Ladder Lands $12M for Daily Workout App
Ladder’s strength training-focused approach to digital wellness has caught thousands of eyes this year, including 50,000 paid members
In accordance with its name, Ladder is moving on up in the digital fitness space. Today, the Austin-based company announced that it closed a $12 Million Series A round led by LivWell Ventures and Tapestry VC. The funding follows a $6.5 million seed round Ladder raised in 2021.
The company’s fitness app, which provides daily strength training workouts, launched in July 2020 and has seen exponential growth this past calendar year, including an expected 500% increase in its membership, with Ladder reaching 50,000 paying customers. Ladder‘s emphasis on strength training has made it a hot commodity especially amongst women, earning it the Women’s Health 2023 Best Strength Training Program award, among others.
Organization, gamification and a well-trained staff keep Ladder users motivated to continue working out and building strength. The “Ladder Journal” makes it easy to catalog progress, visualize it and then look to build on it. The app also features opportunities to earn badges or establish streaks, both of which stoke a user’s competitive fire.
All the while, Ladder’s staff provides personalized assistance to make sure users get a workout to their liking each time they set up shop either at home or at the gym. The app features different experts specializing in different forms of strength-training exercises including bodybuilding, kettlebell training, HIIT workouts and Pilates to bring forth a blend of variety and proficiency.
“Ladder members know exactly what workout to do each day based on their goals and preferred training styles,” said Ladder CEO Greg Stewart. “The experience is built on the core tenets of personal training…high-quality workout programming designed by an expert so you don’t have to think, coaching that provides guidance and answers to your questions, and accountability that’s delivered through shared experiences with other members from around the world doing the same workouts as you.”
With the help of artificial intelligence (AI), Ladder has taken its expansion in stride. Proprietary software tools along with the AI allowed the company to take on and manage its growth in new users while keeping its in-house staff at a relatively similar size.
“While many companies prematurely added headcount and detached themselves from business fundamentals, Ladder has stayed focused on the needs of its members and has created a durable foundation for long-term success,” said Doss Cunningham of LivWell Ventures, who also serves as chairman & CEO of Nutrabolt, maker of C4 Energy. “That focus is paying off in both explosive member growth and the best retention we’ve seen in any mobile fitness product.
Tapestry VC co-founder Patrick Murphy expressed a belief that Ladder would soon be a “household name in consumer fitness.”