| IHRSA Report |Member News Value PropositionNetpulse
A pioneer in exercise entertainment platforms, this company, having weathered the dot-com storm, now hopes to win the ‘media trifecta’
N
etpulse, based in San Francisco, can legitimately be described as a
dot.com survivor. A classic “garage enter-
prise” endeavor, the company, which was originally known as Transcape, was founded in 1993 by Mike Cohen, Jeff Cahn, and Kevin Martin in Menlo Park, California. In the 18 years since then, the cast of characters has changed, and Netpulse has had to negotiate its way across a series of treacherous peaks and valleys, but, in all that time, its defining mission has stayed the same. Its goal: to utilize technology to
connect, engage, and entertain the active-lifestyle community. Netpulse recently made it clear that
its vision, aspirations, and promise remain undiminished by time or trial. Over the last two years, the company has acquired $5.1 million in new funding. In March, it began installing its latest model platform in the facilities of Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLUB), beginning with the
What’s New at Netpulse?
Since its latest platform was introduced, Netpulse-powered screens have been available as aftermarket add-on mounts to existing equipment. At IHRSA’s 30th Anniversary International Convention and Trade Show in San Francisco, however, the company unveiled its next iteration in partnership with six major fitness equipment manufacturers—Life Fitness, Technogym, Matrix Fitness, Star Trac, Octane Fitness, and Woodway. Now, the Netpulse platform will be embedded within those companies’ existing touch-screen control panels, providing integrated Netpulse functionality and connectivity under their respective brands. —|
chain’s flagship Wall Street location. Also in March, it announced a significant partnership with six of the industry’s major equipment manufacturers during IHRSA’s 30th Anniversary International Convention and Trade Show in San Francisco (see “What’s New at Netpulse” below). The six are now offering cardiovascular equipment with Netpulse’s media platform built in. Among other things, its current plat-
form offers members live high-definition television, on-demand videos and music, iPod connectivity, personalized workout data, and connection to social media. It affords advertisers an effective way to reach an attractive demographic, and provides asset-management functions for club owners, permitting them, for example, to monitor equipment usage. Netpulse has also beefed up its board
of directors with the addition of Mark Mastrov, the founder and former head of 24 Hour Fitness International, Inc., now a principal in New Evolution Ventures (NeV), a private-equity firm with extensive holdings in the fitness industry.
Innovative history In 1994, a year after it was founded, the c ompany be g an selling touch-screen computers mounted on cardio units that were coupled with compact discs con- taining workout con- tent (e.g. , virtual landscapes synchro- ni z e d wi th the machines, which matched the user’s experience to their level of exertion). The
102 Club Business Internat ional | SEPTEMBER 2011 | www.
ihrsa.org
CEO Bryan Arp »
“club opera- tors now have the option of selecting add- on screens for their existing equipment or purchasing new equipment from their favorite providers with the netpulse platform embedded.”
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