Saumya Mittal Navigating Entrepreneurship with Boldness and Resilience

In November 2021, during a crucial funding pitch in Gurugram, Saumya Mittal, co-founder of a fitness SaaS platform called FitBudd, faced an audacious question from a venture capitalist: “How do you manage your responsibilities at home?” Mittal, a chemical engineer from IIT-Delhi with over eight years of experience at Cairn Oil and Gas, was taken aback by the query. She knew that this question wouldn’t have been posed to a male founder. With unwavering confidence, she redirected the question, clarifying that she was the CEO and responsible for growth, sales, and business. This episode was just one example of the challenges she has encountered as a woman entrepreneur.

Mittal’s journey into entrepreneurship began when she co-founded Pixylz, a mobile-first online photo printing platform, in August 2019. Her transition from a decade-long corporate career in the male-dominated energy sector to entrepreneurship was driven by her desire for new challenges and learning experiences. The idea for Pixylz was born out of her personal struggle to find innovative ways to print pictures of her toddler daughter. Despite the initial success of Pixylz, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the startup to shut down, leading Mittal to reflect on her entrepreneurial journey and lessons learned.

One of the key lessons was the importance of market fit and customer stickiness. Pixylz wasn’t tailored to address the needs of a broad consumer base, making it challenging to achieve scale. Additionally, there was limited customer retention, as the product was used infrequently. While Pixylz didn’t continue, Mittal was determined not to return to the corporate world.

The pandemic, however, led her to another entrepreneurial opportunity. She discovered the value of personal fitness coaching through an arrangement with a fitness trainer in the US. This experience inspired her to create FitBudd, a global SaaS platform for health and fitness coaches. FitBudd addresses the challenge faced by millions of people who use self-serve fitness apps or gym memberships but struggle due to a lack of motivation and accountability. Personal coaches can provide the necessary support and guidance for individuals to achieve their fitness goals.

FitBudd offers fitness coaches tools for client engagement and retention, including a robust CRM, payment processing, fitness and nutrition modules, tracking and analytics, interactive chat, and video calling capabilities. Within a year and a half of its inception, FitBudd secured $3.4 million in seed funding and onboarded over 1,000 coaches across 20 countries. The potential for FitBudd is substantial, as it taps into the growing market of solopreneur fitness coaches seeking to build their digital and hybrid businesses. Despite challenges such as maintaining product quality while scaling globally and expanding the revenue share from India, Mittal is optimistic about the platform’s future. Mittal believes that significant progress has been made for women entrepreneurs, emphasizing that half of the world’s consumers are women, making gender-neutral products and services essential. She encourages women to ask for help, as she believes that speaking up increases the chances of receiving assistance.

Saumya Mittal’s journey from a corporate career to entrepreneurship, marked by resilience and determination, exemplifies the evolving landscape for women in business. As she continues to lead FitBudd and empower fitness coaches and clients worldwide, Mittal’s story serves as an inspiration to aspiring women entrepreneurs, demonstrating that they can thrive and succeed in any industry.