Let’s Do This, the online marketplace that makes it easy for people to find, book and prepare for endurance sports events such as running, triathlon, cycling and obstacle experiences around the world has just announced raising $60M in its concluded Series B funding round. The platform is quickly gaining recognition, boasting over $5M active users and helping them participate in top flagship events like Hackney Moves, The Great North Run and the Oxford Half.
With Craft Ventures and Headline teaming up to lead the raise, other existing backers EQT, NFX and Y Combinator also participated in this round as well as the newcomer Morpheus Ventures. These funds will join the startup’s existing angel investors from previous rounds including athlete & female icon Serena Williams, the world’s fastest man Usain Bolt and the famous British long-distance runner Paula Radcliffe. Other noteworthy angels include Gmail’s founder Paul Buchheit and Ian Hogarth, founder of Songkick.
Shifting people’s presence from the metaverse to the tracks & fields
Alexa Rose, the co-founder & COO of Let’s Do This explained the growing need for exercising to positively impact our health and well-being in today’s society, sighting the health issues we bring unto ourselves as a result of failing to live active lives. He states, “We are living in a world where we spend more time than ever with our heads buried in our phones. The growing influence of social media and the Metaverse is a depressing extension of this, and the effect on our health and wellbeing cannot be ignored.”
Founded in 2017 by Alex Rose, Neil Lock and Sam Browne, Let’s Do This has remained committed to its mission to inspire people everywhere to come together and experience moments that make them feel alive, resulting in even sharper focus. The platform helps race organisers to reach an engaged & active community of participants and endurance sports enthusiasts, offering a dedicated platform to provide detailed event information, news, and special offers.
This mission is the same that drove its investors to buy into the startup’s cause, as explained by Serena Williams, “I love sport and have seen first-hand the positive impact it can have on people’s lives. But, many people are often held back from discovering sport and the benefits it can bring them. Let’s Do This breaks down this barrier by allowing people to discover new ways of keeping fit, encouraging them to push themselves and providing a sense of community and camaraderie in the process, irrespective of fitness levels. This is a mission that I am proud of -bringing more people together through the power of sport.”
Having already experienced phenomenal growth over the past 12 months, despite the outdoors industry taking a major hit during the pandemic, the startup’s withstanding of the covid storm signals that people are desperately craving face-to-face events and undertaking them. This has satisfied their need to connect with others, feel like a part of a community and participate in something truly special.
This funding will enable the team to better enhance their web and app user experience. The company expects to also build out its social features of the Let’s Do This app introducing features like the ability of users to follow each other, discover new events based on their network, and share training progress which improves participant motivation.
Let’s Do This will also be expanding its team, performing several key hires, particularly in engineering. The bigger plan is to grow its team from 85 to 150 employees by year-end. The company will also further its US expansion with the addition of a new US headquarter in Boulder, Colorado.
