We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Belal Kamara a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Belal, appreciate you joining us today. Too often the media represents innovation as something magical that only high-flying tech billionaires and upstarts engage in – but the truth is almost every business owner has to regularly innovate in small and big ways in order for their businesses to survive and thrive. Can you share a story that highlights something innovative you’ve done over the course of your career?

One of the most innovative achievements in my career has been the development of “Let’s Gym,” a mobile app that helps people find gym partners with similar fitness goals. Despite having no prior experience in building a mobile app development, I took on the challenge and figured it out online. Today, some of the coolest features I’ve built into the app include AI-generated workouts, the ability to create a group chat, and finding people who go to your gym.

Belal, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

When I moved from Memphis to Denver, I realized that I missed having workout buddies to exercise with. I found that one of my biggest motivations for going to the gym was having someone to work out with, and without that, I started losing my enthusiasm for exercise. This led me to come up with an idea for an app that connects gym partners.

To gauge interest, I posted a small ad on social media within the Denver area. The response was immediate and overwhelming, confirming that I wasn’t alone in my search for a gym partner. Encouraged by this, I set out to create a prototype app called Let’s Gym, designed to connect individuals with shared fitness goals.

Creating Let’s Gym was a process of self-education and innovation. Despite having no previous experience in mobile app development, I relied on online resources to bring my vision to reality. In September 2023, an IOS beta version was launched, and it received valuable user feedback that would shape the future of Let’s Gym.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The conventional wisdom ingrained in us from a young age is that perfection is the goal in everything we do. This principle, however, only sometimes holds true, especially in the dynamic environment of startups. My journey with the development of “Let’s Gym” served as a stark, transformative lesson in the value of imperfection and iteration. Initially, I harbored the belief that the app needed to be flawless before it could be released to the public. This mindset was quickly challenged by the realities of startup culture, where speed and adaptability are often more critical than perfection. Embracing this, I developed a very basic prototype of “Let’s Gym” and released it to a select group of users for feedback. This approach was radically different from striving for initial perfection; it was about growth, learning, and adaptation.
The feedback received from these early users was instrumental. It provided insights I hadn’t considered and highlighted features that were truly desired by the community.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

One of the most profound illustrations of resilience in my journey stems from my early childhood experiences. Born in Kuwait and relocating to the United States at the age of seven, I was immediately thrust into a vastly different world. This significant life change offered me a firsthand view of resilience through the lens of my mother’s unwavering determination and hard work. My mother, faced with the colossal task of raising her children in a foreign land, embodied resilience in every aspect of her life. The cultural and linguistic barriers did not deter her; instead, they fueled her commitment to provide for us and ensure that we had a stable, nurturing environment to grow in. Her perseverance in the face of adversity and her ability to adapt to new challenges without ever losing sight of her goals left an indelible mark on me.
This lesson in resilience became the bedrock upon which I built my approach to life and, eventually, my company.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.letsgym.io
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/letsgym.io/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lets-gym/

Image Credits
Belal Kamara