Jordanian Startup Fitely: Your Destination for Health and Fitness

How The Idea of Fitely Came to Be

Throughout the years, cofounders Siwar Al-Khalid and Abdelhaleem Shahin struggled with finding the equipment and accessories needed to build and maintain their healthy lifestyles. This is when Al-Khalid and Shahin decided to think of alternative ways to make their search easier.

“The first thing we thought of was how time-consuming and tiring it was going from one place to another without the knowledge of whether we’ll leave the store empty handed or with the products we wanted to buy,” Al-Khalid explained.

“We wished there was a place that had everything we were looking for. The more we talked about it, the more ideas came to mind. Eventually, Abdelhaleem and I decided that if there’s no store catered to this, why not create one ourselves?”

By the end of 2018, Al-Khalid and Shahin opened their online platform, Fitely, a one-stop shop for preserving and maintaining customers’ healthy lifestyle.

What is Fitely All About?

“Fitely is an online platform for everyone who is seeking a healthier lifestyle,” said Al-Khalid. “Whether you’re someone who goes to the gym or who’s looking to adopt a healthy diet, Fitely is an easy way to shop for supplements, gym equipment, accessories and much more.”

“We also wanted to branch out further. We are aware that whenever someone is on his or her fitness journey, professional advice is always welcome. So, we searched for some of the best health and fitness experts in Jordan, and asked them to share their fitness advice.”

This platform and app will also save you the hassle of looking for the best nutritionist or fitness experts and booking appointments with them. You can simply fill a form, ask a question, and wait for one of Fitely’s experts to get back to you with professional advice.

Lockdown Workouts

The pandemic has drastically affected business operations around the world, but has no doubt highlighted the importance of digitization. Businesses that operate online have found their unseen benefit throughout the pandemic, and Fitely happens to be amongst them.

“With people working from home and gyms closing, home workouts suddenly became popular. Also, many people who never hit the gym before decided to start working out to pass the time,” Al-Khalid revealed when reflecting on COVID-19.

Moving forward, Al-Khalid and Shahin are offering more content that is valuable to their customers through their blog- from a variety of home workouts such as yoga, pilates, and more for all fitness levels. They are also introducing ways to build a home gym at an affordable price, to encourage people to adapt a healthier lifestyle.

Challenges and Growth Opportunities

Like any startup, or business in general, challenges are present along the way. For Fitely, they first struggled finding suppliers that would give life to their platform. A year later, in 2019, The Tank by Umniah incubated the startup. Al-Khalid announced that aside from the mentorship, the legal training received was the most rewarding for them.

“The Tank helped us understand everything we needed to know about our legal presence in the Kingdom. This helped us greatly when scouring and securing investors for our platform.”

Al-Khalid urged startups to find suitable incubators that will help them grow, “…for without The Tank’s networking opportunities, training, and exposure, we couldn’t have gone far.”

Al-Khalid also shared advice for all aspiring entrepreneurs looking to create a startup in the future; “take your time to study the market and look for gaps and needs. Be creative and believe in your ideas. Although it might seem like a long journey, with days where you might feel like you want to quit because of the challenges, you have to keep going no matter what. There is no finish line. It’s all about a rewarding journey.”