Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a luxury not many can afford. To stay fit in times where stress does nothing but consume is struggling majority of people, daily. Fitness enthusiasts had nowhere to turn for exercise guidance and accurate advice on what’s healthy and what’s not. In a country such as India, where the population reaches almost a billion, physical health and mental well-being are often overlooked, but not for long.

Ankit Nagori spent his entire lifetime perfecting the fitness approach India excessively needed with his company, CureFit. With CureFit, Ankit offered billions of users a chance for a healthier lifestyle and overall well-being.

CureFit is a health and fitness company offering digital and offline experiences across fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being. The platform aims to assist individuals to get to their desired weight with trainer-led workouts, healthy food, yoga, meditation, and more. If you want to know the story of how Ankita brought the first fitness app to India, read below.

Jumping Jacks

Ankit Nagori was born in Bokaro, India, in 1986. His family was very loving towards Ankit, and he developed rather affectionate towards people. Everyone had a soft spot for Ankit and he drew smiles wherever he went. His father ran a steel trading business and would constantly be at work, providing for the family. Ankit would look upon his father and his effort to keep the family on track and wanted to contribute as much as he could to help out. This made him very caring and charismatic in people’s eyes.

It was during his childhood when Ankit did a lot of character building and decided to become unstoppable. He would dedicate his life to being successful and a good provider, like his father.

Because of his father’s business, Ankit had to travel most of his early days. When he was five, he moved to New Delhi where he enrolled at the Delhi Public School. Ankit excelled at school and scored many praises from teachers who saw that there was potential brewing within Ankit.

Once the digital era struck, Ankit like the rest of the world, fell into its entrancing new possibilities. Ankit developed an increasing fascination with computers and technology, and being a clever young man, he knew that the future lies with it.

In 2003, Ankit Nagori decided that he will take on the path towards accomplishing his dreams when he enrolled at the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati. Apart from technology, Ankit would develop adoration for sports, and become the captain of the cricket team. He left college with a Bachelor’s degree in engineering, and the wide speedways were opened for him.

Rising Opportunities

There was no time to lose, and time was money in Ankit’s mind. Once Ankit graduated, he grabbed on as many projects as he could. In late 2007, Ankit decided that he would follow in his father’s footsteps and enter the field of entrepreneurship.

So, later that year, Ankit founded Youthpad, a rising social media startup. The platform garnered some attention, especially from schools and colleges in the Delhi area. However, three years after its launch, Ankit left to start new ventures for himself.

In 2010, the 24-year-old Ankit started a new job at Flipkart as a manager, but he would move on an upward scale from then on. Flipkart was not a very well-known book store then, so it was Ankit’s time to lay low for a bit.

Even though this was a period of stress, anxiety, and disappointment over his last not-so-successful startup Youthpad, he never quit. And Ankit never did quit as he would spend six years building his way to the top of the company. By the year 2015, Ankit had made himself become the most powerful man in Flipkart after the Bansals brothers. This is where Ankit would meet Mukesh Bansal, who later became his co-partner in launching CureFit.

Cure for India

Ankit’s journey to the top labeled him as an overachiever, continuously proving that trait. It was during his most successful years at Flipkart when he got married to his high school sweetheart, Kanika.

After years of dwelling in companies and an unyielding thirst for new business ventures, Ankit brainstormed a new idea. An idea that could reach and interest every Indian citizen. After days of deliberations about the topic, he and Mukesh decided to part ways with Flipkart and move on to new opportunities. Ankit always adored fitness and practiced sports in school, so he decided to establish a fitness well-being app that will make workouts fun for everyone.

Before deciding to launch CureFit, Ankit traveled to Hong Kong while Mukesh was in the States. The two young men set to explore the corners of the world to gather the information necessary for the perfect advice-yielding fitness app. Finally, after months of discussions, Mukesh and Ankit launched CureFit in 2016 in Bangalore, Karnataka. The platform aims to better physical and mental well-being through guided exercises, healthy nutrition, yoga, and meditation. The company encapsulates all things fitness-related, something that India lacked until then.

With CureFit, healthy lifestyle enthusiasts can cure mental discomforts and get fit at the same time. CureFit has launched thanks to the money both Mukesh and Ankit made from Flipkart, and they invested $5 million out of their pocket to start it up.

Cured and Fit

CureFit was a fairly innovative idea that expanded across India. At first, not many were interested in a fitness-advising app and turned to competitors like Zenovate and MyFitnessPal. These were already established fitness apps on the market, but they lacked what CureFit had to offer. Ankit and Mukesh’s company encapsulated the spirit of India by introducing guided yoga exercises and meditation sessions that were appealing to the public and, slowly but surely, CureFit garnered attention.

Its first stroke of luck was in July 2016 when CureFit raised $15 million from investors like Accel Partners, Kalaari Capital, and IDG Ventures. This marked a pivotal moment for Ankit as his fitness platform became one of the first and fastest startups in India to raise that much money in a funding round.

A little later in 2017, CureFit acquired fitness centers from the brand Cult for people who want offline communication with CureFit. This cost the company $3 million. The idea was to purchase at least 20, for people who want to go to a certain place to work up a sweat.

Huge Achievements

In 2017, CureFit exploded on the Indian market and this was followed by numerous funding rounds throughout the year. In May 2017, they raised $3 million from RNT Capital. A few months later, in December, the company raised another $25 million from four investors. 2018 was also a fruitful year, especially July, when CureFit raised $120 million from Accel, and Kalaari Capital. The year of 2019 was also not that different, as Mukesh and Ankit were on a ride where the only way was up. In June of 2019, they raised another $120 million from previous investors.

There was a certain trust that developed in users for CureFit, and the cofounders worked non-stop to produce new and entertaining content for health nuts.

Lastly, in June 2021, CureFit raised $75 million from Tata Digital, which made the company blast worldwide. After that, CureFit acquired TREAD for an undisclosed amount.

Through CureFit, Ankit and Mukesh wanted to give something back to society, stressing mental well-being, by investing in the Seraniti Mental Health startup. They also signed a strategic partnership with another mental health company, called Opinio.

After the pandemic, Ankit changed positions and exchanged his stakes in CureFit for a bigger cut of the ownership of the cloud kitchen business, Eat.Fit.

CureFit, Today

CureFit today has more than 100+ employees, working relentlessly to produce the best physical and psychological exercises for everyone. Its headquarters are still in Bangalore, Karnataka.

Until now, CureFit had raised over $479,6 M in 10 funding rounds and has garnered more than 33 investors. CureFit has many plans for the future. The app will provide newer and more exciting exercises for physical and mental fitness, subscriptions to fitness centers, yoga, and meditation training. CureFit also plans on building new, large kitchens that will offer healthy food, for which users can subscribe on the app. The company also plans on implementing healthy check-up services as part of the CureFit program.

Ankit’s story of never-ending stair-climbing finally came to a close when he realized how many people he has helped with his healthy ideas. From venturing on from project to project, he maintained his individuality and strive for a better cause. Even though he left CureFit, he is still managing different solutions for healthier lifestyles. His company can attest to the time that the app was something India hadn’t experienced before but needed it so much. The proof is that after its launch, Indians ate it up.

With CureFit only blooming on the market, Ankit can finally relax as he made the greater good. It paved the way for getting cured through fitness.

Thanks to CureFit, every Indian citizen can have a new approach to a healthier and happier lifestyle!