A true Italian "startup" with a Silicon Valley story (born in a garage).
It invents the concept of Wellness and is one of the pioneers of the empowerment of fitness.
It grows in its early years thanks to visionary decisions.
It creates an incredible campus.
It enters the digital space, strikes a deal with Apple, produces software, develops apps, initiates open innovation processes, and hires a huge digital team.
Today, it makes a bold entry into the world of content.
In thirty-six years.
Here is Technogym, from a mechanical company to a media company: a masterpiece.
Sport teaches: you can't stop at a record.
Success is obsolete. If something works, it means it's obsolete.
These are the words with which Nerio Alessandri, founder of Technogym, opened the Digital Economy Forum, held in Milan a few days ago, on July 11, 2019.
And no one, except Nerio Alessandri, "the prophet of wellness," could have found better words to define the heart, the "engine," that has driven Technogym since 1983.
And it is precisely the change, every time an objective has been reached, the secret that has led the company based in Cesena to generate 634 million euros in revenue and employ 2,000 collaborators across Europe, the United States, Asia, the Middle East, Australia, and South America.
If you wake up in the morning, look in the mirror, and say, "Wow, what incredible success I've had," remember that from that moment, things can go worse. But if you have humility and challenge yourself every day, if you constantly seek change... you're on the right path. Sport teaches: you can't stop at a record.
"Be the change": Technogym's transformations
Technogym was born as a mechanical company.
In 2012, another shift: the direction to focus on was connectivity and cloud.
Nel 2012 un altro cambio: la direzione a cui puntare era connettività e cloud.
All the athletes' performances are stored in their accounts and recalled in subsequent workouts to monitor progress, raise the bar, and win the challenge with themselves.
In 2019, it officially becomes a media company, with a strong focus on content.
And this is exactly the turning point that is driving Technogym into the future: interactive services, live or on-demand workouts, accessible from home, gyms around the world, and hotels.
Technogym Live
During the London event for the global launch of the revolutionary Technogym Live, the "Netflix of Fitness," Nerio Alessandri himself presents the new platform installed on the screens of smart bikes, treadmills, and rowing machines, where users can choose group classes led by the best trainers from gyms around the world.
Just as we choose our new favorite series from the couch, we will be able to follow the class of the best personal trainer from New York, Paris, or Milan right from the exercise bike.
In two words: the cloud, filled with content.
The secret of Technogym
Sustainable growth, with a long-term perspective.
Technogym started by producing machines designed directly by the founder, inspired by the limited information that was reaching Italy in the 1980s about what was happening in the United States. Now, they produce management software for gyms and fitness centers, have an increasingly advanced app dedicated to personal training, and have found a way, also thanks to the partnership with Apple, to connect it to their equipment.
Banalmente, fai login sui macchinari tramite il tuo Apple watch, wireless, carichi il tuo ultimo allentamento – anche fatto outdoor – e sfidi il tuo “ghost”.
What seems like a simple mechanic is actually backed by studies on gamification, user behavior, and new USPs for fitness centers.
Becoming a "media company" is a key goal for many businesses, given the widespread forecasts on the evolution of advertising.
Technogym is light years ahead of its competitors, but we can also say this about many of the Italian SMEs: for years, they have had open innovation programs, in collaboration with H-Farm, for example, and in the wellness sector, they are among the "first movers."
Conclusions
How was it possible to go from a "garage" to generating 640 million euros in revenue?
Two – in our opinion – key elements that summarize the "story" of Nerio Alessandri:
- 36 years: The future must be built day by day, but with a long-term perspective. Often, startups or very young companies repeat phrases like "we want to be the next Facebook," forgetting that the app we all know today was created 15 years ago.
- Innovate: because yes, it's true, "success is obsolete. If something works, it means it's obsolete."
