Madbarz

Market position

The company positions itself in the bodyweight-training segment of the fitness app market, which its co-founder described as young relative to running or gym apps that have existed for nearly a decade and count between 10 and 80 million users. Management said only a few competitors operate in bodyweight training and that none offered a complete solution combining workouts with additional content such as nutrition plans. Madbarz was one of 11 companies selected from more than 1,000 applications for the fifth class of Techstars London.

Focus on bodyweight training rather than gym or running use cases, combined with a bundle that includes structured workout plans, customizable routines from a large exercise library, detailed progress and muscle-activation analytics, video tutorials, offline access and an integrated nutrition guide - a combination the founders described as absent among the small number of competitors in the segment.

Technology

A hybrid mobile application released for multiple operating systems alongside a web training platform. Features include an exercise library of over 350 movements with high-quality video tutorials, muscle-activation tracking, calorie, duration and repetition analytics displayed as graphs, offline use of routines and saved workouts with later synchronization, and a social "respect" mechanic allowing users to endorse each other's workouts.

Go-to-market

The company built an audience first through a global bodyweight-training community and social media, reporting more than 190,000 Facebook fans and over 40,000 people on the app waiting list before launch, growing by roughly 400 sign-ups per day. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via app stores and the madbarz.com website, supported by content marketing through a blog covering workouts, nutrition and education, and by published user success stories. Accelerator participation (Zagreb Entrepreneurship Incubator, Techstars London) provided mentor networks and a route toward the U.S. market.

Consumers of all fitness levels interested in bodyweight and home training, from beginners through advanced street-workout practitioners, including people seeking fat loss, lean muscle gain or short workouts that fit a busy schedule. Programs are segmented by goal and audience, such as For Busy Men, For Busy Women, Home Transformation and 6 Pack Abs.

Geography

Headquartered in Zagreb, Croatia, with an international consumer user base; the company participated in the Techstars accelerator in London and cited access to the U.S. market as a reason for taking investment from Hungary-based Traction Tribe.

History

After starting as a bodyweight-training community in 2013, Madbarz went through the Zagreb Entrepreneurship Incubator (ZIP) program, where it met Hungarian fund Traction Tribe during an investor visit; the fund contacted the team and the first investment closed 25 days after initial contact, announced in 2015 with the startup valued at HRK 6.8 million. At that point the web training app had been in closed beta for about a month and a beta of the hybrid mobile app was being released to testers for three operating systems, while the company was recruiting a frontend developer. The app launched around mid-2015. In June 2016 the seven-person team was accepted into the fifth class of Techstars London, receiving $120,000 and running the program until 20 September 2016. In April 2018 Madbarz was again reported among Croatian startups admitted to Techstars London, alongside Memgraph.

Risks & controversies

Commentary published alongside the 2015 investment announcement questioned whether social media followings and waiting-list sign-ups constituted meaningful traction for a service that had not yet launched, noting that a large share of the Facebook likes originated from Mexico City. A local commenter also questioned the sequence of the company receiving investment and subsequently returning to an accelerator program.