With 13% of the global population classified as obese, existing health and fitness industry solutions often focus on data collection within closed ecosystems, lacking a comprehensive, holistic approach that supports overall health and fitness goals in an engaging and clear way. This is where European fitness tech startup Rolla makes a difference.
Largest seed round ever in CEE
In a recent development, Rolla has picked up €6.3 million in seed funding. This investment is the largest ever in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) for a fitness and health/ wellbeing startup. Also, it is a record-breaker for the tech ecosystem in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The funding round was led by Mate Rimac, Croatian entrepreneur and CEO of Rimac Group, and Hellen’s Rock, the family office of Sacha Dragic. This is a major milestone in Rolla’s journey to build a comprehensive gamified fitness platform that makes it easier for more people to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Central to this expansion is the Rolla One app, which offers customised and adaptive features tailored to individual fitness levels, preferences, and goals.
With the newly raised funds, Rolla plans to rapidly expand its customer base while growing its product and commercial teams, establishing another regional development hub in Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with a European commercial hub to spearhead its expansion into Western Europe.
The company rolled out beta versions of its Rolla One and Rolla World apps for early adopters earlier this year. The full versions, offering a complete gamified fitness experience, will be ready for launch in Q1 of 2024.
“The beauty of our system is in its balance and interplay – the Levels and Effort interact to create a continuous feedback loop, sustaining your engagement and rewarding you for both your everyday steps and long-term achievements. We’re introducing a gamified experience that transcends the norm of data-driven health apps and provides a clear, navigable path towards health and fitness improvement,” said Igor Krezic, founder of Rolla.
Eliminates barriers to healthy lifestyle
Headquartered in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2019, Rolla was founded by Igor Krezic, who once faced the challenges of staying healthy and not being able to find effective solutions. Having grown up during the 1990s war in the Balkans, since a kid he had to build the resilience required to overcome obstacles. This background motivated him to find the ultimate solution that empowers individuals to take control of their health and live their best lives.
Rolla’s product stands apart from existing health and fitness platforms by prioritising ease of access, creating a low barrier to start, integrating data from connected services, and promoting user inclusivity. This all culminates with the gamified user journey, habits, and goals, providing a comprehensive solution for health and fitness from beginner through intermediate to advanced levels.
Rolla’s gamification system combines two intertwined layers of progression: Levels (long-term) and Effort (daily), encouraging users by giving them short term rewards, while also helping them make long term progress.
Adding to its, Rolla’s virtual world offers high-quality graphics and a gamified experience. As a streaming solution, it also eliminates the need for dedicated hardware, further reducing the barriers to entry.
