Growing a fitness start-up | UoB alumnus Edward Gent talks about life as a start-up founder

Edward Gent graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2018 with a degree in Chemical Engineering. Since graduating, Edward has set up his own start-up business - a fitness business called Health Haven.

Edward: Health Haven empowers personal trainers and fitness professionals to find reliable, vetted clients globally. 

It is the one stop shop for fitness pros to save time, money and energy on their day to day. For everyone else looking for a trainer - the Uber of fitness has arrived. 

I came up with the idea with a close friend from my dorm room in my first year of University, over a phone call. Initially, it started as an idea to help sports coaches administer programmes to university athletes digitally (believe it or not, even the highest levels of teams were still using old fashioned pen and paper). 

It then expanded drastically after launching to early adopters and iterating - and now democratises access to fitness services you crave, regardless of where you are, your budget, goals or training history.

I received a lot of support from the University of Birmingham. I received £1000 funding from the B-Enterprising Team, that was critical to early platform development and marketing, and also through countless 1-2-1s and incubator program invitations that allowed me to network, learn how to adopt the lean start-up strategy and leverage resources available to get to market as fast as possible.

What is the best aspect of running your own business?

The best aspect is feeling like I’ve developed something that is having a tangible effect on people’s lives around the world every day. I hear from trainers and trainers alike on their progress and success in finding a sustainable connection that works, and it adds more meaning to my life than any job could ever do.

On the other side of things, the challenges include the consistent pain in being a jack of all trades/wearer or many hats all the time - as much as it’s unparalleled in it’s huge depth of leaning potential, it is extremely time consuming and doesn’t get any easier until you can hire and abdicate responsibilities.

What one thing do you wish you knew when you started? 

I wish I’d understood how important your team is when starting your business, and
the importance of company’s shares after the business has been incorporated - even if it’s pre-product with no tangible assets or revenue. 

Handing out shares can come back to bite you if your team is not fully aligned, and will be a consideration for future investors.

My advice for anyone starting up? Enjoy the ride, and learn to take the hits! Even when you feel down and out, people are complaining and progress slows. Remember the next ‘up’ is around the corner and don’t back down. Persistence and mental grit is crucial.

To find out more about the business, please visit the Health Haven website.

With thanks to Edward Gent
Edited by Bob Lee