Deepak on how he beat the odds in the 2000 dot-com crash with GFX, a boutique group exercise studio

March 28, 2020

About This Episode

In The Forward Thinking People Podcast with Namita Ramani, Deepak Lalwani talks about how he challenged a fitness giant like Fitness First by offering a one-on-one fitness experience in his 1500 square foot boutique group exercise studio. He also talks about how he took a major risk when building the TRIP studio, a virtual reality immersive spinning class in Dubai. Deepak further discusses how GFX stands out from its competitors, by offering affordable and bespoke fitness classes to its customers.

Things we discuss:

  • How he manages to sustain a 16 year old team that comprises of some of his very first employees
  • Recruiting efficient team members and implementing the right sales strategies
  • How to replicate a business model in different countries and multiple locations
  • Investing in team building activities and training
  • Believing that fitness should be affordable for everyone
  • Making exercise and fitness fun for kids
  • Choosing the right franchisee who is as passionate about the business as yourself
  • Why choosing the right location is the most important decision for any business
  • Being patient and understanding the dynamics of the market before deciding to expand

Notable Moments

(25:58) – No app no business! We want to make it completely seamless for the user experience

(27: 59) – Word of mouth. Honestly! The best marketing for us has been word of mouth. We have an Instagram presence. We have a great website presence. We are completely e-commerce driven. We have a Facebook presence. But at the end of it. It’s the people. Our members, they really really love what we’re doing. They love the instructors. They love the space. Ans they love the warmth They love the results. We have people change their lives.

(58:09) – Talk is cheap! And a lot of people basically very easily said that you know, you can expand this right? I’m like, yes it can be. But it requires the same amount of energy as the first one. I’d rather do one well than ten poorly.

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