Arketa raises $7.6M to help studios grow beyond classes

After tearing both of my ACLs playing softball and 5 knee surgeries, I turned to yoga to help heal. I quickly fell in love with yoga, completed my 200 hour RHT & group fitness cert, and immediately started teaching. I saw firsthand that high-quality fitness studios can have a transformative impact on the lives of both students and teachers, but also learned that studio owners and instructors were not being compensated accordingly. 

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That’s why I teamed up with Josh, an incredible engineer and world champion Ironman, to create Arketa. We exist to increase access to wellness by helping studios grow beyond classes.

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COVID forced the wellness industry to evolve. 

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There is no doubt that the fitness and wellness industry has been hit hard by COVID. 22% of U.S. health clubs and studios have closed since the pandemic and thousands of instructors have been laid off. Even before COVID, opening a gym could cost upwards of $500,000, and 50% of studios that open end up closing their doors.

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As these businesses look towards a better future, software that can provide stability and growth is crucial. Studios that quickly evolved to meet customer demand for hybrid wellness experiences are now forced to cobble together too many tools to keep up — from websites to payments to video libraries and community platforms on top of in-studio booking software.

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Combining in-studio classes with new monetization layers is the future.

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People love the convenience of working out at home: new parents can take a quick class while children nap, and remote workers can get in some quick cardio between work calls. This shift to digital is permanent and requires studios not only to re-think their offerings but to monetize beyond the studio. The best part is that studio revenue is no longer limited by physical space.

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Clients coming back to in-person experiences are also now looking for more than just classes — they’re looking for community. Retreats, 30-day programs, and courses can all be run through Arketa. Retail and e-commerce allow businesses to unlock yet another layer of revenue.

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Arketa is the first wellness business platform that helps you grow beyond classes.

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With Arketa, a single dashboard makes it easy for studios to sell anything from online content to in-person teacher training by copying and pasting “widgets” into existing websites. Everything is 100% customizable, from colors to fonts. In 30 minutes or less you can have an entire storefront set up — no technical skills required. Below are some of our most popular offerings beyond in-studio class management:

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• Group classes and appointment scheduling: Offer in-person and/or livestream services.
• Video libraries, courses, and education: Monetize video library, sequenced programs, or educational videos.
• Experiences and retreats: Offer multi-day experiences, teacher trainings, and retreats.
• Community interaction: Create community with video commenting, forums, and membership only groups.
• Branded retail: Sell mats, towels, and sweatshirts in-person or on your website.
• Flexible, contactless payments: Provide flexibility for your students with memberships, and bundles through Apple Pay, Google Pay, and ACH.

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Customers are growing their businesses by up to 5x with Arketa.

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We’re excited that we’re already supporting thousands of customers including Free People Movement, Turf Studio Vancouver, KK Sweat (NYC-based studio) and top fitness influencers like Lindsey Harrod. Our customers transact millions of dollars of revenue per month and have grown their business by up to 5x using Arketa to grow beyond classes.

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“Since being with Arketa for one month, this is the first time our classes have consistently been on waitlists, our memberships have gone up, and our students LOVE having an app right on their phone to access our schedule and virtual content. I am so glad we pulled the trigger and made the switch!” - Allie Labate, Studio Owner at vyb studio

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We’re looking forward to the future of wellness.

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Today we’re excited to announce that we’ve raised $7.5M from First Round Capital, Amity Ventures, Fitt Capital, Y Combinator, and other incredible investors. We’re grateful for our investors, advisors, and especially our early customers. You are the future of the industry, and we’re so humbled to work alongside you to build a future where anyone can scale a studio — no matter what kind of wellness business you run.

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If you’re interested in learning more about how studios are growing beyond classes, please reach out to us here. I can’t wait to share more about what we’re building.

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