to directly connect with a vast audience by leveraging visual content. Sharing transformational photos and engaging followers with authentic stories created a devoted community. Women around the globe felt connected, supported, and motivated by shared experiences and successes.

Community Building

SWEAT's growth was significantly driven by fostering a supportive community, both online and offline. Kayla's community-centric approach involved continuous interaction with her followers through social media, acknowledging their efforts, and creating a space where women could share their fitness journeys.

Why it worked: Communities create loyalty. By establishing a space where users could share experiences and support each other, SWEAT built a strong, loyal customer base. This approach not only kept subscribers engaged but also attracted new users through word-of-mouth and social proof.

App & Subscription Model

SWEAT’s transition from PDFs to a subscription-based fitness app was pivotal. Despite initial challenges with app stability and user acceptance of the subscription cost, the app quickly became a leading platform offering diverse workouts, tailored for home use.

Why it worked: The subscription model provided consistent revenue and allowed the app to maintain and expand content offerings. Offering a week-long free trial engaged users from the start and demonstrated the app's value, making the $19.99 subscription an attractive investment. The app's diverse, quality content tailor-made for women addressed specific fitness needs, resulting in high engagement and retention rates.

What's the pricing strategy for SWEAT?

Sweat offers a free 7-day trial, after which users pay a $19.99 monthly subscription for access to comprehensive workout programs and guidance, emphasizing convenience and affordability.

What were the biggest lessons learned from building SWEAT?

Embrace Feedback for Growth: Listener feedback led to the creation of the Sweat app. By continually listening and adapting based on user needs, Kayla Itsines grew the platform significantly, showing the impact of being responsive to your audience.
Handle Adversity with Calm: When the app initially struggled with technical issues, maintaining calm and seeking solutions quickly helped mitigate the problem. It highlights the importance of staying level-headed amidst challenges.
Define and Stick to Your Values: Kayla set clear boundaries, such as not sexualizing content or endorsing products she didn't believe in. This consistency built trust with her audience and created a lasting brand identity.
Community is Key: Building a loyal community around Sweat was a major factor in its success. By creating a supportive environment for users, particularly women, Kayla fostered a sense of belonging and loyalty.
Understand and Leverage Team Strengths: Kayla and Tobi Pearce, her business partner, had complementary strengths, with Tobi focusing on business logistics while Kayla concentrated on client interaction and brand presentation. This division of roles effectively leveraged their personal strengths for business growth.

SWEAT Acquisition: How much did SWEAT sell for and what was the acquisition price?

Fitness influencer Kayla Itsines sold her Sweat app to iFIT for $400 million in July 2021.

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