Priyanka Chaturvedi: A Fitness Enthusiast Who Became A New-Age Entrepreneur
Priyanka Chaturvedi
Founder
Priyanka is emerging as a well versed professional and successful entrepreneur in the wellness segment, given her determination and hard work.
Priyanka engages in an exclusive interaction with CEO Insights magazine.
What inspired you to take a plunge into entrepreneurship and establish Wonder Yearz?
Wonder Yearz was born purely out of my love and inclination towards fitness and love for kids. I saw a lack of options as well as awareness in the areas of kid's fitness and that's when I decided about the launch. More than a commercial opportunity, it is now becoming the need of the hour, not just in India, but globally. Last two years have only reiterated the importance of health at any stage, be it kids or adults. It genuinely bothers me to see screen addiction, poor nutrition and to the top of it, low or no physical activity. There are many reasons that contribute to inactivity to name a few lack of awareness, no role model at home, academic pressure, limited options to inculcate fitness, no free play and additional pressure by parents for either tuition or a whole lot of other activity classes. Somehow they tend to prioritize all those classes over and above this. We need to realize; fitness is not an Either/ Or option. Active kids are healthier, happier and I would not hesitate to say that they also display better learn ability. Every child must get the WHO recommended quota of physical activity on a daily basis.
Wonder Yearz is my first entrepreneurial venture. All my experience of the last 15+ years has come in handy in starting this venture whether it is leveraging the network or working in a promoter driven setup for the longest time in my professional stint, commercial
acumen, business development skills and so on. Currently being the Founder & Partner at Wonder Yearz, I am quite glad to acknowledge that the venture has evolved a lot from what I started in the initial year. I am looking forward to the coming year where we have even bigger plans.
What were the major challenges faced by you while establishing Wonder Yearz and how has your journey been so far?
I would describe my challenges or experience of establishing this venture as baptism by fire.Incidentally, my entrepreneurial initiative and Covid-19, both decided to debut together in India. I returned from Singapore post my certification as a KiDS Multi Sport Coach & KiDS FMS Assessor (Fundamental Movement Skills) in Mar'20 and was all set to launch the outdoor kids' program in April. But lockdown threw away all my blueprint and planning overnight.
It took me a month to move to an online content online kids' fitness was honestly unheard amongst the majority back then. However, the lockdown coinciding with summer break was probably the reason why many parents were open to try it out. So, in hindsight, it was a blessing in disguise.
The launch of the online program was received very well. The first phase saw a lot of my friends and industry connections spread across the globe enrolling their kids. I had 25 kids enrolled in month one itself across three batches, and this number went up further with word of mouth and references. It makes me happy majority of these kids stayed on until outdoors opened up.
Second phase has been even more exciting, as I connected with one of the best minds in the professional sports coaching industry and we both decided to form a separate legal entity together under the same brand. We bring in complementary skill sets to run an organization. Fortunately, we both have common aspirations and mission and want to make a meaningful impact to each and every client who comes to us. We launched our Onsite program finally for kids together and we were lucky to get an institutional tie up with one of the most prestigious recreation and fitness clubs in the suburbs in the first month itself. This was followed by four more centers at premium condos. We never stopped the online classes and they still continue.
Before we could expand further, we went under another lockdown. We took all these events as opportunities and this pfase-3 saw
What were the major challenges faced by you while establishing Wonder Yearz and how has your journey been so far?
I would describe my challenges or experience of establishing this venture as baptism by fire.Incidentally, my entrepreneurial initiative and Covid-19, both decided to debut together in India. I returned from Singapore post my certification as a KiDS Multi Sport Coach & KiDS FMS Assessor (Fundamental Movement Skills) in Mar'20 and was all set to launch the outdoor kids' program in April. But lockdown threw away all my blueprint and planning overnight.
Creating a program where kids can get their required quota of recommended physical activity was the major motive behind the establishment of Wonder Yearz
It took me a month to move to an online content online kids' fitness was honestly unheard amongst the majority back then. However, the lockdown coinciding with summer break was probably the reason why many parents were open to try it out. So, in hindsight, it was a blessing in disguise.
The launch of the online program was received very well. The first phase saw a lot of my friends and industry connections spread across the globe enrolling their kids. I had 25 kids enrolled in month one itself across three batches, and this number went up further with word of mouth and references. It makes me happy majority of these kids stayed on until outdoors opened up.
Second phase has been even more exciting, as I connected with one of the best minds in the professional sports coaching industry and we both decided to form a separate legal entity together under the same brand. We bring in complementary skill sets to run an organization. Fortunately, we both have common aspirations and mission and want to make a meaningful impact to each and every client who comes to us. We launched our Onsite program finally for kids together and we were lucky to get an institutional tie up with one of the most prestigious recreation and fitness clubs in the suburbs in the first month itself. This was followed by four more centers at premium condos. We never stopped the online classes and they still continue.
Before we could expand further, we went under another lockdown. We took all these events as opportunities and this pfase-3 saw
us launching two new lines of operation. We realized that we need to help women prioritize health and that will eventually translate them to be role models to their kids. We launched Wonder Women as an online community working on their overall fitness and not just weight issues. And lastly, we also did groundwork for Wonder Athletes around the same time We are currently working with a Tennis Academy as their comprehensive Strength & Conditioning partner.
Brief us about the various fitness programs that your organization provides. Also, going forward, what programs are you planning to offer?
There are three programs currently Wonder Kids(4-6 years), Wonder Athletes(7-10 years & 10+ to teens), and Wonder Women. Wonder Kids is all about focusing on the long term athletic development of kids, teaching them multi sport fundamental movement skills, creating body awareness, and improving balance and coordination. Wonder Athletes is a structured sports specific Strength & Conditioning program keeping in mind the physical need of the sport they play and help them enhance performance and prevent injury. Lastly, Wonder Women is an online community to help women understand all aspects of fitness and not just focus on weighing scale. Each stage of a woman's cycle demands a different focus on aspects like cardio, strength, endurance, flexibility and body composition. We keep that in mind while programming their work out.
Going forward, we are developing a curriculum for schools and corporations. We are working out on a tech enabled solution too for efficiency and scale.
How are you influencing and inspiring others in & around your professional and personal stratum?
We are a six member team now, and additionally, we have collaboration in the areas we don't have inhouse expertise in be it nutrition or physiotherapy or sports massage. We always aim to hire people for their subject matter expertise and attitude. It does not bother me if they are better than me. We encourage intra preneurship in our firm and that culture helps. My partner and I both have the common aspiration to create employment opportunities (apart from many other plans) for the deserving in the years to come. We are sincere towards our work and see ourselves contributing significantly and meaningfully in our industry in years to come.
Priyanka Chaturvedi, Founder, Wonder Yearz
An MBA in Finance & Economics, Priyanka holds 17 years of work experience in various industries such as bank, insurance, mutual fund and executive search industry. She is a foodie who is also a fitness enthusiast. Priyanka endures an optimistic attitude and believes in `Living in present'. Her grounded nature, truthfulness, and adherent learning attitude inspires people the right way.
Brief us about the various fitness programs that your organization provides. Also, going forward, what programs are you planning to offer?
There are three programs currently Wonder Kids(4-6 years), Wonder Athletes(7-10 years & 10+ to teens), and Wonder Women. Wonder Kids is all about focusing on the long term athletic development of kids, teaching them multi sport fundamental movement skills, creating body awareness, and improving balance and coordination. Wonder Athletes is a structured sports specific Strength & Conditioning program keeping in mind the physical need of the sport they play and help them enhance performance and prevent injury. Lastly, Wonder Women is an online community to help women understand all aspects of fitness and not just focus on weighing scale. Each stage of a woman's cycle demands a different focus on aspects like cardio, strength, endurance, flexibility and body composition. We keep that in mind while programming their work out.
Going forward, we are developing a curriculum for schools and corporations. We are working out on a tech enabled solution too for efficiency and scale.
How are you influencing and inspiring others in & around your professional and personal stratum?
We are a six member team now, and additionally, we have collaboration in the areas we don't have inhouse expertise in be it nutrition or physiotherapy or sports massage. We always aim to hire people for their subject matter expertise and attitude. It does not bother me if they are better than me. We encourage intra preneurship in our firm and that culture helps. My partner and I both have the common aspiration to create employment opportunities (apart from many other plans) for the deserving in the years to come. We are sincere towards our work and see ourselves contributing significantly and meaningfully in our industry in years to come.
Priyanka Chaturvedi, Founder, Wonder Yearz
An MBA in Finance & Economics, Priyanka holds 17 years of work experience in various industries such as bank, insurance, mutual fund and executive search industry. She is a foodie who is also a fitness enthusiast. Priyanka endures an optimistic attitude and believes in `Living in present'. Her grounded nature, truthfulness, and adherent learning attitude inspires people the right way.