ClassPass, finally a unicorn, raises $285 million in new funding

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
ClassPass has today announced the close of a $285 million Series E funding round led by L Catterton and Apax Digital, with participation
from existing investor Temasek
confirmed.ClassPass launched in 2013 to give users an easier way to work out
The company partners with boutique fitness studios, letting users search through that inventory and book a class all from their smartphone
Since launch, ClassPass has implemented several different business models, trying to find the right unit economics.In 2017, the company
announced it would be introducing a credit system via virtual currency
Combined with its data around the popularity of classes, this allowed ClassPass to introduce variable pricing
Instead of users paying a monthly fee for three, five or 10 classes per month, users could use their virtual ClassPass currency to sign up
for classes and pay based on the demand around those classes.With the revenue model in place and working, ClassPass has focused on growth
over this past year
International growth has been a top priority, with the company now operating in 28 countries, partnering with more than 30,000 partners,
including boutique studios, gyms and wellness providers.The second area of growth has been on the business front
ClassPass introduced a corporate program that allows organizations to subsidize the employees using the product
CEO Fritz Lanman says this differs from other corporate programs that ask the employer to subsidize each individual employee, whether they
use the product or not.Thus far, ClassPass has more than 1,000 employers using the platform, including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Google
and Facebook.Finally, ClassPass is expanding its offering with the introduction of wellness providers
Since the inception of the company, co-founder Payal Kadakia has always envisioned ClassPass as a portal through which users can find and
enjoy new experiences
The plan has always been to go beyond fitness, and wellness is the next link in the chain for ClassPass.Kadakia said that most of the users
have already been booked
This investment is a significant milestone that will further our mission to help people stay active and spend their time
meaningfully.ClassPass has come a long way since 2013, iterating its business model several times
offered unlimited classes each month to users
Eventually, that was re-priced and a cap was introduced on the number of monthly classes users could take
said Lanman
Future plans for the company include more geographic expansion and growing the corporate business.