GymSpot’s Vintro Success - Investment/Advisory

Ahmed Awad's Pitch Video

Ahmed created a great pitch video that maintained strong engagement from start to finish. His use of humor, creative transitions between points, and relating his product to present day issues kept viewers focused on him and the GymSpot platform.

Tony Wilkins's Review For Ahmed

Reviews on the Vintro platform consist of reviewers answering 3 questions for about 1 min each. Reviewers can choose to respond either by video or by voice recording.

What did you like from the pitch?

“Ahmed's pitch was clear and very easy to understand. I enjoyed his analogy between going to lunch and going to the gym for the first time. I think with different apps that allow you to go to multiple different gyms and try different places, it is a logical way to get people, particularly in new environments, out and in touch with people in a non-threatening, very social, offline environment. That's important, there is a trend in that direction. I thought the pitch was clear and it made a lot of sense and, you know, from a visual perspective, Ahmed did a great job of putting together a pitch that lets us know exactly what he’s trying to do. So, from that perspective it was well put together and I even really liked the very simple transitions in the background. It let me concentrate on him and his message. Well done from a pitch perspective.”

What issues did you see?

Text transcript: “So, while I appreciate that Ahmed asked for 1 million dollars is very clear in the ask at the end of the pitch, which is often missing. There were a number of components that left me, as an investor, wondering what’s in it for me? I’d like to know if it’s a transaction model, a subscription model, a little bit about what his projected revenues are? What potential, current methodologies of going to the gym or being involved in social events like that will he be cannibalizing? If this is an alternative to something else, it would be nice to know what people are doing now, and what market share he’ll be biting into? Or, as I think he’s saying, that people don’t do that now, so this is a way to make the pie larger, or make people go to the gym who wouldn’t go before.

A million dollars. Ok, so... as an investor I’m looking for somewhere around 10 times my return on my investment within 10 years. There was nothing in the presentation that told me as an investor ‘Hey! Here’s what’s in it for you”. Certainly, great insight on the customer experience. But, I didn’t get a sense of how Ahmed is going to spend his time profitably working on this idea as opposed to doing something that might be more traditional. So, that’s a big hole and a gap that would need to be filled before any further review. For any investors further review.”

What next steps should they take

Text transcript: “I would suggest that the next steps that are necessary in this process, are to identify the go-to-market strategy, the monetization scheme, transaction or subscription model, an assessment of the total addressable market, even if you have to kind of wing it as to how many people are going to health clubs now, maybe how many people aren’t going to health clubs because they don’t want to go by themselves, how many people will return to health clubs? Just some projections of what he thinks he will find as a target market. One suggestion I have is to go to Uluventures.com which will allow you to map out the market and come up with some very real-life assessments of what you might actually be able to do. You’re going to have to convince an investor that this is an opportunity that’s real and, as you get into it, you’re really finding product-market fit or that you need to take a pivot to another place. I think looking at it from the investor's perspective and talking about your go-to-market strategy is what you will need to do next.”

The Outcome

Ahmed's Takeaways

"Working with Vintro was a great and intuitive experience. I definitely recommend taking full advantage of the in-depth filters when choosing who to connect with to find those whose interests are best aligned with your own. The feedback received from all of my reviewers was helpful and I loved how they each spoke from different perspectives. One of the beauties of Vintro is the diversity of perspective and having so many people of different backgrounds be only a few clicks away. I look forward to continuing the conversation with all of those I have met and urge anyone considering to join the platform to try it out."

Tony's Takeaways

“The Vintro experience brings deal sourcing into the 21st century. While traditional referrals and introductions are still the internal combustion engines of connecting investors and founders, Vintro adds the hybrid version right at the moment all of us are rethinking physical intros. I found the entrepreneur I met with to be crisp, clear with his story, and well-rehearsed in his delivery. Often overlooked in a physical environment, the storytelling crucible of a five-minute pitch is as valuable as a movie trailer to help discern my interest or to whom I should refer to a founder. On top of all that the respect of paying me for my time puts Vintro ahead of all other such platforms. After my first experience, I'm a fan.”