Matthew Mansell is the founder of Athlo, an app that lets you rent, or rent out, a gym membership or class pack. Matthew played youth rugby for Bath, before going on to play professionally in Auch, France. Having studied sports science at Bath University and St Mary’s University London, Matthew went into finance for the first part of his working career before founding Athlo.

What inspired you to launch your business and what is the end goal?

Athlo was born with the goals to give some control back to gym members, greater access to gym-goers, and better retention opportunities to gym operators. We felt that existing solutions weren’t cost effective for the user or the gym, and we wanted to change that.

Our end goal is to establish Athlo internationally, working with operators and boutiques around the world - with the shared goal of providing more flexible gym access to gym members and users. 

Describe your business in three words.

Innovative, collaborative, empowering.

How do you set yourself apart from other businesses in your industry?

There are a few key differences - our recurring and additional revenue opportunities for operators is one of the key aspects that sets us apart from other providers seeking to make going to the gym more flexible. In terms of how that works in practice with Athlo - for operators, the re-selling of a gym membership yields additional revenue on top of the original membership bought by the member from the gym.

What’s the most common problem your customers approach you with?

One of the main reasons that people cancel their gym membership is because they aren’t using it enough, so they don’t necessarily see it as good value. What we want to do is to give members more control over their membership, whilst providing users with on-demand access to the best gyms and classes at preferential rates without a subscription fee.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as an entrepreneur?

To learn from your setbacks. Startup life is unpredictable and you face challenges you couldn’t have foreseen. Every bump in the road is a lesson and you are stronger for it. I try to always embrace these challenges and to remember the bigger picture in such moments.

What’s the single most important decision that you made, that contributed to your business?

Building the team. Once Athlo’s concept was established, it was essential to bring in the right personnel to help drive the business forward. From designers to engineers to marketeers, we brought together industry professionals across different sectors who are the best at what they do. Hire people that are better than you.

How did you conquer those moments of doubt that so often affect entrepreneurs or stop many with great ideas – what pushes you through?

I think every entrepreneur experiences moments of doubt; it is only natural. In those moments I tend to try to slow down. No one can see their reflection in running water, it is only in still water that we can see.

If you don’t believe in yourself how can you expect others to believe in you.

Belief in your own ability, skillset and product should keep you going through the tough times.

What’s the most important question entrepreneurs should be asking themselves?

Will this idea benefit our target audience(s)? As a business that involves operators, members and users - every decision we made had to be done with each of these groups in mind. You must never lose sight of your target audience. 

Do you have a morning routine or ritual to get your day started on the right foot?

I’m up fairly early at 05:45 and I’ve recently started a 10 minute stretch routine once awake, which has been a game-changer for me personally. I struggle to meditate but I find stretching rather cathartic first thing in the morning. I’ll then make myself a quick smoothie and have that whilst I spend 30 minutes or so getting my first batch of emails out for the day. It’s a time in the day when you have very little, if any inbound comms so you can really focus on the task at hand without any distractions. I’m then in the gym by 7am and will spend an hour training which sets my day up nicely.

Do you prioritise self-care as an entrepreneur?

100%, I can’t stress this point enough. You are no use to anyone if you’re burnt out and not on your game.

What plans do you have for Athlo over the next two years?

We have ambitious plans to expand our partnered operators, providing even more choice to members and users on the platform. We also have some incredibly exciting further functionalities being added to the app - one of which will be a first to market.

Additionally, Athlo has international expansion plans in our roadmap for 2023 across different travel corridors in the USA.