PITCH PROBLEMS: Fitpass co-founder on when the VC had him stumped

Asking for money is never easy. In this column, entrepreneurs tell TOI how VCs stumped them with hard questions during a pitch

Akshay Verma and his sister Arushi started Fitpass in September 2015 to make getting a workout a less expensive proposition. Instead of having to pay an annual fee for a gym membership, what if people could work out at any fitness studio, and choose from a variety of workout options, the siblings thought. They wanted to make access to fitness as easy and convenient as ordering food, hailing a taxi or booking an airline ticket. But when Akshay approached VCs with the idea of a universal pass that could be used across a number of fitness studios, there was one question he says he kept encountering:

"Do Indians really care about fitness? That was the question that caught me off-guard the first time I heard it — and it still does every time. In my head, I reply with ‘Have you thought of the converse? Are you implying that Indians prefer to be unhealthy and unfit?’ I obviously don’t say that. Studies have shown that one in three Indians is medically unfit or has a preventable lifestyle disease. The problem is that fitness isn’t affordable and accessible to us in India. The barriers to accessing fitness are very high — upfront annual fees charged by gyms, inconsistent service, trainer attrition at gyms, limited workout options. I reply with these facts instead."