[Funding alert] Online fitness startup ImStrong raises Rs 3Cr in seed funding led by Zerodha's Rainmatter

Online fitness platform ImStrong recently said it had raised Rs 3 crore in seed funding led by Zerodha's Rainmatter, along with participation of TaxiForSure Co-founder Raghunandan G. 

Founded by Dilip Kumar, Selvan Thamarai, and Deepti Nair in 2019, ImStrong connects independent trainers, yoga teachers, studio owners, and gyms with their customers through live online classes.

The platform offers access to trainer-led fitness classes in an easy and convenient manner online, allowing users to exercise anytime, anywhere with guidance from a professional trainer.

 Speaking about the platform, Dilip Kumar, co-founder, ImStrong, said,

"Our video-streaming platform makes it easy for everyone to access trainer-led classes, like yoga and meditation, from the comfort of their home, office, or anywhere else. People find it difficult to find some time for a gym session either due to long travel time or high costs. Now users can exercise anytime, anywhere with guidance from a professional trainer."

The founders also state that the platform provides a dual advantage, not only for individual fitness enthusiasts who now can access fitness trainers from the convenience of their homes, but also for fitness trainers. They are enabling fitness professionals and yoga trainers to reach a global audience and build an additional stream of income by having their own digital studio on ImStrong.

“We are also witnessing an upward trend in our business activity, given the current scenario in the country and globally, with people being confined to their homes and dependent on such classes to keep a check on their fitness routine," added Selvan Thamarai, Co-founder, ImStrong.

With this investment, ImStrong will also be providing exclusive online yoga and mindfulness classes for Zerodha traders.

Nithin Kamath, Founder & CEO, Zerodha, said 

“We, at Zerodha, value the overall well-being of our clients. In a mentally taxing activity like trading, you need to have a calm and peaceful mind. ImStrong has created a customised physical and mental fitness plan for our customers to give them access to premium yoga and mindfulness classes online.”

Introducing ImStrong on its platform, Zerodha said it had been working on building different "nudges" on its trading platform, Kite, to help users take better trading decisions.

"Since the body and mind are key ingredients to successful trading, especially in times like these, we thought we should do something about it as well. So, we’ve partnered with ImStrong, through our Rainmatter initiative, to make online yoga and mindfulness classes available to all our users."

(Edited by Teja Lele Desai)