Entrepreneur Interview: Jack Peagam of Actve

 

We had the pleasure of getting to know, Jack Peagam, Co-Founder of Actve, an online fitness platform where trainers, social media influencers and athletes share their real-time workouts and guided programs. Actve empowers creators to build a subscription business and offer their exclusive content, providing all the tools needed to enhance the interactivity and experience for the consumer.

We chat to Jack about how the business started, what makes it unique in the market, as well as his hopes for the future of his online fitness business. Jack also shares some pointers for entrepreneurs thinking about starting their own business.

 

Actve

 

  1. What was your background prior to setting up Actve?

I worked in the film industry for a good number of years as a Camera Operator, which entailed travelling the world working on all different types of projects from commercials, to music videos, to documentaries. Creating content and making films was a passion of mine since I was very young.

 

  1. How did the idea of Actve come about?

The idea of Actve was born in the very first lockdown in 2020. I’ve always been an avid fitness enthusiast and followed the industry very closely. When gyms closed and the digital fitness industry had a huge surge, fitness professionals very quickly had to pivot to online training. With no access to a gym, I started looking at how I could keep my fitness routine in motion at home, and consequently this led me to look at the landscape in a lot more depth and it became very apparent that there wasn’t a direct solution for fitness creators to monetise their content (apart from YouTube which you’d need millions of views to even get by). Aside from Zoom workouts with a PayPal.me link, there was no streamlined way for these fitness creators to earn a living. The industry is calling out for a solution, so I created Actve which will improve the current landscape, allowing fitness creators to build a subscription business by providing exclusive content to their followers.

 

  1. What was most challenging about starting your own business?

I was adamant that the platform that we built had to be built from scratch, with no off-the-shelf solutions – that way we own all of the IP. This means to build a platform of the scale at which I wanted to achieve, it required a lot of development work and a lot of up front capital. Firstly, I do not come from a tech background (although I’m a pretty ‘techy’ person), coding is a whole other world to me. Secondly, as a first-time founder, trying to raise funds for essentially just an idea was definitely the most challenging phase. I spent months reaching out to individuals over LinkedIn for advice and guidance to put me on the best track to begin a fundraise, which fortunately resulted in myself forming a team of a Co-Founder and two very credible Non-Executive Directors with a tech background. It wasn’t an easy ride from there however, as I spent the next few months on endless Zoom calls (we were still in lockdown at this point) with investors, convincing them that we had what it takes to build the next big thing. With a bit of perseverance, we managed to secure enough upfront capital (£200K+) to action the build of the platform.

 

  1. What is unique about your business in the market?

We’re providing a platform for the new wave of fitness creators that are currently active on various social channels (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, etc), who are looking to monetise their content and build a subscription business for their ‘exclusive’ content. We’re a community-driven online fitness platform – not only are we providing content, we’re allowing personable relationships to be built in a whole new experience that you can’t get anywhere else.

Existing online fitness platforms in the market simply provide their own in-house content with their in-house trainers. Creators are the heart of our business – we provide a space for them to create exclusive fitness content for their audience to consume and interact with, and monetise from their own content that they create. In-house trainers on existing platforms are either subject to a salary or monthly retainer, whereas if you become an Actve creator, there is no limit to the amount you earn from your own content. Popular creators on Actve will be earning over 6 figures a month, and we provide the tech to enhance the experience that they can offer their audience.

 

  1. What 2 personality traits do you believe make a good business owner and leader?

Creativity and Optimism. I might be biased because I’m a creative at heart, but this is how I’m able to execute my vision and how I can easily communicate to my team members what I want and need to be done. Not only this, but it’s innovation that will propel your business forward. Building a profitable company isn’t the hard part, it’s keeping it profitable over the course of decades that’s difficult. Not to undermine hard work as that is integral, but too many entrepreneurs just think if they put the hours in they’ll get the results. That’s just not true, there is a significant amount of creativity involved in the execution if you really want to be the leaders in the market. In regard to being optimistic, as the legendary tech evangelist Guy Kawasaki said “To be an entrepreneur, you have to be a delusional optimist” and I couldn’t agree with this statement more. As business owners, we’re not looking to make a quick buck, we’re looking to change the world and to some people you genuinely might sound off your head. In the face of challenges, the delusional optimist has an uncanny ability to raise morale, motivation and performance, thereby increasing chances of success.

 

  1. If you had the chance to start Actve over again, would you do anything differently?

I’ve learnt so much the last two years; I have made very naïve mistakes and decisions, but I don’t regret any of that as it’s all part of the journey. You could say that we should have built a more ‘lean’ MVP and launched to market earlier, but to be honest I’m so confident and proud with the product that we’re building, that my perfectionism wouldn’t want it any other way. We’re pre-launch (launching May 2022), so we’re still at the beginning of our journey and ready to embrace any challenge that comes our way.

 

  1. What advice would you give to a young entrepreneur starting up their own business?

Starting a business takes blood, sweat and (lots of) tears, and requires a lot of your time. You might have to skip the odd weekend at your local bar or potentially even turn down a Netflix and chill night with your girlfriend. Be willing to make sacrifices. That being said however, which is a trap I’ve fallen into before, is learn when to take a break and switch off. I’ve gone days without sleep and just continued working and I can tell you first hand, you will be less productive, the quality of your decisions will decline, and you will have more problems, more stress, and less sleep. Sleep is integral. Secondly, if you’re currently flying solo, you’re never going to feel more alone, so find yourself a co-founder who you trust and who has skills that you don’t have. Starting a business is hard, really hard. While struggling to keep your head above water isn’t terribly fun, doing it alone is much worse.

 

  1. Where do you see your online fitness business going in the future?

As mentioned earlier, we’re pre-launch, so our priority right now is to finalise the build of our product and go to market. Actve is very scalable and there are a lot of avenues we can tap into in the future, so it’s focusing on launch and then to the moon!

 

  1. Any final words for our Bluebox community?

I hope that gives you a good insight into Actve and myself as the Founder. We are welcoming any conversations in regard to investment or partnerships or feel free to get in touch if you simply want to chat and bounce ideas around!

 

Actve

 

Rapid Fire:

  1. If you could have one superpower what would it be? Teleportation
  2. Name 1 person, past or present you would like to have dinner with. Elon Musk
  3. Three things to take onto a desert island? A laptop, WiFi dongle and a Hammock
  4. Sunrises or sunsets? Sunrise

 

Actve

 

Contact: Jack Peagam, Co-Founder
Email: jack@actve.com

Number: +447841392122

 

 

If you’re thinking about raising finance for your business and need some assistance, we would be delighted to have an informal and confidential chat to discuss your options in more detail. Book a call via this link or email us at info@blueboxvelocity.com.