Hyderabad: In 2020, a country-wide lockdown was imposed in India like the rest of the world to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. The successive lockdowns had brought the economy to a standstill. But Rhea Nihal Singh from Telangana, who was married to Raunak for three months at the time, saw an opportunity in adversity.
The young couple observed how the lockdowns had crippled outdoor life with even fitness lovers not being able to go to the gyms for workouts. The couple soon founded a start-up, which has evolved into a Rs 37 crore business within a year. Rhea and Raunak now aim for the start-up to grow to a Rs 100 crore business by next year.
Rhea and Raunak studied in America. While Rhea studied for a degree in Economics and worked in a PR firm for four years, Raunak, whose father is in an electronic equipment business, did an MBA in Mechanical Engineering. In January 2020 the couple got married. However a few months after the marriage, the country entered a two-year-long pandemic.
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Rhea said that after realizing that smart exercise equipment was not available in India like in foreign countries, they decided to cater to such fitness needs. “We have researched the availability of equipment, manufacturing, its shipment here, and entered into agreements with companies from various countries,” Rhea said.
The couple founded 'Flexnet', a start-up dealing in fitness equipment in May 2021. “Instead of doing business by including all the products at once, we introduced one product at a time. We have already made many devices available from yoga mats to digital bicycles,” she said. Rhea said that they have been targeting the youth from the beginning.
“Who else but us know what this generation wants? When we come up with an idea, we take a step forward by observing what others are thinking. That's what makes us jump. That is the reason we could expand our business to Rs 37 crore in a year,'' said Rhea. With more and more people attracted to their products and the business growing by leaps and bounds, the couple has come up with a virtual training platform in the form of an app for customers to monitor their progress.
Rhea is confident that by the end of this financial year, their business will reach Rs 100 crores, as long as they work in a planned way and cater to the customers' needs.
