Hey Profs! By now, many of you have probably heard of the fitness focused app that is allowing users everywhere to find a fitness partner interested in working out with them in their area! The app is set up so that users can select an activity and the difficulty level, along with how many workout partners they are looking for. It’s essentially a dating app, but instead of finding your soulmate, you find your swolemate! Well, who is the genius behind this app? He is our very own recent Rowan graduate, and campus celebrity of the week – Nick Dennis!
Nick started at Rowan in 2011 and recently graduated in December of 2015 with a BS in Mathematics, Concentration in Statistics and a Minor in Business Administration. He loved working on his math degree because it provided him with a strong background in logical and critical thinking, and through hard work and perseverance he was able to put in the hours to break even the most difficult of topics down to its simplest components.
Now you may be wondering how Nick came to the idea of launching an app when he was a math major. Well, like he learned to break down problems into simple solutions, his idea for fitDEGREE was the same thing; a solution to a problem. As a former lifeguard at the Rowan Rec Center, in the fall of 2014 Nick attended an All Staff training where the pro staff asked the workers; “How can we get more foot traffic through our facilities?” Nick quickly thought about his own experiences in working out, and realized that it has always been easier to work out with a friend. He learned that there was currently no median that would allow students on campus to find a workout partner, and decided to fix that problem. He approached the Computer Science Senior Project course and introduced his idea to his then soon to be business partner Dan Read.
Slowly, the two started gaining momentum and once they were on a roll, they entered the Rohrer College of Business 2015 Business Plan Competition. Nick picked up on the rules of Business like a sponge, and absorbed every bit of information he could until he was putting months of hard work and hours into his dream. His hard work quickly paid off, as he and his partner won first place in the competition and were awarded $7,500 in April 2015. At the competition, they were approached by one of the panelists, Howard Lubert who told them about the opportunity that the Rowan Innovation Venture Fund could provide them with. Nick says “long story short, we were funded $100,000 and this is now my full time gig.”
Nick found his inspiration for fitDEGREE in his own lifestyle. Grouping up, Nick always played outside and as Nick got older, he started to “drift away from organized sports.” After leading such an active life for so long, he started to feel like something was missing. It wasn’t until his friend suggested the two hit the free weight room that Nick realized what it was and soon found himself hooked. Since then, Nick has engaged in all kinds of fitness related activities such as powerlifting, yoga, kayaking, bouldering and many more. He has always been in a community that inspired him to be consistent, and he wanted to share this ongoing support with everyone. In doing so, he wants to create a fitness community like no other and he wants this app to be an all-inclusive platform for fitness enthusiasts of all different backgrounds and experience levels to feel comfortable on and make it easy to engage in a fit lifestyle.
Throughout his journey, Nick has learned that life is not always something you can control. Although routine and structure are important, sometimes you need to change your plan in order to make a difference. He says “the quote by Mike Tyson, ‘Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face’ could not be more applicable [to me]. We always have a plan in place but it more about learning how to overcome obstacles that are constantly thrown at you.” His journey helped him grow, and the hardest part of all of it all was “knowing that you do not know at all.” However, looking back he can safely say that the best part of the journey was their ability to learn quickly and look back at how much progress they have made in such a short time, and he wouldn’t change anything even if he could.
Because this has taken such a huge role in his life, Nick is embracing his career as a full time entrepreneur. He is also a part of his business partner’s software development company Read Org. “The businesses complement each other very well as we are always exposing ourselves to the tech community and grasping every ounce of knowledge we can to prepare ourselves for success in the future. It is a risky route, but we are confident in our abilities to flourish.”
When Nick isn’t busy working, he is fully embracing the fitDEGREE mantra and lives an active life through CrossFit, bouldering and recently paddle boarding, which he just tried “this past winter break when [he] was in Hawaii with [his] family.”
Finally, some advice he would give to students wishing to achieve similar goals, or incoming sudents, is that “A lot of people do not realize the power of their thoughts. If you really believe in something strong enough, it will become reality. This goes for academics, fitness and your overall happiness. You create your future, not your circumstances.”
Congratulations on your success, Nick! We at Her Campus Rowan, the Rowan Rec Center, and all of Rowan University are so proud of you! Remember us all when you continue to make it big, and take the American Fit Business by storm!