AquaMobile
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| Company type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Education Sports Aquatic sports |
| Founded | Toronto, Canada (February 15, 2011) |
| Founder | Diana Goodwin |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | America, Canada, Australia |
| Products | Private At-Home Swim Lessons |
Number of employees | 1,500 |
| Website | aquamobile.com |
AquaMobile is a private swim school providing on-demand private swim lessons in clients' homes. Founded in 2011, it has been described as "the Uber of at-home swim lessons", and is the largest swim lesson provider in North America.[1][2] In 2019, it expanded operations into Australia to provide private, at-home lessons across the country.
History
[edit]AquaMobile was found in 2011 by Diana Goodwin, who developed the concept at a time when she was offering swimming lessons to swimmers at a local community pool while pursuing her undergraduate degree at the Rotman School of Management in 2003. She later began offering private swimming lessons independently at clients' homes.[3] Goodwin obtained a position as a management consultant with Bain & Company after earning her Bachelor of Commerce in 2007.[4] As her independent aquatics business continued to grow, she left Bain to refine and grow her business at the Kellogg School of Management in 2010.[5][6] The following year, Goodwin received her MBA and relaunched her swim lessons venture as AquaMobile.[4] Goodwin created Market Box, an all-in-one scheduling and automation for service businesses, as she could not find a software that could handle the demands of her expanding business and facilitate the complex scheduling needs of instructors operating in several states, and subsequently countries[7]
Current
[edit]Currently, AquaMobile employs more than 1,500 swim instructors worldwide, including several former Olympians.[8][9] Its revenue has doubled each year since 2012 and has taught more than 10,000 students across the US, Canada, and Australia.[10]
Reception
[edit]In 2013, less than two years after its founding, AquaMobile was recognized for its impact by the Empact Showcase, hosted and awarded by the United Nations in partnership with Entrepreneur Magazine.[11]
AquaMobile also won first-place in the 2015 Small Business Challenge, hosted by TELUS and The Globe and Mail.[12] The grand-prize is a $100,000 grant for small businesses to scale-up, in addition to a $10,000 donation to a charity of the founder's choice.[8][9]
In March 2016, Diana Goodwin appeared on Dragons' Den to pitch AquaMobile. Judges included Joe Mimran, Michele Romanow, and Jim Treliving; all three made offers, with Treliving matching Goodwin's initial request of $200,000 in exchange for a 10 percent equity stake.[13]
References
[edit]- ^ "Uber for Swim Instructors wins $100,000 from Telus". TechVibes. September 17, 2015.
- ^ "Keynote Speakers – Diana Goodwin, Founder and CEO of AquaMobile Swim School". Business Networking Today. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
- ^ Mustain, Andrea (September 3, 2015). "Start Me Up: Diana Goodwin '11". Kellogg.
- ^ a b "Bain Alumni Newsletter" (PDF). Bain & Company. December 1, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
- ^ "Alumni Profiles: Diana Goodwin". University of Toronto. Archived from the original on January 1, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
- ^ Roepe, Lisa Rabasca (December 21, 2016). "How This Millennial Turned a Side Gig Into a $1 Million Business". Forbes.
- ^ "About Us | Service Business Management Software". www.gomarketbox.com. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
- ^ a b Johne, Marjo (March 18, 2016). "Winner of 2015 contest doing swimmingly well". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ a b "AquaMobile makes a splash and wins $100,000 award from TELUS in the Small Business Challenge". TELUS. September 17, 2015. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
- ^ Johne, Marjo (June 25, 2015). "Her swim-lesson business has a digital edge". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ "Empact Showcase: AquaMobile Swim School". Entrepreneur. October 28, 2014.
- ^ Johne, Marjo (September 17, 2015). "Swim-lesson entrepreneur wins Small Business Challenge contest". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ Bitti, Mary Teresa (March 10, 2016). "Dragons' Den: Why Jim Treliving is leaving the door wide open for this swim school entrepreneur". Financial Post.