Women In Wellness: Megan Smyth of FitReserve On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

Stay lean and save your cash for a rainy day. There are times when growth at all costs may be the best path forward, particularly when the venture markets are strong. However, always keep an eye on long-term sustainability and be prepared for the unexpected. You never know when you might be faced with something unpredictable like a global pandemic, an investor pulling out at the 11th hour, or a change in market conditions…and having a lean cost structure may turn out to be your most valuable lifeline.

As a part of my series about women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Megan Smyth.

Megan Smyth is the founder of FitReserve, a multi-studio fitness membership that provides access to thousands of in-person, live-stream and on-demand classes from top studios and instructors. A fitness-class enthusiast and marathon runner, she started the company to combine her passion for entrepreneurship and fitness, and inspire others to live healthier, more active lives. Previously, Megan spent over a decade in the corporate world, ranging from public relations and investor relations to equity research and investment banking. She earned an MBA in finance from The Wharton School and a BS in French from Georgetown University.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

I am the founder of FitReserve, a multi-studio fitness membership that allows you to mix and match in-person, live-stream, and on-demand workouts from premier studios, gyms, and instructors. Now available in 15 markets across the country and offering over 100,000 classes, FitReserve provides centralized access to thousands of monthly classes from local studios at up to 50 percent off retail prices, plus hundreds of pre-recorded workouts, with one membership. For studios and gyms, FitReserve serves as an effective marketing platform to attract new customers and fill empty spots to earn incremental revenue and grow their businesses.

In March 2022, national employee-benefits provider Trustmark acquired FitReserve, enabling us to accelerate the growth of our studio and gym network to complement the fitness and wellness solutions offered by HealthFitness, a Trustmark subsidiary that serves a network of over five million employees.

A fitness-class enthusiast and marathon runner, I started FitReserve to combine my passion for entrepreneurship and fitness to inspire others to live healthier, more active lives. Previously in my career, I spent over a decade in the corporate world, ranging from public relations and investor relations to equity research and investment banking. I earned an MBA in finance from The Wharton School and a BS in French from Georgetown University.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

Operating a fitness business whose entire partner network was forced to shut down overnight due to the COVID-19 pandemic — losing 100% of our revenue — was both an interesting and challenging experience that we had not anticipated!

Almost immediately, our studio partners began offering live stream classes and needed a way to market them; our members wanted to continue their workout routines from home while staying engaged with their instructors and other class participants. To meet these new demands, we pivoted quickly and doubled down on product development to launch “FitReserve Anywhere,” a monthly subscription that allows members to choose from thousands of live fitness classes streamed daily from studios or instructors’ homes.

While we missed being able to offer in-person classes, we were excited to provide our members the convenience of experiencing the best instructors and studios from across the country, driving revenue to our fitness partners at such a critical time and helping maintain a sense of community during isolation.

Even with the launch of this new product, we kept our costs low which allowed us to weather many months of shutdowns. During this time, we learned the importance of staying lean, being nimble, and adapting to a changing environment. These strategic actions enabled us to not only stay in business during this uncertain time, but also paved the way for our exciting 2022 acquisition by Trustmark.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about a mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

In 2012, my co-founders and I launched the first national fitness-class aggregator and consumer-booking platform that enabled customers to search for classes based on workout type, location, date, and time, and book them à-la-carte. While it was a great tool to search for classes and discover new studios, fewer people booked through the site. Although we believed we had a unique product that filled a void in a rapidly growing market, we soon learned that our value proposition was not strong enough to attract a high volume of paying customers. Although we did extensive pre-launch product testing, our mistake was conducting too little research on customers’ willingness to pay for the convenience of aggregated scheduling and booking without additional class discounts.

As such, we pivoted to a monthly subscription model with the launch of FitReserve. This shift removed the friction for consumers having to pay à-la-carte each time they wanted to reserve a class. FitReserve also allows for access to classes at more accessible price points, with up to 50% off drop-in prices, driving more bookings and incremental revenue to studios.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

Our mission is to simplify your active life by delivering the best experiences in one place to make fitness more convenient, motivating, and affordable. With FitReserve, you can access thousands of classes from various types of workouts in one place, at up to 50% off retail prices. We are true believers that there is a workout for everyone. By conveniently offering so many options, we help our members discover activities they love, while beating workout boredom by being able to mix and match different types of classes.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

1. Get up and get moving. I love starting my days with a morning walk before meetings get in the way. Not only does it help get in your daily steps, but it starts your day off on the right foot with a walking meditation or simply enjoying some fresh air. Then, when I get back to my desk, I’m in a better headspace to sit down in front of my emails.
2. Mix it up! We like to say variety is the new routine. Boredom is one of the quickest ways to lose interest in your fitness schedule. I love trying new classes and checking out new studios to keep my workouts new and interesting and help me stay motivated.
3. Buddy up. Breaking a sweat is more fun with friends; invite a buddy or colleague to hold you accountable for showing up and turn it into a fun social activity.
4. Challenge yourself. Acquiring a new skill or taking on a new challenge are great ways to regain your motivation. If you’ve always been a runner, try taking up yoga and master a chaturanga as a new goal. Or, if you’ve always been a yogi, make a 5k your next conquest.
5. Master your calendar. Schedule your workouts at least one week in advance. Make sure those dates and times are in your calendar. That way, nothing will get in your way, including excuses. If you are short on time, look for express classes that give you a burn in 30 minutes or less.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

Similar to how physical activity — either through physical education classes or recess — is recommended in many elementary schools, I believe there is a comparable opportunity for “midday movement” sessions in the workplace. Having dedicated time for activity would foster more productive employees, improved mental health, and less guilt about taking time out during the day to get up and move. It can be as simple as time for a quick walk outside, or more structured activities that could be done virtually or in-person with your colleagues to inspire team building.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

1. Celebrate the wins. Building a startup is truly a roller coaster ride. The highs can be really high, but the lows can also be very low. Savor the victories — big and small — and enjoy the ride!
2. Stay focused, but be flexible. As an entrepreneur, you wear many hats and it’s tempting to take on every opportunity that comes your way. That said, it is important to stay focused, learn how and when to say no, and only pursue the partnerships or build the new product features that are going to help achieve your goal. At the same time, you must always be prepared to adapt, especially when there is a change in circumstances beyond your control.
3. Realize that rejection isn’t always personal. When you start a company, it can become your everything, like a child to a parent. As such, you want to do everything to protect it and if anyone rejects it, you take it personally. But it’s not all personal; it’s business and it is important to find a way to separate the two, especially when they’re so closely intertwined.
4. Remember the big picture. When creating a new business, it is easy to get lost in the minutiae of the day-to-day. Don’t forget to step back and look at the big picture — both as a reminder of where you’re going and of how far you’ve come. And always remember that it is a marathon, not a sprint.
5. Stay lean and save your cash for a rainy day. There are times when growth at all costs may be the best path forward, particularly when the venture markets are strong. However, always keep an eye on long-term sustainability and be prepared for the unexpected. You never know when you might be faced with something unpredictable like a global pandemic, an investor pulling out at the 11th hour, or a change in market conditions…and having a lean cost structure may turn out to be your most valuable lifeline.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health, and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Mental health is important to me since managing stress has always been a struggle. Even if you’re in good physical health, that is just one part of the equation. Finding balance, reducing burnout, and focusing on your emotional well-being are all critical to your overall health and wellness. I find that physical activities, such as yoga, running, or just going for a walk, really help with stress management and improving my mental well-being.

What is the best way for our readers to further follow your work online?

Follow me on Linkedin, and follow FitReserve on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Thank you for these fantastic insights! We wish you continued success and good health.