FITABLE Maker Raised About 2,480,000,000 Won in 10 Crowdfunding Rounds Before Landing New Investment

Pesyeoneiteu, the operator of the home-training equipment brand FITABLE, has attracted investment from CNT Tech in August, following funding from Korea Technology Finance Corporation in June. The company says it has raised a cumulative total of about 2,480,000,000 won through 10 crowdfunding rounds in four countries. The CNT Tech investment came through the CNT Tech Sports Departure No. 1 Investment Partnership, and the amount was not disclosed.

Demand tested before the molds are made

The company decides whether to mass-produce a new product only after gauging demand through pre-orders or crowdfunding. By checking sales potential before committing heavily to mold production, it reduces its inventory burden. According to the company, the 10 rounds, held in four countries including South Korea, Japan and Taiwan, brought in more than 2,400,000,000 won. Asked what advice it would give start-ups and aspiring founders, the company recommended verifying demand through small-scale sales before making large investments. It said the approach of gauging customer response through funding before making molds helped it expand while limiting inventory risk.

Profitable three years running

Asked about its strategy for winning the investment, the company said it focused on proving its business case with pre-verified product demand and profitability. It also believes that patents secured through in-house product planning and design, together with operating profit in each of the three years since its founding, counted in its favor. Founded in February 2023, Pesyeoneiteu plans, designs and manufactures home exercise equipment itself and sells it under its own FITABLE brand. It runs a direct-to-consumer business through its own online store and online channels such as Coupang and Naver, and posted sales of about 6 billion won last year.

Exercise equipment meant to look at home in the living room

Its main products are Step Mate, a stair-climbing cardio machine, and Arc, a wide pull-up bar designed as a door-frame object. Because the products are used at home, they are designed with attention not only to exercise function but also to how they look in living spaces such as the living room. The company aims to make "fitness objects," combining exercise equipment with interior-design elements.

Step Mate is a home machine that works the body through an indoor stair-climbing motion. The Pro model offers 16 levels of exercise intensity and three incline settings, uses a low-noise design, has non-slip footplates and carries a maximum load of 150 kg. Arc is a pull-up bar that installs by pressing against the inside of a door frame, with no drilling into the wall and no screws. It fits door frames 72 to 96 cm wide without a separate support, and an automatic additional-compression structure presses harder against the frame the more weight hangs from it, increasing hold during exercise. The company says it combined its own locking technology, AUTOLOCK, with a 3T steel core to withstand loads of up to 700 kg.

From closed gyms to a start-up

The company said that in 2020, when Covid-19 closed gyms, it used dozens of home exercise machines itself, and in the process felt there was a shortage of services guiding people on choosing and using equipment. Do Ha-yeon, the chief product officer (CPO), also encountered cases on site in which badly designed products led to joint injuries. Drawing on those experiences, the two founded the company together in 2023.

Next stop: Asia

Overseas, the company is building local sales networks alongside crowdfunding. It sells through local subsidiaries in Japan and Taiwan and works with a distribution partner in Hong Kong. CNT Tech cited the supply-chain base in Japan and Taiwan and the company's in-house product planning and design capabilities as reasons for investing. Pesyeoneiteu intends to use its existing sales networks to expand in the Asian market. Its short-term goals are to widen its product range and extend sales beyond Japan and Taiwan to places such as Singapore. In the longer term, it wants to grow into a company that provides equipment and services together to support everyday exercise, and to bring proper exercise methods and culture to overseas users through products and services developed in South Korea.

Where the money will go

The company plans to put the funds first toward expanding production capacity and developing new products such as a wrist kettlebell and a table bike. It also intends to strengthen its sales base, which centers on its own online store, expand overseas sales channels and develop an app based on exercise records.

This article was written after the facts were checked through reporting.

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