JAKARTA, February 01, 2018 — Indonesia-based boutique fitness and indoor cycling studio, Ride Jakarta, today announced the closing of a US$500,000 seed round of financing led by Intudo Ventures, with East Ventures and PT Prasetia Dwidharma following on. Ride Jakarta will use the proceeds from the financing to expand its physical fitness studio network, develop digital content for offsite users and hire new staff.

Founded in April 2015, Ride Jakarta is the first boutique studio dedicated to indoor cycling in Indonesia, focusing on high-quality user experience and instruction. With three studios in Jakarta currently, each studio offers about 140 sq/m of exercise space, fits 25-30 bikes and is designed to maximize user experience. Locations are backed by local lifestyle investors and real estate partners and utilize a revenue sharing model. This enables Ride Jakarta to maintain an asset-light model by minimizing overhead costs, allowing the studio to focus on operations, services ,and quality user experience. Classes are offered in packages at tiered prices to fit the frequency and scheduling needs of each fitness enthusiast.

Ride Jakarta is led by founder and CEO Gita Sjahrir, a Wharton MBA graduate who returned to Indonesia after recognizing the need for high-quality fitness and lifestyle opportunities in the country. She is joined by co-founder and COO Adhit Lesmana, a finance professional and top fitness enthusiast. As a professional trainer herself, Gita is also the Chief Ride Officer (CRO), and is responsible for personally recruiting and cultivating each Ride Jakarta trainer. Ride Jakarta trainers receive premium salaries and are incentivized through performance-based bonuses. As such, high performing trainers are able to receive salaries exceeding what they may earn in an office setting. With high-quality instruction, Ride Jakarta aims to foster customer loyalty by curating an experience that encourages and inspires fitness enthusiasts.

In the coming months, Ride Jakarta will release digital content via a self-branded app that will enable fitness enthusiasts to enjoy classes anytime, anywhere. The app will feature a freemium model, allowing users to select content that best fits their needs and level of dedication. The company will leverage this digital content to cultivate fitness as a lifestyle hobby with Jakarta’s burgeoning middle class and millennial population. In addition to indoor cycling, Ride Jakarta also plans to expand its offerings to include other fitness courses, including a boot camp course, which is currently being rolled out and combines cycling and weight exercise for a full body solution.

For 2018, Ride Jakarta plans to open a number of new studios, including locations at Plaza Indonesia, Colony Kemang, Pacific Place, and Senayan Golf Club. By 2020, the company aims to expand across core markets of Jakarta and Bali, and establish a studio presence in Surabaya, Medan and other localities. Ride Jakarta is also partnered with leading Indonesian coworking space EV Hive (also an Intudo Ventures portfolio company), where the company provides fitness classes for coworking residents. It has already reached profitability.

“In the past, lifestyle fitness has been overlooked as a business in Indonesia due to a variety of misconceptions. Our model demonstrates that by investing in consumer experience and high-quality instruction, fitness can be a scalable business and generate meaningful profit,” said Gita Sjahrir, Founder and CEO of Ride Jakarta. “We are truly grateful for the backing and support of Intudo Ventures and East Ventures, which will allow us to help more Indonesians incorporate and enjoy fitness activities as part of their daily lives.”

“Ride Jakarta’s unique business model applies lessons learned from the US boutique fitness segment to Indonesia’s local market conditions. Gita and her team have demonstrated the right combination of ingenuity and perseverance to create a sustainable and scalable business model that meets the healthy lifestyle needs of Indonesians,” remarked Patrick Yip, Founding Partner at Intudo Ventures.

“We are excited to back Ride Jakarta and highly recognize their market potential. We will leverage our local resources and expertise to help Gita and her team achieve success as Indonesia’s first venture-backed fitness brand,” said Willson Cuaca, Managing Partner at East Ventures.

This investment marks Ride Jakarta’s second round of financing, having previously raised US$250,000 in pre-seed funding.